SACRAMENTO — Zach Norvell has only been a Laker for two days, but it’s already clear that he’s ready for the pressure.
Norvell proved that in the final day of the California Classic, when he sprinted to the left corner with 4.0 seconds left and buried the game-winning 3-pointer to lift the Lakers past the Sacramento Kings on their home court, 99-97.
Aside from his gutsy triple, it was a rough shooting performance for Norvell, who went 4-of-12 from the field toward 11 points. But the newly minted two-way contract holder excelled with his playmaking, tallying eight assists without a turnover.
It took a furious rally for Norvell to even have the opportunity to hit clutch mode.
The Kings led by as many as 21 points before Jordan Howard — a 5-foot-11 point guard who ranked third in the NCAA in scoring a year ago — started bombarding from 3-point range.
Howard cashed five triples in the fourth — launching mainly off the catch — on his way to a game-high 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting.
Buffalo product Nick Perkins also provided 20 points on an 8-of-13 clip, yet it was the Howard-Norvell show at the end, when the Lakers finished the game on a 12-1 run.
The Lakers concluded the California Classic with a 2-1 record, and will have a day off in Las Vegas before facing the Chicago Bulls on Friday at 4:30 PT.