Heading into Friday night's matchup between the Brooklyn Nets and the Los Angeles Lakers, the primary storyline was the return of point guard D'Angelo Russell to his old home. Instead, by the end of the game, it was Brook Lopez's dazzling performance, as well as Kyle Kuzma matching an impressive feat set by teammate Lonzo Ball and star Sixers rookie Ben Simmons, that stole the show as the Lakers topped Brooklyn, 124-112.
Last night's clash was also Lopez's first game against the team he'd spent his entire nine-year career with, and he absolutely dominated. The Stanford product dropped 34 points on the Nets, making 6-of-9 three-pointers while hauling in 13 rebounds and collecting three blocks.
Leading the way for the Lakers alongside Lopez was Kuzma. He was drafted 27th overall by the Purple & Gold this spring, a pick Los Angeles acquired in the Russell-Lopez-Timothy Mozgov deal. Kuzma put up 21 points and 13 rebounds in the first start of his career, getting the nod with Larry Nance Jr. injured.
In doing so, Kuzma matched Ball and Simmons as the only rookies this season to record 20-10 games, per Lakers Nation's Serena Winters:
The only three rookies this season with 20-and-10 games are: Lonzo Ball, Ben Simmons and Kyle Kuzma.
After Kuzma's dazzling performance on Friday night, it's hard to see head coach Luke Walton taking him out of the starting lineup any time soon. Still, Walton told Winters that it's too early to decide if he'll keep Kuzma as the starting power forward while Nance recovers.
Simmons is currently leading the Rookie of the Year conversation early on, averaging a ridiculous line of 18 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 8.2 assists per game.
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