Kyle Kuzma had a rough shooting night in his return from injury on Monday night. He more than made up for it against the Detroit Pistons, the team he grew up watching.
Kuzma scored a career-high 41 points on 16-for-24 shooting and was able to sit out the entire fourth quarter as the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Pistons, 113-100. Kuzma went 5-of-10 from three-point range and really took over in the third quarter with 22 coming in that stanza.
Defense was the name of the game for the Lakers on this night as they held the Pistons under 25 points in three of four quarters and just 44.8 percent shooting on the night.
Both Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram had strong all-around showings again, continuing to answer the criticisms they received earlier in the week. B
all scored just five points, but added 11 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 block while mixing in a couple of highlight-reel plays. Ingram started the game with a big dunk over Andre Drummond, and finished with 10 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists.
The Lakers bench also made major contributions as Michael Beasley also celebrated his 30th birthday with his best game of the season so far. Beasley scored 19 points and dished out a season-high four assists while also adding 2 blocks in 19 minutes.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope chipped in with 15 points, 6 assists and 4 assists. With Lakers head coach Luke Walton looking to avoid using Tyson Chandler so the veteran could get a night of rest, Ivica Zubac nearly notched a double-double with 11 points and 9 rebounds.
The victory was one of L.A.’s best all-around performances this season. The Lakers shot 56.1 percent from the field as a team and, more importantly, hit 13-of-18 free throws. They also out-rebounded the Pistons, 47-34.
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