Kyle Kuzma’s Late Layup Kept The Lakers In The 6-Seed Hunt For Another Night

After the Trail Blazers beat the Jazz and the Mavericks beat the Grizzlies, the Lakers needed a win over the Rockets to avoid being locked into the play-in with two games to go in the season. Under normal circumstances, that wouldn’t have been an issue against a depleted, 8-man Houston side, but the Lakers came in shorthanded as well, with LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Dennis Schröder, Alex Caruso, and Marc Gasol all out for banner night at Staples Center.

What ensued was a wild game that produced powerful Summer League vibes, with Kelly Olynyk having a big night with 24 points, eight assists, and six rebounds for Houston, along with 24 points from Armani Brooks and a 20-11 night from Kenyon Martin Jr. Their performance pushed the Lakers down to the final possession, as L.A. needed some late game heroics from Kyle Kuzma to avoid a dismal loss that would’ve locked them into the 7-seed.

Kuzma, who had 19 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists off the bench, got the ball up top after Houston bottled up Talen Horton-Tucker (who led L.A. with 23 points and 10 assists), and proceeded to make a smooth take to the basket for a go-ahead bucket with 6.9 seconds to play.

The Rockets went to Olynyk on their final possession, but the veteran big man had the ball poked away by Wes Matthews in the high post and Houston never got a shot up at a win, with Horton-Tucker splitting his late free throws to give the Lakers a 124-122 win.

With the win, the Lakers kept their hopes of avoiding the play-in alive and managed to do so without rushing back LeBron or having to play AD on a back-to-back. They will now have two days off before playing the Pacers on Saturday night, and will know if they have a shot at catching Portland and/or Dallas by the time that game tips off. The Blazers play the Suns on Thursday night, with Portland able to secure a playoff spot with a win as Phoenix is still looking to lock down the 2-seed and possibly chase down Utah for the 1-seed out West. On Friday, the Mavs host the Raptors, where a win will likewise set them in the playoffs and should both Portland and Dallas win, the Lakers will know they are in the play-in by the time the Pacers game rolls around.

They still are expected to have LeBron back for that game to get him a tune-up prior to the play-in or playoffs, but how much they play he and AD on Saturday could be determined by whether they still have a 6-seed to play for.