LOCALS IN THE NBA

Three Locals Have Career Scoring Nights In NBA

Jan 17, 2019, 10:20 AM
Kyle Kuzma #0 of the Los Angeles Lakers dribbles past Cedi Osman #16 of the Cleveland Cavaliers dur...
Kyle Kuzma #0 of the Los Angeles Lakers dribbles past Cedi Osman #16 of the Cleveland Cavaliers during the first half of a game at Staples Center on January 13, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
(Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Three locals had career nights in the same week while Kyle Kuzma and Damian Lillard set impressive milestones for their teams.

Damian Lillard has increased his scoring while still distributing for his teammates, racking up assists.

Former Lone Peak star Frank Jackson scored a career-high 19 points to help the Pelicans beat the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Delon Wright had a career scoring night for the Raptors.

Here’s how the locals did during Week 13 of the NBA season from January 9 to January 15:

Former Utes

Kyle Kuzma – Los Angeles Lakers (24-21)

The Lakers went 2-2 during the week and LeBron James continues to sit out with a groin injury. Kyle Kuzma had a career-high 41 points in 29 minutes. That is the most points by a Lakers player in less than 30 minutes.

In his return to Salt Lake City, the former Ute had just 11 points and 8 rebounds on 4-of-18 shooting from the field.

Kuzma followed up with 29 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists on 11-for-23 shooting from the field in their disappointing loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

He finished the week with a double-double, scoring 16 points and pulling down 12 rebounds in their 7-point win over the Chicago Bulls.

This season, Kuzma is averaging 18.7 points and 6 rebounds per game.

NEXT UP: The Lakers have three games during Week 14, starting on the road against Oklahoma City and Houston before hosting Golden State.


Jakob Poeltl – San Antonio Spurs (25-20)

It was a poor week for the Spurs, going 1-3. The former Utes’ minutes dipped in two of the four games. He had one point, three rebounds, one assist and one block in the Spurs’ loss to Memphis.

Poeltl had one rebound, one assist and one block in eight minutes in their win over Oklahoma City.

He finished with six points and 10 rebounds in 19 minutes in their loss at Oklahoma City just two days later.

The former Ute had two points and one block in 11 minutes in the Spurs’ loss to Charlotte.

Poeltl is averaging 5.5 points and 5.1 rebounds this season.

NEXT UP: The Spurs will play three games during Week 14, beginning at Dallas and Minnesota before hosting the LA Clippers.

Delon Wright – Toronto Raptors (33-12)

Toronto won both of their games during Week 13. Delon Wright started the week with a 12-point, 5-rebound, 2-assist and 3-steal performance in their win over the Brooklyn Nets, he shot 5-of-11 from the field.

In the Raptors’ double overtime win over the Wizards, Wright played 22 minutes while recording a career-high 17 points to go with 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 block while shooting 7-of-11 from the field.

The former Ute is averaging 6.6 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game this season.

NEXT UP: Toronto has four games during Week 14 beginning at Boston before hosting Phoenix, Memphis and Sacramento.

 

Former Wildcats

Damian Lillard – Portland Trail Blazers (26-19)

The Trail Blazers went 2-2 during Week 13. Damian Lillard led the team in scoring in two of the four games. He started the week with 16 points and 10 assists in the Blazers’ over Chicago.

Lillard had 20 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds, 3 steals and a career-high 4 blocks in their win against Charlotte.

He finished with a team-high 26 points, 4 rebounds and 7 assists in their 3-point loss to Denver. Lillard finished the week with 35 points, 5 assists and 3 rebounds in their disappointing loss to the Kings.

The former Wildcat is averaging 26.2 points, 6.1 assists and 4.4 rebounds per game this season. He passed Clyde Drexler for the most consecutive games with 10 points or more with 184 in Trail Blazers history.

NEXT UP: Portland will play four games during Week 14, starting at home against Cleveland and New Orleans before traveling to Utah and Oklahoma City.

 

Former High School Standouts

Frank Jackson – New Orleans Pelicans (21-23)

The former Lone Peak star had his best game in the NBA to start the week, he scored a career-high 17 points the game before against Memphis but followed up with another career-high 19 points in 19 minutes on 4-of-5 shooting, including 4-of-4 from downtown.

Jackson’s minutes stayed consistent moving forward with four points, two rebounds and two steals in 15 minutes in the Pelicans’ loss to the Timberwolves.

He finished the week with three points, one rebound and two assists in 15 minutes in the win over the Clippers.

Jackson is averaging 4.9 points and 1 rebound per game this season.

NEXT UP: The Pelicans will play three games during Week 14 on the road against Golden State, Portland and Memphis.

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Three Locals Have Career Scoring Nights In NBA