LaVine delivers first signature Kings game in rout of Hornets originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SACRAMENTO – As teammates for nearly three seasons with the Chicago Bulls, DeMar DeRozan was witness to some of Zach LaVine’s best games in the NBA. He just hadn’t seen LaVine really get down in a Kings uniform.
Until now.
In his eighth game since being acquired as part of a multi-team trade, LaVine broke loose for a season-high 42 points as Sacramento handed out a 130-88 beatdown to the Charlotte Hornets on Monday night at Golden 1 Center.
“I was just waiting. It took long enough,” DeRozan joked as he sat next to LaVine during their postgame press conference. “I kept telling him the whole game, ‘Just shoot it.’ That’s the outcome. Nothing new for me.”
LaVine absolutely shot it, to the tune of 19 attempts – his second-most since the trade. The two-time NBA All-Star connected on 16 of them, including eight from distance, on a night when the entire Kings’ offense operated in smooth, methodical fashion.
“For me everything is just timing, rhythm and comfortability,” LaVine said. “Deebo’s been telling me to be yourself for the longest. Obviously I’m coming in trying to figure out where I’m at, what to do. But the more I get familiar, I’m starting to get it.”
Sacramento had lost its previous two games and dropped into the Western Conference’s final NBA play-in tournament position before LaVine’s breakout night.
LaVine was all over the Hornets in every way.
Despite a woeful 14-42 record, Charlotte has been playing its best defense over the past two months and was ninth in the NBA for defensive efficiency since Christmas until LaVine broke their spirit.
Kings interim coach Doug Christie didn’t seem too surprised. He had noticed that LaVine had been focused on trying to blend in with the new system rather than just letting his own flow.
“I’ve known Zach and the way that he plays and what he’s capable of,” Christie said. “To his credit, I thought that he’s been trying to fit in. We need him to be himself so that we can figure out how to best support him.
“That doesn’t mean he’s going to come out and get 42 every night. But stay aggressive. Once one [shot] went in then another, I was like, ‘He’s probably going to heat check here.’ It was really good to see.”
LaVine has scored in double figures in all eight games that he has played with Sacramento and seems to have found his rhythm.
In another example of that comfortability, LaVine was greeted with rousing cheers from the G1C crowd with every shot he made.
“It felt good, especially being able to do it here for the first time with the home crowd,” LaVine said. “Played here a bunch of times and [tonight] felt the energy. We needed a win like this, not just me but as a whole team. It was good to get a win like this.”
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