Brook Lopez explodes for 34 points and 10 rebounds in the Lakers' 112-124 win over the Brooklyn Nets. Kyle Kuzma made his first career start and notched a double-double of 21 points and 13 rebounds. Brandon Ingram also added a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds to round out the starters. Jordan Clarkson added 19 points from the bench and Julius Randle and Tyler Ennis each added 10 more points for the bench.
Final Score: vs. Brooklyn 112-124 [W]
Full article: http://www.nba.com/games/20171103/BKNLAL#/recap
Next Game: vs. Memphis (11/05)
Highlights: *Courtesy of NBA Conference*
The intrigue of this matchup circles back to the offseason trade the Lakers made with the Brooklyn Nets. They had to sacrifice D'Angelo Russell to get rid of Timofey Mozgov's ridiculous contract. In exchange, the Lakers get former All-Star, Brook Lopez on a 1-year rental and the 27th pick for this year's draft from the Nets. And in turn, the Lakers used that 27th pick to select Kyle Kuzma. Even though, these two teams will meet again at the Barclays Center, the first meeting usually sets the tone on which team had the better end of the trade. And based on this game, it's officially safe to say that the Lakers won the trade by more than a mile. Lopez and Kuzma showed out in this game big time. But without question, Brook Lopez wanted this game more. Lopez's block at the start of the game set the tone that he's going to look out for blood against his former team. He looked like he was Klay Thompson last night, running behind the three point line and shooting his threes. Lopez has been sharp the last two games and he's becoming what us Laker fans expected him to be: a stretch big man that'll drop 20 a game. Meanwhile, Kyle Kuzma drops a double-double in his first start. We all knew Kuzma was going to be a special gem and it doesn't matter whether he's on the bench or starting, he was going to produce and last night was another day in the office for him. This game also showed that Kuzma and Ingram can play together on the same floor. B.I. also had a good game and he's made a lot jump shots in this game, an encouraging sign that his outside shot is turning the corner. A secondary headline in this matchup circled around Lonzo Ball vs. D'Angelo Russell. This was a heated topic among Laker forums. D'Lo may have had his way in scoring, but Ball did all the little things right in this game, especially not turning the ball over. I'm not choosing sides here saying Zo is better than D'Lo or D'Lo's better than Zo. But, here's the thing, with Zo's presence, the ball movement is infectious with this team compared to last year when D'Lo was running the floor. That's my observation even though it's still early in the season. And once again, the infectious attitude of unselfishness showed to cancel out defensive lapses the Lakers had against the Nets last night. It's going to get more interesting when these two play again in Brooklyn, but Round 1 goes to Magic Johnson, Rob Pelinka, and the rest of the brain trust of the Lakers' Front Office for making the trade.
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