Jared Dudley Sends Endearing Message to LeBron James After His Masterful Performance

Los Angeles Lakers forward Jared Dudley praised LeBron James after their 122-114 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday.

James had a dominant performance with a 34-point, 12-rebound, 13-assist night. It was his 13th triple-double of the season, tying him with the Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic for the most triple-doubles in the NBA this year.

Dudley also complimented the Lakers superstar for his defense in crunch time. James had been targeted by many for his lackadaisical defense last season, but he has rarely been called out this year with his team having one of the NBA’s stingiest defenses.

The win gives the Lakers a 4-0 record against the Pelicans, who are scrambling to make the playoffs in Zion Williamson’s rookie year. He recorded a career-high 35 points in the 15th game of his young career.

A reserve player on the Lakers, Dudley watched the game from the bench as he was not inserted into the game by Lakers head coach Frank Vogel.

Nevertheless, the veteran forward had a courtside seat to watch James, a leading candidate for the 2019-20 MVP award, put on a basketball clinic at the Smoothie King Center.

Dudley also credited teammate Kyle Kuzma for his strong play. Kuzma made up for the absence of All-Star forward Anthony Davis by scoring 20 points and grabbing four rebounds.

Davis missed the game due to a sore right knee. He played the night before when the Lakers lost to the Memphis Grizzlies 105-88.