Kyle Kuzma: ‘Cleveland wouldn’t be s— without LeBron’

Chase Hughes: Kyle Kuzma said hecklers motivated him, that the ending was “their fault.” He said it was Cavs fans had a sign that said “Without LeBron, Kuzma wouldn’t have a ring.” He told them: “Cleveland wouldn’t be shit without LeBron.” Source: …

Chase Hughes: Kyle Kuzma said hecklers motivated him, that the ending was “their fault.” He said it was Cavs fans had a sign that said “Without LeBron, Kuzma wouldn’t have a ring.” He told them: “Cleveland wouldn’t be shit without LeBron.”

Source: Twitter @ChaseHughesNBCS

What’s the buzz on Twitter?

Kyle Kuzma @kylekuzma
More work to be done wiz 🔒 in! – 1:10 AM
Chase Hughes @ChaseHughesNBCS
“Without Bron, Cleveland wouldn’t be s—-.”
Kyle Kuzma said Cavs fans who made a sign trolling his time with the Lakers “chose violence.” So, he hit a big shot and delivered the last word. nbcsports.com/washington/wiz…12:47 AM
CBS NBA @CBSSportsNBA
Wizards’ Kyle Kuzma had perfect response for Cavaliers fan with ‘LeBron won Kuzma his ring’ sign
cbssports.com/nba/news/wizar…11:57 PM
Chase Hughes @ChaseHughesNBCS
Montrezl Harrell was unstoppable in the first half and Kyle Kuzma was The Kloser in the 4th. 5 observations from a thrilling win for the Wizards: nbcsports.com/washington/wiz…11:41 PM
Neil Dalal @NeilDalal96
Kyle Kuzma was 6-9 from 3, a nice season-high – 10:56 PM
Quinton Mayo @RealQuintonMayo
LeBron James showing love to Kyle Kuzma on Instagram 👌🏾 pic.twitter.com/YEDXcrei7T10:39 PM

Chase Hughes @ChaseHughesNBCS
Kyle Kuzma said hecklers motivated him, that the ending was “their fault.”
He said it was Cavs fans had a sign that said “Without LeBron, Kuzma wouldn’t have a ring.” He told them: “Cleveland wouldn’t be shit without LeBron.” – 10:16 PM
Chris Fedor @ChrisFedor
#Cavs said they tried to foul Bradley Beal on the possession that ended with Kyle Kuzma hitting the 3. – 10:14 PM
Chase Hughes @ChaseHughesNBCS
Kyle Kuzma on the win in Cleveland: “When it was nut-cutting time, we did a good job of playing the right way, finding the right man and getting big stops.” – 10:13 PM
StatMuse @statmuse
Russell Westbrook (5.1) is averaging more turnovers than Kyle Kuzma, KCP and Montrezl Harrell COMBINED (4.2). pic.twitter.com/AOFEDpvZKs9:57 PM

Chase Hughes @ChaseHughesNBCS
Wes Unseld Jr. on Kyle Kuzma’s four 3s in the final 5:42: “The kid’s got poise… we have confidence he can make those shots.” – 9:51 PM
Joe Gabriele @CavsJoeG
#Cavs hold Beal to 4-19 shooting, but Kyle Kuzma picked Wizards up, drills 4 3ptFG in 4Q, including game-deciding triple w/11.4 to play — WAS snaps CLE’s 4-gm run – take 97-94 decision; 2nd chance pts: WAS, 21, CLE 11; FTs: CLE, 15-21, WAS, 17-17; reb: Harrell, game-hi 24pts. pic.twitter.com/Rk5Fbe5o6Y9:36 PM

StatMuse @statmuse
The Wizards were down 9 points with 6 minutes left.
Kyle Kuzma outscored the Cavs 12-7 to win the game, hitting 4-4 threes. pic.twitter.com/mj8cCBqLXC9:31 PM

Chase Hughes @ChaseHughesNBCS
Wizards stun the Cavs in CLE. They were down 4 pts with 30 sec to go, but Kyle Kuzma hit two 3s in the final 26 sec. He had four 3s in the final 5:42. Wiz move to 8-3. – 9:31 PM
Quinton Mayo @RealQuintonMayo
The Wizards advance to 8-3 on the season in dramatic fashion defeating the Cavaliers 97-94.
Kyle Kuzma – 22 points, 6/9 from 3P (!!!)
Spencer Dinwiddie – 11 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists
Wizards finished the night 17/17 from the FT line.
Next up, ORL Nov. 17 pic.twitter.com/9vOF5sUAWt9:31 PM
Mike Prada @MikePradaNBA
Kyle Kuzma has been the unsung hero of this Wizards team all season. Consider the next 24 hours his long overdue recognition. – 9:28 PM
Ryan McDonough @McDNBA
The Wizards did a masterful job of reversing the 🏀 tonight in the clutch
Bradley Beal found Kyle Kuzma twice on the weakside in the final minute as the Wiz came from behind to win in Cleveland
Washington is now 8-3 and looking like a Playoff team – 9:27 PM
Ava Wallace @avarwallace
Well. Huh. Wizards win in Cleveland 97-94 BIG THANKS to Kyle Kuzma’s three three’s in the final 4:31. Washington gonna be happy to shake that one off, despite the win? – 9:27 PM
Quinton Mayo @RealQuintonMayo
Win or lose Kyle Kuzma gets player of the game. – 9:26 PM
Josh Robbins @JoshuaBRobbins
With that go-ahead 3 with 11.4 seconds to play, Kyle Kuzma has made six 3-pointers tonight, one shy of his career high. – 9:24 PM
Chris Fedor @ChrisFedor
Kyle Kuzma has been great in the fourth quarter. But did the Wizards score too quick? – 9:24 PM
Josh Robbins @JoshuaBRobbins
A 3-pointer by Kyle Kuzma from the left corner off a pass by Bradley Beal has given Washington a 95-94 lead with 11.4 seconds to play. – 9:23 PM
Neil Dalal @NeilDalal96
Kyle Kuzma on a 3-year, $39 million contract is wow for the Wizards – 9:21 PM
Chase Hughes @ChaseHughesNBCS
Kyle Kuzma has three big-time threes in the final 5:42 of the fourth quarter and the Wizards would be toast without them. – 9:21 PM
Quinton Mayo @RealQuintonMayo
Kyle Kuzma cooking right now — 4/7 from 3P range – 9:09 PM
Dan Favale @danfavale
ricky rubio drills a step-back three over kyle Kuzma because yes the cavs are absolutely a fever dream – 9:05 PM
Chris Fedor @ChrisFedor
Kyle Kuzma just had a nice move, thinking he created enough space to get his shot off against #Cavs Evan Mobley. Then these Gumby arms just reached out and forced an airball. – 7:57 PM
Chase Hughes @ChaseHughesNBCS
Kyle Kuzma blocked Evan Mobley, then Daniel Gafford blocked Jarrett Allen on the next possession. The Wizards are 2nd in the NBA in blocks per game (6.2). – 7:18 PM

More on this storyline

The rumblings began following the Pelicans’ 0-3 start (currently a league-worst 1-11 after Wednesday’s loss to OKC), coupled with Griffin’s public handling of All-Star forward Zion Williamson’s prolonged recovery from offseason foot surgery. New Orleans brass certainly hoped Griffin’s tenure would finally lead to a playoff berth, despite its tenuous two years building around Williamson. Word of a heated exchange between the chief executive and Sacramento Kings associate head coach Alvin Gentry has since circled around the league. -via Bleacher Report / November 11, 2021
While New Orleans projected optimism about competing for a postseason berth during the Orlando bubble, Gentry and a large portion of Pelicans staffers were already prepared for the coach’s ouster, sources said, as Griffin was widely known to covet Ty Lue, who was the head coach in Cleveland when Griffin served as the general manager for LeBron James’ 2016 championship team. Griffin would often tell team and other league officials that he’d given Gentry “all the answers to the test, and he still fails,” sources confirmed to B/R. -via Bleacher Report / November 11, 2021
That expression was first reported in a September article from NOLA.com, which served as the catalyst for Griffin and Gentry’s exchange in New Orleans, sources told B/R. After the Kings defeated the Pelicans 113-109 on Oct. 29, Griffin approached Gentry in the bowels of Smoothie King Center to offer a warm hello to his former head coach, yet Gentry brushed off his initial efforts as inauthentic. From there, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the incident, Griffin denied the findings of the NOLA.com article, particularly his “answers to the test” line, and the notion that he played piano for Williamson during the team’s bubble stay in Disney World. -via Bleacher Report / November 11, 2021