For the second time this year, Kyle Kuzma proved to be the late-game hero for the Washington Wizards.
On Wednesday night in Detroit, Kuzma drained a three-pointer from the corner with 0.6 seconds left on the clock in overtime to lift the Wizards over the Pistons, 119-116. The shoot capped off a fantastic performance for the 26-year-old forward, who ended the game with a team-high 26 points on 8-of-18 shooting.
Kuzma’s late game heroics improved the Wizards to 15-11 on the year and also earned him the respect of his former teammate, LeBron James.
James, who played alongside Kuzma on the Los Angeles Lakers from 2018-21, saw the Washington forward drain the game-winner on Wednesday and took to Twitter to react.
KUUUUUUUZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!!
— LeBron James (@KingJames) December 9, 2021
KYLE KUZMA HITS THE GAME-WINNER IN OT 🎯 pic.twitter.com/CHBHgtd43d
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 9, 2021
It’s not the first time this season that Kuzma has made a clutch three in crunch time and not the first time that James has noticed. Earlier this year against The King’s former franchise, the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Wizards forward hit a late shot from the corner to put Washington in the lead with 11.7 seconds to play.
Wednesday’s game-winner added to a strong campaign for Kuzma. In his first year in Washington, the 26-year-old is averaging 12.9 points, a career-high 8.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. His shooting numbers have dropped in recent weeks, but he’s still shooting a solid 35.2 percent from beyond the arc on 5.7 attempts per game.
The Wizards have cooled off since their fiery start, but still find themselves in the thick of things in the Eastern Conference. So long as Kuzma and the rest of the rotation can provide meaningful contributions to back up Bradley Beal, Washington should be vying for a playoff spot next spring.
The Wizards will have the next few days off before they welcome the Utah Jazz into the nation’s capital on Dec. 11.
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