SANTA CRUZ — A 33-point win to start your career on one night.
A blown 19-point lead in your first game in front of the home fans the next.
Welcome to the sidelines, Aaron Miles.
The Santa Cruz Warriors fell 138-135 to the South Bay Lakers in overtime on Saturday night in their home opener at a sold-out Kaiser Permanente Arena.
A night after beginning the season with an impressive blowout win over the Agua Caliente Clippers on the road, Santa Cruz (1-1) looked to be cruising to another, up 87-68 midway through the third quarter. But the Lakers (1-0) rallied back, outscoring the Warriors 37-24 in the final stanza and outlasting them in OT.
“Yesterday definitely felt good — it was my first win as a head coach so it obviously felt good — but you can’t get too high and you can’t get too low in the games and in the performances and things like that,” said Miles, who was doused with water by his players in the locker room following Friday night’s win. “I know there’s going to be more ups and downs to this season.”
Quinn Cook poured in a game-high 35 points, grabbed seven rebounds and made six assists. His jumper with 11.7 seconds left in regulation gave the Warriors the advantage but Travis Wear answered with a swish of his own to send the game into overtime.
Ex-Warrior Scott Machado scored six of his 20 points in the extra period to help spoil the Warriors’ home opener.
Reigning G League M.V.P. Vander Blue dropped a team-high 25 points after being held to just three at the break.
Santa Cruz led 68-55 heading into the half but struggled defending South Bay without fouling, sending them to the line 37 times. They made 31 of their shots from the charity stripe.
“They got their rhythm by getting to the free-throw line,” said Cook, who had 30 points on Friday night in Ontario. “I think that we let them off the hook. We stayed solid the first three quarters and midway through the fourth and then I think we let up a little bit defensively. But they made big shots.”
Georges Niang added 24 points and 10 rebounds for Santa Cruz, which again received plenty of scoring from several players but couldn’t contain South Bay defensively down the stretch.
Thomas Bryant scored 22 points for the Lakers and got Warriors’ center Damian Jones, currently on assignment from Golden State, in foul trouble. Jones finished with 18 points, five rebounds and four blocks but fouled out with 3:01 left in the fourth quarter and picked up a technical foul on his way out.
“Defensively, they got into the paint and made plays,” Miles said. “Offensively, the ball got stagnant. We scored more than enough points to win the game. It’s ridiculous. The 138 points that we gave up is ridiculous but as a coach I take responsibility for the ball sticking and everything. We’ll watch film and make some adjustments.”
Santa Cruz will travel to Los Angeles on Wednesday for a rematch at 7 p.m.
