Cole Swider had a productive night as the Lakers picked up a solid win over the Pelicans in Summer League action.
The Lakers got back in the win column with a 94-81 victory over the Pelicans on Saturday night.
Cole Swider scored 21 points with 10 rebounds and four assists. DJ Steward had nine points with four rebounds and three assists. Bronny James ended with 14 points, three assists and two steals.
Christian Koloko had his best outing in the Summer League with 13 points, seven rebounds, two assists and three blocks.
Darius Bazley did the dirty work with 10 rebounds, four assists and five blocks. He also had 12 points. Arthur Kaluma and RJ Davis combined for 21 points off the bench.
Nothing went right for L.A. to start as they were down by nine early. Their first points came at the 7:06 mark when Bronny converted on a layup. As a team, they had missed 10 of their first 11 shot attempts. Steward drained a 3-pointer to make it a closer affair.
Los Angeles continued to surge with their offense, with Swider heating up and scoring five points. Bazley grabbed four rebounds to go with two assists and three blocks, continuing to shine on the defensive end for this Lakers squad.
Arthur provided a nice spark off the bench with eight points. The purple and gold were up three at the end of the first quarter.
The Lakers lead the Pelicans 22-19 after one quarter of play. Arthur Kaluma is dominating off the bench with 8 points. Darius Bazley is also doing all the little things, like rebounding and defending the rim, to keep L.A. in front.
— Edwin Garcia (@ECreates88) July 13, 2025
RJ opened the second quarter with a 3-pointer. Cole kept his hot shooting alive with a three of his own. On the Pelicans’ side, Antonio Reeves was cooking early with seven points. A very welcome sight was a five-point scoring burst from Christian.
It remained a low-scoring affair well into the quarter with neither team able to pick up their offense. The Lakers were holding onto a seven-point lead with 2:00 left until halftime. There was a noticeable drop in energy, and both teams continued to miss most of the shots they took. Bronny still had only two points on five shot attempts.
At halftime, Los Angeles was up by four. They were shooting a rough 30% from the field, while New Orleans converted on only 33% of their field goal attempts.
The Lakers lead the Pelicans 40-36 at the half. Cole Swider and Arthur Kaluma are the team’s top scorers with 8 points each.
— Edwin Garcia (@ECreates88) July 13, 2025
The brutal shooting continued for both teams early in the third quarter. The first points came from Christian, who converted on two free throws. New Orleans had a sudden burst of five points. The Lakers quickly answered back with eight points. Bronny was up to four points in the quarter, looking much more aggressive.
Pelicans rookie Jeremiah Fears had a couple of crafty layups, while Darius added an impressive steal that led to a fastbreak dunk for Los Angeles.
With 0.9 seconds left in the quarter, RJ was fouled and converted on two free throws to make it a five-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.
It was another rough start offensively to the quarter for both teams until Bronny drained a 3-pointer for the Lakers. Cole then scored the next five points for Los Angeles.
After a few consecutive 3-pointers, the Lakers cruised to the win.
Key Takeaways:
Bronny continues to look great with his defense. It’ll be a huge development during the upcoming season if he’s given consistent rotation minutes.
Swider and Bazley have been shining in the Summer League. Both players may just play their way into guaranteed contracts.
Koloko’s strong play in this game is a huge positive for his continued improvement.
Catch the Summer League game on Monday against the Los Angeles Clippers at 7:30 PM PT.
You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.