Former Bruin Zach LaVine Drops Season High

Former UCLA Bruins star guard Zach LaVine continues to shine in his 10th NBA season as he dropped a season-high 43 points against the Detroit Pistons on Monday night. He and the Sacramento Kings came away with a 127-117 comeback win on the road.

Averaging 23.3 points on 51.3% shooting, LaVine blew past his average, shooting 16-28 from the field with eight 3-pointers. He becomes the first Kings player in history to 35-plus points with five or more made 3-pointers after dropping 37 with seven triples the night before against Cleveland.

LaVine had 17 of his 43 points in the fourth quarter to push past a strong playoff team in Detroit. He spoke postgame on his elite production when the final 12 minutes are put on the clock while giving praise to a few of his veteran teammates.

"I just think it's do or die time," LaVine said on NBA TV. "It's getting towards the end of the season, we put ourselves in a position where we got to make sure we are doing the right things on these last couple of games. Me, Demar [Derozon], Domantas [Sabonis], guys that have been in the league for a little bit, we're trying to step up and make sure we do the right thing at the end of the game."

LaVine and Derozan combined for 80 of the team's 127 points, leading the Kings to their 39th win of the season. They are currently the No. 9 seed in the Western Conference and will likely be featured in a play-in game, currently slated to face the No. 10 seed Dallas Mavericks.

LaVine seems to have his best games when playing the Pistons as he hit a career-high 51 points against Detroit in October of 2023. He has a combined 68 points scored against the Pistons, netting 25 back in November when LaVine was a member of the Chicago Bulls prior to his trade.

After being drafted 13th overall to Minnesota in the 2014 NBA Draft, LaVine has continued his scoring consistency for an entire decade. He is an average 20.8-point scorer on 47% shooting from the field and 39% from deep. His 4.0 assists per game cannot go unnoticed as well.

Follow along on X (Twitter) @UCLAInsideronSI and @tcav30 and never miss another UCLA Bruins news story again.

Give us your thoughts when you like our Facebook page WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE