EL SEGUNDO, Calif. – The Texas Legends overcame a 20-point deficit, forcing overtime to defeat the South Bay Lakers, 127-125, on Friday night at the UCLA Health Training Center.
Tanner Holden scored the game-winning basket for the Texas Legends, defeating the South Bay Lakers 127-125.@SportingTrib pic.twitter.com/RoQT9pgQUr
— Fredo Cervantes (@FredoCervantes) February 1, 2025
The game was a rollercoaster for the Lakers, who initially found themselves ahead by 20 points. However, the Legends made a strong comeback, fueled by Jarod Lucus, who scored 27 points and Tanner Holden who scored the game-winning basket in overtime.
Holden scored 25 points, along with five rebounds and five assists, in the victory over the Lakers.
“I thought we were on our heels for most of the second half and we were unable to weather the storm,” Coach Guthrie said.
As the Legends closed the gap to just three points midway through the fourth quarter, the Lakers managed to respond as both teams battled until the final moments of the game.
Armel Traore committed a costly turnover during an inbound pass to Grayson Murphy, allowing the Legends to take their first lead since the first quarter. On their next possession, Traore responded by sinking a three-pointer from the top of the key to regain the lead. As the game approached the two-minute mark, things began to unravel for the Lakers when Olivari stepped out of bounds, resulting in yet another inbounding mistake.
The Legends led 117-116 with 46.1 seconds left in the game when Jazian Gortman drove to the basket and was fouled by Traore. The Lakers challenged the call but were unsuccessful. Gortman then made both of his free throws.
Traore responded by hitting two free throws with just 4.2 seconds remaining, which forced the game into overtime. In the NBA G-League, the overtime rule states that the first team to score seven points within a 10-minute period wins.
In the end, the Lakers lost in overtime as the Legends scored the necessary seven points to secure the win. The game took a different turn for the Lakers, who ended up with 15 turnovers and were unable to maintain their lead against the Legends after having defeated them on Wednesday night.
Traore recorded a double-double with 27 points and 10 rebounds, shooting 3 for 5 from three-point range on the night.
Despite having several chances to win, coach Zach Guthrie reflected on the difficult loss, mentioning how his team collapsed in the final moments of the game.
“I thought there was a dip in the mentality and execution that got us that lead,” coach Guthrie said. “It’s natural, right? That’s part of learning in being a pro.”
Six players—Armel Traore, Jordan Goodwin, Solomon Young, Sir’Jabari Rice, DuJuan Gordon, and Quincy Olivari—scored in double figures during the first half. South Bay took a commanding 20-point lead into halftime, thanks in part to a standout second quarter from Olivari.
The Lakers released Olivari two weeks ago to create space for Trey Jemison III, who was recently called up by the team. A week later, Olivari returned to South Bay after the Lakers acquired his player rights.
Olivari had a rugged performance in South Bay's last game earlier this week against the Legends, shooting just 2 for 18 from the field. Both of his successful shots came from beyond the arc. Despite his poor performance on Wednesday, coach Guthrie expressed confidence in Olivari's ability to move past it and focus on the next game.
Olivari told The Sporting Tribune that even though he didn't have the best shooting night, he will continue to shoot and take his chances. He expressed confidence in his ability to perform well in his next game, stating that there's a possibility he would be going 10 for 10.
On Friday night, Olivari finished with 23 points on 9 of 18 shots from the field, not far from his prediction.
“We trust his process,” coach Guthrie said. “He took some similar shots, he has to find the balance of being hot at the end of the first half and starting the second half. Maybe, let's not take the difficulty shots,”
As the roster is flexible for coach Guthrie, having players coming in and out from other teams or getting called up to the Lakers. South Bay’s offense wasn't the problem as six players were in double figures in scoring due to his coaching approach and balancing hosnroster the right way.
“I don't really run plays for guys, I run for coverage solutions,” coach Guthrie said. “Certain teams run certain coverages and certain defensive schemes. We run plays to solve those schemes and we want everybody to eat.”
The Lakers (3-8) must move on quickly as they host the Oklahoma City Blue (6-8) on Saturday night.