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Los Angeles Lakers: 4 Lessons in a comeback win over Indiana Pacers

By Ronald Agers

Mar 12, 2021; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) loses the ball while going up for a shot after a foul by Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner (33) during the first half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 12, 2021; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) loses the ball while going up for a shot after a foul by Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner (33) during the first half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports /
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Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports /

Oh, you thought LeBron James was the star for the Los Angeles Lakers, didn’t you? 

For the first 36 minutes of this game, LeBron James was the best player on the floor for the Los Angeles Lakers. He wasn’t the star (More on that later!), but he was the only player on the Lakers roster with double-figure scoring until the last quarter.

For the first three quarters, Kuz was 3-10 for only 9 points, but he was still crashing the boards as usual, collecting 9 rebounds. After that, Kuz stole the show showing his appreciation for any Lakers fan that stood behind him last year when he struggled with injuries and role transitions. After Kyle went to the free-throw line in the 4th quarter and got his rhythm, just look at the timeline of how he dominated when the Lakers needed a spark.

  • Kyle Kuzma scored 12 of his 15 4th quarter points during the 8:43 and 5:58 mark of the period with…
  • Two free throws.
  • A put-back bucket on a LeBron James missed layup.
  • He knocked down a 13-foot fadeaway jumper.
  • Knocked down two straight 3 point shots.
  • This powered a Lakers 16-4 run that erased a 86-78 deficit to surge the Lake Show to a 94-90 lead. 

In short, he took the game over. He finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds (3 offensive!).

This game marked the fifth time this season Kuzma went over the 20 point plateau. After scoring a season-high 26 points against Sacramento in the final game before the All-Star break (Remember he was just short on a potential game-winner!), let’s just say Kyle Kuzma is the hottest Lakers scorer these days. Then there’s the rebounding.

  • He leads the Lakers in rebounds since February.
  • He has double-digit rebounds in five of his last six games.

With Kyle Kuzma’s exploits, it’s easy to see that the Lakers bench easily outperformed the Pacers’ bench with ease (54-25). But Kuzma had a partner in crime on the bench that not only played well but followed the same formula of showing up fashionably late with his contributions. Read on to see who that player was.

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