Despite the fact that Kyle Kuzma returned to action two weeks ago, he had not been able to find his rhythm until Tuesday night when he exploded for 23 points in 25 minutes against the Phoenix Suns.
The Los Angeles Lakers won the game 123-115 thanks to Kuzma, whom Lakers star LeBron James encouraged through his Instagram story.
When asked about the possibility that James included him into the inner circle with Anthony Davis after a big game, Kuzma said that winning was the only thing that mattered.
Asked Kuzma about the moment shown in LeBron’s Instagram story and if it said something that they brought him into their circle… “Nah, I don’t really care about that stuff. I just wanna win. It looks cool for pictures but at the end of the day it’s really about trying to win.” pic.twitter.com/UFTZ0oheSS
— Bill Oram (@billoram) November 13, 2019
The 24-year-old forward missed the Lakers’ first four games due to a stress reaction in his foot. Though he had his moments during his previous five games, Kuzma was mostly a shadow of the player who had averaged 18.7 points per game in his sophomore season.
Prior to his offensive outpouring in Phoenix, Kuzma was just averaging 10.2 points a game on 39.6 percent field goal shooting and 20.0 percent from 3-point range.
Against the Suns, Kuzma looked as spry as ever, knocking down shots from all over the floor en route to shooting 9-of-16 from the field, including 3-of-6 from beyond the arc. He also delivered in the clutch, draining crucial baskets down the stretch to help the Lakers pull away for their eighth win of the season.
Going forward, Kuzma could use this game as a springboard to even better performances.
