On Wednesday night, the Los Angeles Lakers were able to get their best win of the season against the Houston Rockets. In the win, Kyle Kuzma had a career-night.
In their first game without Brook Lopez, the Los Angeles Lakers were able to get a great win against the Houston Rockets. While the Rockets were a bit short-handed, this was still a great win for the Lakers.
Since Lopez was out, we knew that the Lakers would have to use a new starting lineup. To the surprise of many, Luke Walton actually made a big splash. Against the Rockets, it was Andrew Bogut filling in for Lopez, but the real shocker came when Kyle Kuzma was re-inserted in the starting five.
Earlier in the season, Kuzma was in the starting lineup alongside Lopez when Larry Nance Jr. was out with a fractured hand. As a starter, Kuzma performed very well, and many were shocked that he lost his spot in the starting five when Nance came back.
Against the Rockets, Kuzma got the Lakers off to a quick lead, as he was on fire to start the game. Overall, Kuzma finished with a career-high of 38 points. It was incredible watching how Kuzma was able to get his 38 points with such ease, as he went 12-for-17 from the floor and 7-for-10 from 3-point range.
Kuzma made quite the impression on a national stage, as he battled it out with James Harden. While Harden did score 51, it was the Lakers that got the win.
Moving forward, it will be impossible for Walton to take Kuzma out of the starting lineup now. The Lakers certainly need his scoring in the starting five, as Lopez was featured a good amount offensively at the start of games.
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Having Kuzma starting gave the Lakers a huge boost early on. They were able to get a lead early, and while the Rockets did come back from the big deficit, having Kuzma on fire early on certainly helped the Lakers get this win.