On Monday night the Los Angeles Lakers once again found out that ‘Lillard Time’ is a very real thing. Damian Lillard finished with 39 points and single-handedly lifted the Portland Trail Blazers in the fourth quarter to defeat the Lakers.
On the other side for the Lakers, rookie point guard Lonzo Ball had one of his worst games with just 10 points, two rebounds and two assists. Though there were a couple of clutch plays late, for the most part Lonzo failed to make the overall impact that the Lakers needed.
He even put the blame on himself for the loss.
Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic also played a big role with 16 points and 16 rebounds and after the game he had a couple of things to say, including a light-hearted shot at the face of Big Baller Brand, via Jason Quick of The Oregonian:
Jusuf Nurkic brought his A-quote game tonight. On Lillard: “Quiet night,” he deadpanned. Later: “We in LA, but it was raining like it was Portland.”
— Jason Quick (@jwquick) March 6, 2018
Forgot another one … more on Lillard: “THAT was Big Baller,” Nurkic said. https://t.co/SeKwOXnYul
— Jason Quick (@jwquick) March 6, 2018
This is nothing new as Lonzo has been dealing with these kinds of things for the majority of this season.
While many players have praised Ball for his performance and the way he plays, there have also been some who have taken shots and that comes with being the face of a franchise like the Lakers.
For the most part, Ball has been able to silence most of his detractors, but everyone has bad games and Monday was a rough one. Surely there was nothing personal meant by Nurkic’s comments as he and Ball have had no issues in the past.
The next step for Lonzo is to turn around and be ready the next time the Lakers take the floor, on Wednesday night against the Orlando Magic.
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