Kyle Kuzma is making his All-Star case to any coaches watching. Particularly Billy Donovan.
With the score tied 97-97 and :22.5 left in the game, Kuzma got the ball out top, took some time off the clock, waited for Taj Gibson to screen Alex Caruso, drove to his right along the three-point arc, then put up a jumper while fading to his right, and it was nothing but net.
KYLE KUZMA FOR 3 😱
— NBA (@NBA) January 12, 2023
WIZARDS LEAD BY 3 WITH :05 TO GO
📲 https://t.co/1pomQZMAZK pic.twitter.com/BhXUDpAwzO
This man is just SO CLUTCH!!!! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/BUJwHI3zSo
— NBC Sports Wizards (@NBCSWizards) January 12, 2023
That proved to be the game-winner. The Bulls did have 5.7 seconds left, but Zach LaVine didn’t find room for a 3 so he drove in for a midrange two, much to the dismay of an open Nikola Vucevic.
Vuc's reaction to the final Bulls possession 😬 pic.twitter.com/d0PyqzwzG0
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 12, 2023
Here is how LaVine explained that shot, via K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. The Wizards had a foul to give and LaVine thought he tricked them into giving it during his shooting motion.
“We were just trying to get a 3 off. And then when I went in to pull-up, I think Delon Wright fouled me. My instinct was to go up and try to get a 3-point play,” LaVine said. “I was going for a pull-up when he fouled me. I shot it. They didn’t call it. And that’s how it is.”
It was a gritty, needed win for a Wizards team that had been stumbling of late and went into this game without Bradley Beal and Kristaps Porzingis. Kuzma finished with 21, Monte Morris added 17.
The win brings the Wizards within a game of the Bulls for the final play-in spot in the East. LaVine led all scorers with 38.