The Los Angeles Lakers cruised to a resounding victory against the Sacramento Kings on Friday night. With the two best players of their lineup sidelined due to injury, the team was expected to focus more on their defense and try to limit the damage. However, all the players took this challenge head-on and fought valiantly till the buzzer.
Kyle Kuzma had the night of his career as he scored a season-high 30 points for his side. Even fringe players like Alex Caruso and Markieff Morris contributed heavily in this game. Coach Frank Vogel later admitted that this was the kind of form he expects from his players every night.
It was a brilliant and balanced display on both ends of the court for the Lakers. They handled their defense well enough to keep the Kings at bay. In offense, they maneuvered the ball intelligently and did not let the opposition read their plays.
In the post-game press conference, Kyle Kuzma was asked to speak on what the team’s mindset was knowing that LeBron and AD will not be present. He said, “We got a lot of confidence. This our dreams and livelihood we’re talking about here. This is what we do best in our lives.”
He continued, “I think when a player like LeBron or AD goes out, other players want to step up and understand that their roles are gonna increase. It just takes time for us to figure that out and how to do it cohesively.”
Kyle Kuzma leads the LA Lakers to a hard-earned victory
Kuzma led from the front and finished with 30 points to his name. He also racked up 5 rebounds and 3 assists during the course of the game. Apart from him, Dennis Schroder also continued his hot streak of providing when his team needs it the most.
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 02: Kyle Kuzma #0 of the Los Angeles Lakers shoots over Maurice Harkless
The German International scored 17 points and assisted eight times. Alex Caruso came off the bench to provide some fireworks towards the end. He drove directly to the byline quite a number of times and provided a dynamic edge to the Lakers’ offense.
The LA Lakers are fourth in the Western Conference standings. At the moment they are well in contention for the playoff spots. However, they would like to leapfrog their city rivals, the Clippers, and be in the top three seeds of the conference.
