South Bay Lakers Advance in G League Playoffs Without Bronny James After Win vs. Clippers

The South Bay Lakers are moving on in the G League playoffs after a 122-119 win over the San Diego Clippers on Wednesday.

The Lakers will now take on the Rio Grande Valley Vipers in the second round.

South Bay was without Bronny James, who is currently with the Los Angeles Lakers as they set off on a two-game road trip. James has appeared in 14 games with South Bay, posting 15.6 points, 3.5 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game.

With no James, Drew Timme led the way for the Lakers. Timme, a standout at Gonzaga who signed with the Lakers in November, posted 21 points, eight boards and six assists.

Malik Williams, who joined the Lakers halfway through the year, put up 21 points and Kobe Bufkin added 21.

The Lakers led for most of the second half and by as many as nine, but the Clippers managed to cut the deficit down slowly and eventually took the lead in the fourth quarter. The two sides traded blows in the final minutes, but a late bucket from Chris Mañon put South Bay up two with just over 45 seconds to play.

Mañon then got a steal on the defensive end with under 20 seconds to play, and the Lakers were able to ice the game at the line.

A loss to the Clippers would have been a big upset for the top-seeded Lakers, but they managed to avoid it and will now look to get past the Vipers in the second round.