Los Angeles Lakers: Quinn Cook explodes for season-high 22 in loss to Magic
In a home loss against the Orlando Magic, Quinn Cook, following some recent DNPs and spare playing time, tried to help the Los Angeles Lakers save the game with his best performance of the season.
Last night, the Los Angeles Lakers lost to a team below .500 for the first time this season.
The Orlando Magic took the lead in the first quarter and kept it through the fourth. The Lakers put themselves ahead in the final quarter but struggled to hold on and lost by 1.
In such a disappointing loss, Quinn Cook was a bright spot for LA. He and Troy Daniels were the unexpected heroes of the game as players lately out of the rotation, who got a boost of confidence in the recent absence of LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Cook contributed to make a run in the third quarter and compete in the fourth in a continuous change of lead until the final buzzer. He impacted the match with his outside shots, part of the encouraging Lakers’ shooting rebirth of late.
The former Warrior caught fire hitting 4-for-7 from the distance and also swishing it from the mid-range for a team-high 22 points, helping his team cut the distance with the Magic. Furthermore, he made the assist for the shot that gave the Lakers the first lead in the fourth quarter on a LeBron’s 3-pointer.
Quinn had recently fallen out of rotations with Rajon Rondo and Alex Caruso eating the backup point guard minutes, but injuries forced him back on the floor and he made the most of it, proving he can regularly contribute and still deserves to play for a contender. When signed in July he was part of the plan to add players to spread the floor with the open looks generated by James and Davis, and he is delivering along with his teammates on a very high level as of late.
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Cook was the reason why the Lakers remained so close in the game and almost won it. There will be more occasions where his shooting prowess will help the team compete and hopefully get the win. If every player keeps shooting at this level through the regular season and in the playoffs, then the purple and gold really are an unstoppable team and a threat to the championship.