Sacramento Kings forward Demar DeRozan recently revealed the behind-the-scenes secrets that helped his teammate Zach Lavigne explode for his best season performance with the Detroit Pistons.
In the Kings’ dominant 127-111 victory over Detroit, Zach Labine was absolutely nuke, registering an impressive 43 points while firing a fierce 11-11 fire over the arc.
After the game, Demar Derozan revealed about his feelings and the personal sacrifices he made, and his contribution to Lavine’s great performance.
“I just told (Lavine) to continue. I was supposed to come for him at the fourth start. I told the coach to leave him,” DeRozan admitted.
“He was hot. He led us. We wouldn’t have been able to get this victory because he didn’t get hot. That’s nothing new to me. I saw it.”
The Kings made an impressive comeback and overcame a 10-point halftime deficit to secure the victory. Labine himself led the charge by scoring an astonishing 30 points in the second half alone.
Lavine’s performance was not only impressive, but also historic. He became the first Kings player to score over 35 points while making five or more three-pointers in consecutive games.
On top of that, he set new records for most games with three games with over 40 points and 8+ made. These records are pretty impressive considering that they have only played 29 games in Sacramento since joining the team.
The Kings front office appears to have made a smart move by trading Dearon Fox to get Lavine.
DeRozan also enjoyed an epic night against the Pistons, contributing his own 37 points with an impressive display of offensive firepower.
The chemistry between the two former Chicago Bulls teammates who played together from 2021 to 2024 has been clearly translated into a new situation in Sacramento.
This dynamic scoring duo consistency appears to be the key when pushing the playoff berth through play-in tournaments.
But DeRozan believes that everyone on the team has bolstered the game while chasing postseason aspirations.
“First and foremost, everyone had to look in the mirror and realize that if they wanted to be a playoff team, it wasn’t the perfect level that was brought to you every night,” he explained. “Everyone has stepped up ever since.”