Hits and Flops: Golden State Warriors vs Los Angeles Lakers
The Golden State Warriors had a blowout win over the Los Angeles Lakers at the Staples Center with a scoreline of 130-111.
Klay Thompson had a crazy third quarter and made an NBA record by making 10 consecutive three-pointers to open the match. The Lakers were again without their injured superstar LeBron James who has now missed 14 straight games. James suffered the injury in the first match up between these two teams. The Lakers are now 5-9 in the absence of James and desperately need their superstar back to make a run for the playoff spots.
With the win, the Warriors consolidated the top place in the Western Conference standings with a 33-14 record. Meanwhile, the short-handed Lakers are struggling at the 9th position with a 25-23 record.
The Warriors continue their road trip when they visit the Wizards in their next match. The Lakers will face the Minnesota Timberwolves in their next game with LeBron James' status still unknown.
Let's have a look at the best and the worst players from this match.
Flop - Kyle Kuzma
Kyle Kuzma has been the best scoring option for the Lakers in the absence of James. He dropped two consecutive 32 points games against the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Houston Rockets but struggled to be effective in this match.
Kuzma ended the match with 16 points and only 2 rebounds. He shot 7-18 from the field and 0-5 from the 3PT line. He struggled throughout the match on both ends of the floor. After a great rookie season from beyond the arc, Kuzma has been having a very inconsistent year from the 3PT line.
Kuzma has been averaging 19.3 points per game for the season on 47% shooting from the floor. He needs to keep performing at a high level on both ends with some really tough matches coming up for the Lakers.