"With real stakes on the line for the Lakers in the NBA Cup quarterfinals -- a $530,000 cash prize per player and a second Cup championship in three years for the franchise hinging on the result -- L.A. was thoroughly outplayed in a 132-119 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday."
"The Spurs exposed the Lakers' already suspect perimeter defense, which ranked in the bottom five in the league in opponents' 3-point percentage (38.2%), by hitting 17-of-38 from the outside (44.7%) and leading by as many as 24 in the elimination game for the in-season tournament. When the Spurs weren't launching from beyond the arc, their guards were penetrating into the paint, compromising L.A.'s interior defense so much the Lakers often had no choice but to foul. San Antonio went 29-for-36 from the foul line compared with the Lakers' 17-for-23."
""I don't think they have enough to get to the Western Conference Finals," Paul said. "I don't think they have enough to re"
The Lakers were thoroughly outplayed 132-119 by the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Cup quarterfinals, with a $530,000 cash prize per player and a potential second Cup championship on the line. San Antonio hit 17-of-38 from three (44.7%) against a Lakers defense that ranks in the bottom five in opponents' 3-point percentage (38.2%) and led by as many as 24. Spurs guards penetrated the paint, forcing fouls and a 29-for-36 performance from the foul line versus the Lakers' 17-for-23. The Spurs also scored a season-high 35 transition points, the most the Lakers have allowed this season. The loss resembled earlier lopsided defeats in the season, and agent Rich Paul said he did not believe the Lakers were built to reach the Western Conference Finals.
Read at ESPN.com
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