Kyle Kuzma came up in the clutch for the shorthanded Washington Wizards on Wednesday night as he led his team to a 100-97 victory over the Chicago Bulls. The game went down the wire with neither team willing to let up. In the end, however, it was Kuzma who had the last laugh.
With the game tied and less than 10 seconds remaining in the final period, Kuzma took it upon himself to emerge as the hero of the day:
KYLE KUZMA DRAINS THE CLUTCH FADEAWAY 😱
Wizards lead by 3 with :05 left in the 4th quarter.pic.twitter.com/4792ixAFJJ
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) January 12, 2023
Kuzma hit an ice-cold fade-away trey to give the Wizards a three-point lead with 5.7 seconds remaining on the game clock. The Bulls were not able to execute on the succeeding play, thereby allowing Washington to escape with a razor-thin win over their opponents.
As expected, Kyle Kuzma's heroics had NBA Twitter buzzing:
Kuzma playing super confident 🔥 he might be All Star bound this year
— Drazen Petrović (@Top5_Dom) January 12, 2023
People say Kuzma got better. He didn’t. He was really solid before LeBron and AD. LA didn’t know how to best use him and stunted his development.
— Slapshot (@slapshot1992) January 12, 2023
Kuzma and Deangleo Russell would be a top 10 duo in the NBA…
— Todd (@toddblessyou) January 12, 2023
We really let Kuzma cook us wtf
— 10/17 (@_alexrobayo) January 12, 2023
There was much more where that came from as NBA fans couldn't get enough of Kyle Kuzma's clutch heroics. He finished the game with a team-high 21 points, four rebounds, and three assists. That happened to be his only 3-pointer of the game, but boy did it come at the perfect time for the Bradley Beal and Kristap Porzingis-less Wizards.
The Bulls were led by Zach LaVine, who exploded for a game-high 38 points. It just wasn't enough, though, as the Wizards handed Chicago their second straight loss.
The Wizards, on the other hand, have snapped a three-game losing skid. They return to action on Friday against the New York Knicks in what will be the third matchup of their current four-game home stand. Needless to say, Kyle Kuzma will want to keep his foot on the gas for that one.