Career best

Kuzma’s 38 is the best game of his career

Kyle Kuzma scored 38 points on 12 for 17 shooting in 40 minutes, and the Lakers beat the Rockets 122-⁠116.

His Performance Score of +18.0 is the best of his 28 games, better than 99.8% of all player games since 2015-⁠16. His 38 points are also the most points he has scored in a game, 8 more than his 30 against Phoenix on Nov. 17.

He scored 16 of his 38 in the first quarter. He went 4 for 5 at the rim and 7 for 10 from 3. His 31 points from the field came on 17 shots, 12.3 more than the league scores from the same zones. Lonzo Ball set up 3 of his 12 baskets.

His old best, +9.7, was 16 points on 6 for 8 shooting in 20 minutes, a 113-⁠93 win over Detroit on Oct. 31.

The game

Lakers 122, Rockets 116Away, Dec. 20, 2017Box score and story ›

Kyle Kuzma

7-10 FT39:51 min

Points1st 162nd 83rd 94th 5

His shots in the order he took them: made in blue, traced to the rim, missed in orange.

Kuzma’s player page

Season high in points (38; his best before, 30). Season high in 3-pointers (7; his best before, 4). Before this game he averaged 16.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 27 regular-season games.

Shot making: 31 points from the field on 17 shots12.3 more than the league scores from the same zones
Biggest shot: Made a layup4th quarter, 4:27 leftchance to win 80% to 91%
Guarded by: Tucker: 32 poss, 13 ptsAriza: 15 poss, 0 ptsHarden: 13 poss, 5 pts
He guarded: Tucker: 37 poss, 0 ptsAnderson: 20 poss, 2 ptsAriza: 9 poss, 0 pts
On the move: 2.94 miles4.45 mph on average75 touches
Hustle: 1 deflection5 shots contested1 charge drawn1 loose ball4 box-outs1 screen assist
Rating: Performance Score +18.088.8% true shooting21.4% usage

His best games

Rank	Game	Result	MIN	PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	FG	3PT	FT	TO	+/−	PS
1	Dec. 20, 2017at HOU	W 122-116	40	38	7	4	0	1	12-17	7-10	7-10	0	+9	+18.0
2	Oct. 31, 2017vs DET	W 113-93	20	16	6	3	0	0	6-8	4-4	0-0	0	+8	+9.7
3	Dec. 3, 2017vs HOU	L 95-118	28	22	12	0	1	1	8-16	3-7	3-5	2	−25	+5.8
4	Nov. 3, 2017vs BKN	W 124-112	39	21	13	1	1	0	8-11	1-3	4-4	1	+13	+5.7
5	Dec. 18, 2017vs GSW	L 114-116	40	25	6	3	0	1	10-16	4-6	1-1	2	−17	+5.4

By Performance Score, his whole career, regular season and playoffs.

His old best

Lakers 113, Pistons 93Home, Oct. 31, 2017Box score and story ›

Kyle Kuzma

19:59 min

Points1st 02nd 103rd 04th 6

His shots in the order he took them: made in blue, traced to the rim, missed in orange.

Kuzma’s player page

Before this game he averaged 13.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 6 regular-season games.

Shot making: 16 points from the field on 8 shots7.1 more than the league scores from the same zones
Biggest shot: Made a 3-pointer2nd quarter, 7:52 leftchance to win 73% to 78%
Guarded by: Tolliver: 12 poss, 6 ptsEllenson: 11 poss, 5 ptsHarris: 5 poss, 3 pts
He guarded: Tolliver: 11 poss, 3 ptsEllenson: 9 poss, 0 ptsSmith: 7 poss, 2 pts
On the move: 1.54 miles4.65 mph on average34 touches
Hustle: 7 shots contested1 loose ball4 box-outs
Rating: Performance Score +9.7100.0% true shooting17.4% usage