After an ugly loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday night, the Los Angeles Lakers were able to bounce back on Sunday against Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans. New Orleans made a game of it with Zion scoring a career-high 35 points, but it wasn't enough to top another triple-double performance from LeBron James.
Although he's not known for his defense, nor will he ever be pending a drastic change in playing style, Kyle Kuzma got the start on Sunday after Anthony Davis was ruled out with a sore knee and was tasked with guarding Zion. The Lakers forward knew that was a tall task indeed and went with an approach championed by Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird, via Spectrum SportsNet.
“Larry Bird once said, ‘My best defense is my offense,'” Kuzma on guarding Zion. “He had to guard me, too. That was kind of my mentality. Going out there and really attack. Make him try to move his feet. Obviously, he's a tough challenge. He's a big boy, but had to do the same thing on the other end, too.”
Although Kuzma wasn't able to match Williamson's game-high 35 points, the Lakers forward did end the night with 20 points. Kuzma didn't have the best shooting performance going 8-for-18 from the floor and 2-for-8 from beyond the arch, but he had a decent game considering the mountain he had to climb in defending Zion the majority of the game.
LeBron, however, had one of his best games of the season while picking up the slack for Davis. The superstar forward finished with 34 points, 13 assists, 12 rebounds, and two steals. The three-time NBA champion helped lead the Lakers to 122-114 victory spoiling a career night from Williamson.
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