Los Angeles Lakers guard Josh Hart (5) drives past Cleveland Cavaliers forward Vladimir Brodziansky (19) in overtime during the NBA Summer League semifinals on Monday, July 16, 2018, at the Thomas & Mack Center, in Las Vegas. Benjamin Hager Las Vegas Review-Journal @benjaminhphoto
Los Angeles Lakers guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes (6) defends Cleveland Cavaliers forward Billy Preston (20) in the fourth quarter during the NBA Summer League semifinals on Monday, July 16, 2018, at the Thomas & Mack Center, in Las Vegas. Benjamin Hager Las Vegas Review-Journal @benjaminhphoto
Los Angeles Lakers guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes (6) drives past Cleveland Cavaliers forward Vladimir Brodziansky (19) in overtime during the NBA Summer League semifinals on Monday, July 16, 2018, at the Thomas & Mack Center, in Las Vegas. Benjamin Hager Las Vegas Review-Journal @benjaminhphoto
Los Angeles Lakers forward Jeff Ayres (12) dunks over Cleveland Cavaliers forward Vladimir Brodziansky (19) in overtime during the NBA Summer League semifinals on Monday, July 16, 2018, at the Thomas & Mack Center, in Las Vegas. Benjamin Hager Las Vegas Review-Journal @benjaminhphoto
Los Angeles Lakers forward Jonathan Williams (21) shoots over Cleveland Cavaliers defenders Scoochie Smith (12) and Vladimir Brodziansky (19) in overtime during the NBA Summer League semifinals on Monday, July 16, 2018, at the Thomas & Mack Center, in Las Vegas. Benjamin Hager Las Vegas Review-Journal @benjaminhphoto
Los Angeles Lakers guard Josh Hart (5) drives baseline past Cleveland Cavaliers forward Jamel Artis (4) in overtime during the NBA Summer League semifinals on Monday, July 16, 2018, at the Thomas & Mack Center, in Las Vegas. Benjamin Hager Las Vegas Review-Journal @benjaminhphoto
Los Angeles Lakers defenders Jonathan Williams (21) and Josh Hart (5) defend Cleveland Cavaliers guard Collin Sexton (2) in the fourth quarter during the NBA Summer League semifinals on Monday, July 16, 2018, at the Thomas & Mack Center, in Las Vegas. Benjamin Hager Las Vegas Review-Journal @benjaminhphoto
Los Angeles Lakers forward Jeff Ayres (12) shoots over Cleveland Cavaliers forward Jamel Artis (4) in the fourth quarter during the NBA Summer League semifinals on Monday, July 16, 2018, at the Thomas & Mack Center, in Las Vegas. Benjamin Hager Las Vegas Review-Journal @benjaminhphoto
Los Angeles Lakers guard Josh Hart (5) shoots over Cleveland Cavaliers guard Collin Sexton (2) in the fourth quarter during the NBA Summer League semifinals on Monday, July 16, 2018, at the Thomas & Mack Center, in Las Vegas. Benjamin Hager Las Vegas Review-Journal @benjaminhphoto
Los Angeles Lakers guard Josh Hart (5) is defended by Cleveland Cavaliers guard Collin Sexton (2) in the fourth quarter during the NBA Summer League semifinals on Monday, July 16, 2018, at the Thomas & Mack Center, in Las Vegas. Benjamin Hager Las Vegas Review-Journal @benjaminhphoto
Los Angeles Lakers guard Josh Hart (5) converts a fast break layup over Cleveland Cavaliers guard John Holland (10) in the third quarter during the NBA Summer League semifinals on Monday, July 16, 2018, at the Thomas & Mack Center, in Las Vegas. Benjamin Hager Las Vegas Review-Journal @benjaminhphoto
Los Angeles Lakers guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes (6) shoots over Cleveland Cavaliers guard Collin Sexton (2) in the third quarter during the NBA Summer League semifinals on Monday, July 16, 2018, at the Thomas & Mack Center, in Las Vegas. Benjamin Hager Las Vegas Review-Journal @benjaminhphoto
Los Angeles Lakers guard Josh Hart (5) shoots over Cleveland Cavaliers forward Vladimir Brodziansky (19) in the third quarter during the NBA Summer League semifinals on Monday, July 16, 2018, at the Thomas & Mack Center, in Las Vegas. Benjamin Hager Las Vegas Review-Journal @benjaminhphoto
Los Angeles Lakers guard Josh Hart (5) drives past Cleveland Cavaliers forward Vladimir Brodziansky (19) in the third quarter during the NBA Summer League semifinals on Monday, July 16, 2018, at the Thomas & Mack Center, in Las Vegas. Benjamin Hager Las Vegas Review-Journal @benjaminhphoto
Los Angeles Lakers guard Josh Hart (5) defends Cleveland Cavaliers guard Collin Sexton (2) in the first quarter during the NBA Summer League semifinals on Monday, July 16, 2018, at the Thomas & Mack Center, in Las Vegas. Benjamin Hager Las Vegas Review-Journal @benjaminhphoto
Cleveland Cavaliers forward Vladimir Brodziansky (19) fights for a rebound with Los Angeles Lakers forward Jeff Ayres (12) in the third quarter during the NBA Summer League semifinals on Monday, July 16, 2018, at the Thomas & Mack Center, in Las Vegas. Benjamin Hager Las Vegas Review-Journal @benjaminhphoto
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Collin Sexton (2) drives past Los Angeles Lakers forward Jeff Ayres (12) in the second quarter during the NBA Summer League semifinals on Monday, July 16, 2018, at the Thomas & Mack Center, in Las Vegas. Benjamin Hager Las Vegas Review-Journal @benjaminhphoto
Cleveland Cavaliers forward Billy Preston (20) blocks the shot of Los Angeles Lakers guard Nick King (55) in the first quarter during the NBA Summer League semifinals on Monday, July 16, 2018, at the Thomas & Mack Center, in Las Vegas. Benjamin Hager Las Vegas Review-Journal @benjaminhphoto
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Scoochie Smith (12) defends Los Angeles Lakers guard Malik Newman (14) in the first quarter during the NBA Summer League semifinals on Monday, July 16, 2018, at the Thomas & Mack Center, in Las Vegas. Benjamin Hager Las Vegas Review-Journal @benjaminhphoto
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Collin Sexton (2) drives baseline past Los Angeles Lakers forward Jeff Ayres (12) in the second quarter during the NBA Summer League semifinals on Monday, July 16, 2018, at the Thomas & Mack Center, in Las Vegas. Benjamin Hager Las Vegas Review-Journal @benjaminhphoto
Cleveland Cavaliers forward Jamel Artis (4) shoots over Los Angeles Lakers forward Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk (10) in the first quarter during the NBA Summer League semifinals on Monday, July 16, 2018, at the Thomas & Mack Center, in Las Vegas. Benjamin Hager Las Vegas Review-Journal @benjaminhphoto
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Collin Sexton (2) shoots over Los Angeles Lakers guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes (6) in the first quarter during the NBA Summer League semifinals on Monday, July 16, 2018, at the Thomas & Mack Center, in Las Vegas. Benjamin Hager Las Vegas Review-Journal @benjaminhphoto
Cavaliers center Marcus Lee (24) dunks in the first quarter during Cleveland’s NBA Summer League semifinals game with the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday, July 16, 2018, at the Thomas & Mack Center, in Las Vegas. Benjamin Hager Las Vegas Review-Journal @benjaminhphoto
Josh Hart won a national championship with Villanova and played major minutes for the Los Angeles Lakers last year during his rookie season.
Hart knows what a big game feels like. That’s what he felt Monday for an NBA Summer League game.
The Lakers defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 112-109 in double overtime in arguably the most exciting game of the summer. Los Angeles advanced to the Las Vegas Summer League championship game for the second straight year. They will face the Portland Trail Blazers, who beat the Memphis Grizzlies, 97-92.
Hart scored a game-high 37 points and had a competitive battle against Cavaliers’ 2018 lottery pick, Collin Sexton, who scored 27 points.
“This felt totally different,” Hart said. “I played in Final Fours. I played in the national championship, and it had a national championship-esque feel to it. … The atmosphere was amazing. For a summer league game, that is very rare.”
The Thomas & Mack Center was empty in the upper level but the noise coming from the lower section made it seem like a sold out arena.
The pro-Lakers crowd stood on its feet for the final minutes of the fourth quarter and throughout the overtime periods.
Hart and teammate Svi Mykhailiuk, who scored 31 points, carried the Lakers offensively. The two combined for 12-of-26 from 3-point range.
But it was the supporting players who lifted the Lakers in the second overtime.
Xavier Rathan-Mayes had a no-look touch pass that found Jeff Ayres wide open in the paint for a dunk to give the Lakers a 108-106 advantage in the final minute and the team never looked back.
Rathan-Mayes started for point guard Alex Caruso, who was out with an illness. Rathan-Mayes stepped up with 12 points and nine assists.
The Lakers extended their Las Vegas Summer League winning streak to 12 games. The 2017 summer champs will get a chance to repeat on Tuesday.
