Los Angeles Lakers guard Talen Horton-Tucker had a night to remember Sunday, registering 33 points, 10 boards, four assists, and four steals in the club's 131-106 preseason win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
The second-year guard's performance caught the attention of head coach Frank Vogel, who's hopeful Horton-Tucker can carry his strong play into the regular season.
"We have a very deep team. No minutes are guaranteed," Vogel said postgame, according to ESPN's Dave McMenamin. "He's going to keep playing at a high level, and that should push everybody else to stay playing at a high level.
"It does give us that luxury of having him carry the load some for some of our guys who played deep in the championship run last year and had a short offseason."
The Lakers are set to open their regular season Dec. 22, just 71 days after claiming their record-tying 17th NBA championship.
Many key players sat out Sunday's preseason contest, including LeBron James and Anthony Davis. With the NBA providing more leeway in regards to its resting policies for non-nationally televised games, Horton-Tucker could see an uptick in playing time.
The 20-year-old showed promise on the defensive end at Iowa State, finishing sixth in the Big 12 in steal percentage (2.8%) during the 2018-19 campaign.
Horton-Tucker, who boasts a 7-foot-1 wingspan, flashed a similar skill set in the G League last season and could further strengthen a Lakers squad that posted the third-best defensive rating during the 2019-20 NBA campaign.
"Obviously, he's still young and he's going to make some mistakes from time to time, but he has as much defensive talent as he does offensive talent," Vogel said. "So, I feel like he's going to fit in well for us."
