EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- On Saturday night, the South Bay Lakers took on the Rip City Remix for the third time this season, having won both of the first two closely contested matchups. The third time would prove to be the charm for the Remix, as their nonstop three point attack catapulted them to the 122-116 victory over the Lakers.
The Remix played the role of the Grinch in this one, spoiling not only Drew Timme’s return to the Laker lineup, but also South Bay’s ‘SnowCal Night’ featuring crisp new baby blue jerseys.
In his first game back from spending a few weeks with the Los Angeles Lakers, Drew Timme picked up right where he left off, scoring 27 points, grabbing eight boards and dishing out 7 assists.
After only appearing in two games for a total of eight minutes in his time with the parent team, Timme was happy to have consistent playing time again.
“It felt great, you know, obviously I haven’t played in a while, so getting to hoop again felt great. I love the staff and the squad… they were so excited when I got my opportunity, and to come back to them, it was great,” said Timme.
Laker Coach Zach Guthrie, who was very happy to have Timme back, cited the Remix’s run and gun style of play as a challenge for his team to defend.
“We talked about it, they get up a high volume of threes. And for us, in today’s NBA and the G League, it’s not about limiting the threes, it’s about forcing them into the right type of threes and making sure we contest every one of them at a high level,” said Guthrie.
The Lakers did force Rip City into nearly 30 misses from deep, but it was the 18 makes that were too much to come back from. The Remix shoot six more three pointers per game than any other team, and make three more than any other, so South Bay knew what to expect, they just could not stop the inevitable.
That inevitability struck early in this contest, as the Remix made seven of their first 12 triples on the night, keeping them in the game.
The Lakers came out strong as well though, with Timme, fellow big Kylor Kelley and guard Chris Mañon combining for 33 of the team’s 41 points in the first.
They controlled the game going into the half, when they led 76-68.
However, Jayson Kent, Rip City’s rookie forward from the University of Texas, turned up in the third scoring 13 of his 27 points, including three triples made from the same spot in the right corner. Rip City completed the turn around in 12 minutes, leading by three at the end of the third.
The teams went back and forth to begin the fourth, with Kent quickly scoring five more points, and the Lakers rookie Arthur Kaluma battling back with a hard fought four of his own.
Coach Guthrie had high praises for the former Texas Longhorn, detailing how his energy and his size at his position add to his value.
Rip City was able to pull away late, with the effort being capped off by center Andrew Carr’s triple with 2:50 to go, the final one of the game. South Bay tried to come back late, but couldn’t get close enough.
Alongside Timme, Mañon had 20 points and 11 rebounds on the night, Kylor Kelley contributed 14 points and five blocks, and Kobe Bufkin had 18 points and five assists of his own.
Guthrie is still adjusting to the life of coaching such a fluid roster, with moving pieces nearly every game.
“It gives you a new day, every single day to try to make this team better and put them in positions to be successful,” said Guthrie. “Today I didn’t do a good enough job about that, and I hope we can watch the film and figure it out and be ready to go next time.”
South Bay’s next chance to get back into the win column will come at home Tuesday against the San Diego Clippers, who they are 0-2 against this season. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m.