On July 13, Beijing time, the Las Vegas Summer League began, and the Rockets defeated the Lakers 99-80. Shepard made his debut with 23 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal and 3 blocks on 9-of-17 shooting, 4-of-6 three-pointers, and 12 points in the third quarter, while Whitmore had 20 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals. The Lakers' Bronny contributed 8 points, 5 rebounds and 2 steals, shooting 3-of-14 from the field and 0-of-8 from three-point range, while Knecht had 25 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 three-pointers. The Rockets led by nine points at halftime, opened up the gap in the third quarter, and finally won easily. Lakers coach Redick and general manager Pelinka watched the game.

Statistics

Rockets: Shepard 23 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal and 3 blocks, Whitmore 20 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals, Williams 17 points and 6 rebounds, Robinson 11 points and 5 rebounds, AJ Griffin 8 points, Samuels 6 points and 4 rebounds

Lakers: Kneckett 25 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 three-pointers, Bronny 8 points, 5 rebounds and 2 steals, Castleton 10 points and 10 rebounds, Curos 11 points, Lewis 6 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists, Brown 8 points and 5 rebounds, Traore 8 points

Match tidbits

Both the Lakers and Rockets had players on the sidelines watching the game. The Rockets' Jabari Smith Jr. and Amen Thompson sat together watching the game, and the Lakers' Vincent and Christie also appeared on the sidelines.

Game recap

In the first quarter, Whitmore scored on a layup and Lewis scored on a dunk. Bronny scored on a layup and Shepard hit his first three-point shot. Castleton scored on a dunk and AJ Griffin also completed a dunk. After Bronny hit two free throws, he sent another slam dunk. Whitmore played 2+1, Knecht and Hinton exchanged three points, and the scores of the two sides were deadlocked, and the Lakers drew 26-26 with the Rockets in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, AJ Griffin completed another dunk, Shepard hit a three-pointer again, and the Rockets went on a 7-0 run, Moses Brown scored on a layup, and Lewis made up for a dunk, but hung the basket for too long and ate a technical foul. Shepard provided an assist, Williams hit a three-pointer and Whitmore scored on a layup to give the Rockets an 11-point lead. Castleton dunked, Knecht and Kus hit three points in a row, and the Lakers narrowed the gap to four points. Williams scored on a layup and Whitmore made a steal and dunk. At halftime, the Rockets led the Lakers 54-45.

In the first half, the Rockets' Nate Williams had 11 points and 4 rebounds, Whitmore had 11 points and 4 rebounds, Shepard had 7 points and 3 assists, Orlando Robinson had 9 points and 4 rebounds, and AJ Griffin had 6 points. The Lakers' Knecht had 10 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists, Bronny had 6 points and 4 rebounds, Cures had 8 points, and Lewis had 6 points and 3 assists.

Easy to play again, Curs hit a three-pointer, Castleton dunked, and the Lakers still trailed by six points. After Shepard scored five points in a row, he assisted Whitmore for a dunk, and then Shepard scored seven points in a row to help the Rockets stretch the gap to 18 points. Kneckt scored four points in a row. Whitmore scored on a layup to give the Rockets an 80-61 lead over the Lakers and Shepard scoring 12 points in the first quarter.

In the final quarter, Williams hit a layup and Dent scored a dunk to give the Rockets a 23-point lead. Simson scored on a layup, Traore dunked back-to-back dunks, and the Lakers trailed by 17 points. The Rockets traded back Shepard and Whitmore. Whitmore scored five straight points, Bronny made a steal and Knecht hit a three-pointer. Shepard scored a dunk and then hit a throw. Bronny's three-pointer continued to hit the iron, and in the end, the Rockets took the Lakers lightly.

Both sides start

Rockets: Shepard, Williams, AJ Griffin, Whitmore, Dante

Lakers: Bronny, Curs, Lewis, Knecht, Castleton