Zach LaVine had played in just 10 NBA games before Sunday night’s contest in Los Angeles, and had only scored in double figures twice.
Against the Lakers and their league-worst defense, however, LaVine was able to show out.
A career-high 28 points on 11-of-14 shooting was the result, and LaVine couldn’t have been happier to have this performance take place while Kobe Bryant was on the floor.
From Baxter Holmes of ESPN Los Angeles:“I was playing against my childhood idol,” LaVine said of Bryant, “and I’m really, really surprised he missed that [final] shot. That scared me.”
While LaVine spoke, his teammate Corey Brewer shouted, “He’s the biggest Kobe fan and he beat his a-- tonight.”That last part isn’t exactly true, because it’s not as if Bryant was guarding LaVine for any meaningful stretches. The shot he was referring to was a three from Bryant from straight away that rimmed off the iron as time expired.
