LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Lakers may have lost to a sub-.500 team for the first time this season (22-1) by falling to Markelle Fultz's Orlando Magic, but the team remains on a historic pace while also seeing some players off the bench make an impression with their bumps in minutes on the floor.
On Wednesday, the team's backcourt came to play. It wasn't in the starting lineup, though, with Danny Green and Avery Bradley having less-than-stellar performances, forcing Frank Vogel to limit them to 17 minutes apiece. It was Quinn Cook and Troy Daniels who showed what they could do off the bench against the Magic as they helped the team get out of a 21-point hole.
Cook, who is averaging 12.8 minutes per contest (second-lowest of career), had an impressive performance right when the Lakers needed it most. The 26-year-old sharpshooting guard finished with a game-high 22 points and was a hot topic of discussion in the locker room after the game.
“I've known Quinn for quite a while now,” LeBron James said of his teammate. “When I was in Cleveland, Quinn was on our G League team down in Canton. So I've seen Quinn grind and grind. Get an opportunity in Golden State. Make the most of it. Continue to work, and now he's here, and he's making the most it. Just a true professional. Someone that has an ability to put up bunches of points when the opportunity presents itself. More importantly, he's just always stayed ready.
“Great teammate no matter what the circumstances is. If he's playing or not, it's been great being on the same team with him.”
Not only were the Lakers without Rajon Rondo on Wednesday against the Magic, but they also saw Alex Caruso go down with an injury during the game. Caruso suffered a blow to the head as the result of an errant elbow from Mo Bamba after a rebound. Carsuo did not return, and he may have a concussion.
With Caruso and Rondo out, Cook and Daniels were forced to fill the void and were able to do just that. In 25 minutes off the bench, Cook led all scorers with 22 points while hitting four out of his seven attempts from beyond the arc and going 9-for-14 from the floor overall.
Cook's strong play couldn't come at a better time with Rondo expected to miss more games with his finger injury and Caruso potentially out for some time now as well as the Lakers head on a five-game road trip against some top-tier competition.
In the 27 games he's played so far this season, Cook has averaged 5.7 points while shooting 45.7 percent from the floor and 37 percent from deep.
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