The Los Angeles Lakers started the game shooting well and not sure if it’s due to the line up change by Lakers coach Frank Vogel with the addition of Kyle Kuzma and having KCP sit this one.
Kyle Kuzma will start on the wing tonight in place of KCP (foot). Pretty big lineup there with Kuz next to LeBron, Green, AD and McGee, but they like how Kuz is playing and want to see what that group looks like.
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) August 10, 2020
Kuzma and Anthony Davis have been playing great together in the first quarter and they connected for a nice slam by Davis that brought the Lakers bench to its feet. Dion Waiters has also given the Lakers a strong push. Furthermore, it seems like the Lakers are playing with more confidence compared to previous games.
9 assist on 13 made field goals by the Lakers early allowed them to have great ball movement. Anthony Davis is very good passer and the way he attracts a double team, he can really make the right play.
Both teams continued to go back and forth in the second quarter with Dion Waiters really buying himself some playoff minutes with the way he’s contributing to the team. Maybe, with more minutes he can prove more to earn himself a contract this off-season. LeBron played remarkable through the first half adding 13 points to go with his five assists. Furthermore, the team shot 50% from three in the first half which is a very good sign. The Lakers had the ball in the last seconds of the first half and Anthony Davis followed up on Kuzma’s miss and slammed it with authority!
I was really looking forward to watching Kuzma join the starting line up. He really made his way in the game today with shooting the ball well and moving without the ball. This is something new for Kuzma. Kuzma finished the game with 25 points on 11-16 shooting from the field.
* @kylekuzma has at least 2 steals for a 3rd straight game, the longest streak of his career.
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) August 11, 2020
Coming into the 4th quarter with Davis and Kuzma on the bench, LeBron entered with 20 points and 7 assists. On the other hand, Nuggets young star Bol Bol is something special. He’s 7’2 and can really shoot the ball; but he has an underrated skill, which is passing. He had two accurate football passes and his passing of the dribble is incredible. The 20-year-old had a good game with 8 points and 5 rebounds.
Furthermore, a crazy statthrough the first 41 minutes was LeBron James did not record a single rebound. The last time he played a game with no rebounds was back in 2004. However, LeBron finished with 29 points, shooting 5-11 on 3’s and 12 assists. Kuzma continued to play well coming in late in the 4th. Furthermore, the Lakers had plenty of defensive mistakes which have allowed the Nuggets. With 2:30 remaining in the game Lakers were trailing 116-111.
LBJ straight to the bucket… AND-1! 💪@nuggets 119@Lakers 121
45.7 to play on TNT pic.twitter.com/JF2PKOl9tg
— NBA (@NBA) August 11, 2020
The Lakers and Nuggets traded buckets late in the game. This led to a great defensive play by Anthony Davis blocking a shot and getting fouled on the play. As Davis went to the line with 1:13 left, he made both free throws to cut the lead down to 119-118. With under a minute to go LeBron took the ball coast to coast for lay up plus the foul to give the Lakers a one point lead, converting the free throw. With the Lakers leading 121-120 with four seconds left, the Lakers challenged a blocking foul on Kuzma which looked like a charging foul but the play stood as called. Denver proceeded to make one of two free throws. This led the Lakers to call a timeout with the game tied at 121.
KUZMA. CLUTCH. 😱 pic.twitter.com/aGUUc7yOqq
— NBA TV (@NBATV) August 11, 2020
Then, Kyle Kuzma hit a long two point shot with a few seconds remaining after a great play drawn by Lakers coach Frank Vogel. Kyle Kuzma seemed to be the hero of the night and surely he was after making the game winning shot to break the Lakers three game losing streak.
The Lakers wrap up the regular season in the Orlando Bubble on Thursday against the Sacramento Kings at 1:30ET/10:30am in Los Angeles.
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