In an exciting rookie point guard matchup, Lonzo Ball's Los Angeles Lakers hosted De'Aaron Fox's Sacramento Kings at Staples Center. After the Lakers won the contest 99-86, Ball commented on facing his draft class peer during post media availability. Here is the quote, courtesy of Sports Out West's Bob Garcia:
Lonzo Ball on playing De'Aaron Fox: 'It's good seeing him get his confidence. I wish him well moving forward."#Lakers #lakeshow
— Bob Garcia IV (@bgarciaivsports) January 10, 2018
The quote can be interpreted in several ways, but let us say Ball had fun facing his old rival.
Lonzo, arguably, had the best game of the two. Ball was short of a triple-double, tallying five points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists, five steals, and a block in 36 minutes. He shot only 2-for-10 from the field and had one turnover. Fox scored 15 points, one rebound, three assists, four steals, and a block, shooting 6-for-16 from the field with three turnovers. While Fox scored more points and shot a better percentage, Ball's all-around game – plus the Lakers win – gets him the nod as the matchup winner.
The rivalry between these two point guards dates back to before they were drafted. Ball's UCLA and Fox's Kentucky had a couple of intense battles during their short college careers. The most notable was Kentucky's victory over UCLA in which Fox led the Wildcats to the Elite Eight with 39 points, three rebounds, four assists, and only one turnover. He could not be stopped and had some extra motivation; Lakers president of basketball operations and NBA legend Magic Johnson was in attendance to see the young point guards battle, and the Wildcats had already lost a close home game to the Bruins in early December 2016.
Now, both are pros on rebuilding teams. They cherish the moment and watching last night's game you could tell they both love going at each other with everything they have.
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