Lakers' Thomas Bryant on LeBron James' role in game-winner

Lakers big man Thomas Bryant knew that he just had to stay ready as LeBron James held the ball at the end of the Wizards game.

Thomas Bryant proved to be the hero of the day for the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday as they escaped with a 119-117 victory over the Washington Wizards. The 25-year-old ended up scoring what proved to be a game-winning dunk off of a LeBron James assist. It wasn't a pretty play, but that last-second flush proved to be the difference for the Lakers.

After the win, Bryant opened up about his mindset during the final moments of Sunday's win. The 6-foot-10 center knew that he just had to be ready as LeBron held the ball in his hands for one final play:

“I knew if LeBron had an open lane I just had to make myself available, luckily it went my way right there and got the easy dunk to put us up two,” Bryant said, via Alex Kirschenbaum of the SunHerald.

Tie game. Seven seconds left. Thomas Bryant wins it off the wild play 🤯 pic.twitter.com/RLCQdb0uMt

— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) December 19, 2022

Bryant had one of his best performances of the season on Sunday, putting up a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double in 33 minutes of action. This was Bryant's first double-double of the campaign in what was his third start for the Lakers. Anthony Davis was out of action in this one and coach Darvin Ham called on Bryant to get the spot start.

It was another strong performance from Thomas Bryant, who was coming off a season-high 21-point performance against the Denver Nuggets. For his part, Bryant is just happy to take advantage of the opportunity that he's being given right now:

“I think [my play from half-to-half] progressed pretty well,” Bryant said. “For me I know I missed some easy ones, but I just have to keep playing, it's a game of ups and downs. First half was down, second half was up, luckily in my favor, so it helped us get the win. So I'm happy for it.

“For me I don't take it as putting pressure on myself as a big opportunity, I put the pressure on myself because I know I can make those shots, and I can make those consistently. I can't miss those. It's the way of the game, sometimes I miss them sometimes I get them, but I'm proud of how I responded in the second half in just turning everything around. Defensively I feel like I was out there causing some problems, using my hands.”

After missing the first part of the season due to injury, Thomas Bryant has now played 15 games for the Lakers thus far. During that stretch, he's averaged 9.9 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. With AD out of the picture for the foreseeable picture, LA might need to rely more heavily on Bryant over the next few weeks.