Lakers defeat Bucks, 72-68, in summer league tournament opener

LAS VEGAS--It hasn’t been a bummer of a summer league as usual for the Lakers.

In their five most recent trips to Las Vegas, the Lakers had posted a winning record only once. Now they’re 3-1 after a 72-68 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday at the Thomas & Mack Center in the opener of a single-elimination tournament.

Forward Marcus Landry scored 18 points and center Robert Sacre added 16 for the Lakers, who used a 7-0 run late in the game after trailing 66-64. The Lakers will play the winner of a late game between Golden State and Dallas on Saturday in a quarterfinal.

“We’ve been out here almost a week and a half and we’re trying to win the whole thing,” said Lakers swingman Chris Douglas-Roberts, who scored seven points.

The Lakers flustered Milwaukee with strong defense and timely scoring bursts from their starters.

John Henson had 16 points and 13 rebounds for the Bucks (2-2).

Sacre said he has been working on his pick-and-roll game. He displayed several nice flashes to the basket for layups and made a timely jump hook late in the game that helped secure the victory.

“We’re trying to win,” Sacre said. “That’s all that matters. That’s the focus of this year and this summer and the focus of next season is winning games, so I think we’re excited and we’ve got a good energy with this.”

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