Kyle Kuzma doesn’t care who his competition is these days.
The Lakers forward snapped the team’s recent skid on Monday night with a game-winning 3-pointer against the Nuggets, sinking the final dagger with 0.4 seconds left. The presence of 7-foot-2 Bol Bol didn’t faze him. It doesn’t seem that much does.
“I think Jesus could be in front of me and I’d probably still shoot,” said Kuzma, who scored 25 points on 11-of-16 shooting. “I mean, it doesn’t really matter to me. I got an open look. It’s a play we kind of ran in practice a few times prior to the restart, and Coach had faith in me and called my number and it paid off.”
Kuzma, who also had six rebounds, three assists and two steals, broke free on the final play set up for him, with LeBron James and Anthony Davis serving as decoys. The team’s third-leading scorer, Kuzma, 25, has averaged 16 points since arriving to the NBA bubble in Orlando, while shooting over 44 percent on 3-pointers.
As one of the keys to the Lakers’ title hopes, Kuzma has the confidence to support the team’s two superstars. However, former Lakers great Shaquille O’Neal cautioned that Kuzma may be exuding too much of it right now.
“I’ve seen Jesus play before and hopefully Jesus doesn’t shut his ass down next game,” O’Neal said on TNT.
