Lathan gets career-high 36 for Lightning
He hits 14-18 from field in 134-124 win over Arizona
Trayvon Lathan poured in a career-high 36 points Friday night and the Los Angeles Lightning used superior shooting to beat the Arizona Raptors 134-124 for its fifth straight win.
The Lightning (5-0) shot nearly 60 percent at Cal Lutheran’s Gilbert Sports Arena en route to its 11th home win in 12 games. L.A. had 28 turnovers in the game and let a 20-point fourth-quarter lead shrink to eight before State Senator Tony Strickland hit a jumper at the free-throw line for the final margin.
Lathan drained 14-of-18 from the field with 11 rebounds, six assists, three steals and two blocks. He also had six turnovers and made just 8-15 from the free-throw line.
"Tray had 36 and he didn’t have a good game," said coach Ron Quarterman. "He’d be the first one to tell you that. He’s productive even when he’s not at his best."
Chris Ayer tallied 20 points (on 10-15 shooting) and 11 rebounds and Fred Vinson had 17 points and five 3-pointers. Travis Pinick produced a double-double (12 points, 10 boards) off the bench and Bryon Russell had 14 points and six rebounds.
Arizona’s Tre Dalton led all scorers with 39 points, including a half-dozen 3-pointers and Rob Porter added 19 points, 11 assists and seven steals.
Kamran Sufi had nine assists in his 2010 Lightning debut but also turned the ball over six times.
Lathan scored 20 points in the first half on 8-9 shooting, staking the home team to a 74-65 edge. The Lightning outrebounded the Raptors 60-36.
"I had too many turnovers because I was trying to play too fast," said Lathan, a 6-8 guard who topped his previous best by four points. "Sometimes I tried to make things happen instead of letting it come to me. But I also continued to make plays for my teammates."
The Lightning ended the third quarter on a 16-8 run and took a 98-84 lead into the final period. The bench outscored Arizona 27-5 in the final 12 minutes, led by 11 from Keith Simpson and eight by Pinick.
The same teams will battle in a 7:15 p.m. game on Saturday at Cal Lutheran.
