The Los Angeles Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers both had their young talent on display Wednesday night at Staples Center, with the 76ers beating the Lakers 115-109 in what was one of the best games of the NBA season to this point.
While Lakers rookie Lonzo Ball struggled in the game, rookie Kyle Kuzma and second-year forward both had career nights, while Joel Embiid did the same for Philadelphia.
Ingram set a career-high in both points and rebounds with 26 and 11, respectively, and knocked down 11 of his 18 shots with all of them coming from inside the three-point line.
After the game, Lakers head coach Luke Walton commented on what was making Ingram so successful Wednesday night. “He has got a great feel for the game, so I think that when he is hitting that mid-range jumper, he is so long, he is able to manipulate defenses,” Walton said.
“I thought he did a really good job tonight of taking what the defense gave him and actually knocking down those shots. It is like I said before the game, we are not concerned with Brandon. He puts in his work every day and he is going to have good days and bad days and tonight was a very good day for him.”
Ingram has made huge strides in his second season, as he has upped his scoring average from 9.4 to 14.7 and is shooting 45.5 percent compared to 40.2 percent last season.
The biggest difference with Ingram this season has been his aggression, as he is consistently attacking the basket and getting to the midrange spots that he can rise up and get his shot off at due to his extraordinary length.
When the Lakers drafted Ingram they knew he was a work in progress and would take time to develop, and it appears a year later the Lakers are starting to see some results of that development.
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