Kyle Kuzma came to play against the Indiana Pacers. He turned it on in the 4th quarter. Scoring 15 of his team-high 24 points in the 4th. LeBron James also scored 18 points, grabbed 3 rebounds, and dished out 10 assists. The Lakers defeated the Indiana Pacers, 105-100. A solid win for the Lakers in their first game after the NBA All-Star break. This win was big because the Lakers were down by 12 points at one point in the 4th quarter. However, Kyle Kuzma came alive and willed the team to victory with his great play in the final period. LeBron James shared a thought on the keys to victory and the Lakers’ growth.
“It’s all about growth, and the game has just slowed down every year for him,” James said. “He knows his role with this team and he does it to a high level, and tonight was another example of that.”
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Kentavious Caldwell-Pope chipped in with 7 points in the Lakers. He was able to get a huge steal with about 10 seconds to go in the 4th quarter to be able to seal the Lakers’ victory. He spoke on that sequence postgame.
“I saw the opening to get the steal, so I tried to get in front of him,” Caldwell-Pope said. “We needed stops. They kept going on their runs, and we needed more energy. Rebounding the ball and getting out in transition is what we’re best at. I think we did it over the last few minutes.”
The Lakers are happy to get back in the win column. They currently hold a 25-13 record overall. That is good for 3rd place in the Western Conference. The Lakers are 1 game behind the Phoenix Suns for 2nd place. They also sit 3.5 games behind the Utah Jazz for the 1st place in the West. There is a long season ahead and the Lakers look to get back to their winning ways. This win against the Pacers is a great start.
Lakers Next Game: at Golden State. 10:30 pm Eastern/ 7:30 pm Pacific on ESPN
