The Los Angeles Lakers lost 123-97 to the Brooklyn Nets in the preseason opener Sunday.
Unfortunately, the stars of both teams didn’t play. LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Carmelo Anthony and Trevor Ariza were all out for the Lakers; the Nets didn’t play Kevin Durant, James Harden, Kyrie Irving, Blake Griffin, Patty Mills, Joe Harris and James Johnson.
Anthony Davis only played in the first quarter, and every other Laker got to battle it out for minutes after that.
It was a three-point deficit for the Lakers at the end of the third quarter, but the Nets’ youngsters simply outplayed the Lakers’ G League players in the fourth. Brooklyn outscored L.A. 39-16 in the final 12 minutes.
Here are the three takeaways from the opener:
