Here is what you need to know before the Lakers pay a visit to the Sacramento
Kings.
1) Kuz and KCP came up big last night The Lakers had a rough start to
Tuesday’s game against Chicago, falling behind by as many as 19 points. Still,
they managed to clamp down on defense, cut off turnovers and rally for their
biggest comeback of the season.
For as big a hole as the Lakers fell into, it would have been much larger if
Kyle Kuzma weren’t a one-man offense in the first half, scoring 18 of his
game-high 22 points.
The rookie did his usual work down low, breaking out a dunk, running jumper and
spinning and-1. But he also stretched out his range, hitting four triples and
bumping his five-game 3-point clip up to 46.4 percent.
Kyle Kuzma tallied another game-high in points with 22 as the Lakers top the
Bulls #LakersWin pic.twitter.com/uzBxvn8RCX
Meanwhile, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope put forth his best game as a Laker, scoring
a season-best 21 points while filling the stat sheet with nine rebounds, four
assists, four 3-pointers, three steals and seven (!) deflections.
While he was strong on both sides of the floor for the entire night, KCP saved
his best performance for crunch time, scoring 11 points in the final three
minutes — including the go-ahead put-back and a couple of dagger 3-pointers.
KCP hit some huge triples late in the fourth to seal the win, finishing with 21
points #LakersWin pic.twitter.com/3jJouMfFLj
2) Julius leads the team in grown-man plays Need some rim protection? How
about a one-handed offense rebound? Or a driving, and-1 bucket?
Just call Julius Randle.
The second-unit center was especially active in the win over the Bulls, packing
10 points, 10 rebounds and pairs of assists and blocks into only 28 minutes of
play.
He was a key part of turning the game around, leading a 15-4 run in the third
quarter with eight of his points in about two minutes.
The burst trimmed the Lakers’ deficit to one and also featured this outstanding
sequence when he swatted a layup, grabbed a rebound and took it coast-to-coast
for an and-1 layup in transition.
Julius Randle follows up a huge block with an and-1 in transition #LakeShow (:
@SpectrumSN, @spectdeportes, NBA TV) pic.twitter.com/95WEV5YFPy
3) The Lakers need to be locked in for a win Sacramento is reeling, owning a
4-13 record and the league’s worst point differential (-12.6).
The Kings are also last in scoring (93.2 ppg) and second-worst in 3-pointers,
free throws, rebounds, assists and opponent 3’s.
But the Lakers have fallen into trap games twice in the past week, losing to
Phoenix and nearly to Chicago. On the second night of a back-to-back they can’t
afford another lax effort against Sacramento.
Taking care of the ball will be crucial, as they committed 19 turnovers versus
the Suns and 13 in the first half against Chicago (before allowing just one in
their second-half comeback).
Also look for which team sets the speed of the game, as the Lakers love to get
out and run, while the Kings operate at the second-slowest pace in the NBA.
Injury Report Lakers: Larry Nance Jr. (fractured second metacarpal, left hand)
is out. Kings: Harry Giles (bi-lateral knee rehabilitation) is out.
Tip-Off: 7:30 p.m. PT TV: Spectrum SportsNet and Spectrum Deportes in L.A. NBA
TV nationally Radio: 710 ESPN and 1330 KWKW Unis: White Location: STAPLES Center
— Los Angeles, California
Click here to view game notes for this contest.
#LakersWin
A post shared by Los Angeles Lakers (@lakers) on Nov 21, 2017 at 11:33pm PST
Player: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
Player: Kyle Kuzma
Player: Julius Randle
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Media Keywords: NBA, Sports, Los Angeles Lakers, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Kyle
Kuzma, Julius Randle, Los Angeles Lakers, Sacramento Kings
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