The Los Angeles Lakers trudged along to fighting victory against the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday night. It was a great display of grit and determination from Andre Drummond and his team in the absence of stalwarts.
In a relatively low-scoring game, the Lakers edged ahead in the first quarter and never took their foot off the pedal. Stellar efforts from Kyle Kuzma and Dennis Schroder were enough to guarantee the victory. Although Drummond scored 12 points in this game, he admitted to this being the worst performance in his career.
He said, “I’m still tryna figure it out. Offensively, this might be the worst I’ve played in my career. It’s not gonna take me long to figure stuff out. I know why I’m here. I have to help this team defensively. Offensively, it will all come to me. I think as a team, it will all come good when guys come back healthy.”
He continued, “You have to keep in mind that we are playing with a different five every night. So you can’t expect us to have much chemistry when we don’t know who we’re playing with. We’re hanging our hat on defense and that is what projected us to a win.”
Andre Drummond and the Lakers seal a much-needed victory
Defensive resilience was the key to this victory for the Lakers. Schroder and Drummond both locked the Hornets out of the paint and forced them to take shots from uncomfortable positions.
CHARLOTTE, NC – APRIL 13: Andre Drummond #2 of the Los Angeles Lakers and Bismack Biyombo
Kyle Kuzma was the pick of the lot as he finished with 24 points to his name. Moreover, he racked up four rebounds and an assist to his name. Apart from him, Dennis Schroder also contributed heavily towards the victory. He scored 19 points and 6 assists during the course of the game.
The Los Angeles Lakers are fifth in the Western Conference standings. At the moment, they are well in contention for the playoffs. Moreover, with LeBron and AD set to return in a couple of weeks, coach Frank Vogel will be very happy with the position they are in.
