Coming out of the first Los Angeles Lakers preseason game, much of the talk centered on the impressive showing by second-year guard Talen Horton-Tucker. He did nothing to quell the hype in a follow up performance as he dominated the L.A. Clippers.
Horton-Tucker finished with 33 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and four steals as the Lakers ran away with a 131-106 victory. Horton-Tucker has drawn a ton of praise from coaches and teammates alike and now looks as if he will become a fan favorite this season.
Horton-Tucker did it all on Sunday, showing off his patience and poise in navigating the defense, ability to finish at the rim, disrupt defensively, and even knocked down four of his five 3-point attempts.
While he was undoubtedly the star of the show, the Lakers offense as a whole shined against a Clippers team that once more had its regulars on the floor.
The Lakers were unbelievable from deep, knocking down 18-of-25 from 3-point range and had 28 assists on the night, showing off their ball movement on offense. That was helped in a big way by the debut of Marc Gasol, who showed what he will bring to the team notching five assists to go along with six points.
His ability to initiate offense will bring an entirely new dimension to the Lakers.
Kyle Kuzma also had another solid game with 25 points, six rebounds and four assists on 8-of-14 shooting. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 16 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals in his first preseason outing. Markieff Morris chipped in with 11 points in his first action as well.
Montrezl Harrell had another double-double, this time off the bench, with 19 points and 11 rebounds to go along with two blocks. Quinn Cook knocked down 4-of-5 from 3-point range on his way to 14 points and seven assists.
For the second game in a row the Clippers pulled most of their starters in the second half, but the Lakers still held a 70-63 at the half despite again playing without LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Alex Caruso, Dennis Schroder and Wesley Matthews also sat out. As did two-way players Kostas Antetokounmpo and Devontae Cacok, leaving head coach Frank Vogel with just eight players.
Next up for the Lakers
The Lakers now head to Phoenix for their last two preseason games against Devin Booker, Chris Paul and the new-look Suns, the first of which takes place on Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. PT. Davis and James are expected to play in both contests.
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