Thomas Bryant's GW Dunk Thrills NBA Twitter as LeBron James, Lakers Beat Wizards
December 19, 2022
Sunday's incredible sports slate had one more unbelievable finish.
On a day when the men's World Cup final went into penalty shootouts, and nine different NFL games were decided by a single score, the Los Angeles Lakers added some drama of their own with a Thomas Bryant game-winner.
Bryant, who is playing a larger role for the Purple and Gold with Anthony Davis sidelined by a foot injury, scored off a LeBron James assist that came off a broken play. Kyle Kuzma then missed a three-pointer on the other end, and Los Angeles escaped with a 119-117 victory over the Washington Wizards.
There was plenty of reaction on social media:
Bryant notched a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds, while James finished with 33 points, nine assists and seven rebounds. The King also had a go-ahead dunk in the final 30 seconds, although Bradley Beal answered on the other end with two free throws.
Los Angeles is still an ugly 13-16 on the season, but it has played much better of late following a 2-10 start.
Maintaining this momentum will be a tall order, though, considering Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported Davis is expected to be sidelined for "at least one month" with the foot injury.
Bryant is expected to be the primary fill-in, and he certainly proved he could come through in the big moments in such a role on Sunday.