The Los Angeles Lakers have a chance to defend their Las Vegas Summer League Championship on Tuesday night when they face the Portland Trail Blazers. They got there by surviving a double-overtime thriller with the Cleveland Cavaliers in the semifinals, coming out on top, 112-109.
The main headlines focused on the scoring exploits of Josh Hart and Svi Mykhailiuk, who combined for 68 points. However, another extremely important factor was the play of Xavier Rathan-Mayes, who was pressed into the starting lineup for Lakers two-way player Alex Caruso, who missed the game because of illness.
Rathan-Mayes finished with 12 points and nine assists while committing just two turnovers in helping the Lakers to victory.