The Lakers snap their five-game losing streak behind a big night from Kyle Kuzma

Heading into their contest with the Sacramento Kings, and after officially being eliminated from playoff contention with their recent defeat to D’Angelo Russell and the Brooklyn Nets, it was unclear how the Los Angeles Lakers would attack the rest of their season.

If Sunday night against the Kings is any indication, it would seem the roster, at the very least, has no plans of tanking the rest of the year, as the Lakers put forth a spirited effort to beat the Kings 111-106, holding on despite allowing a 17-point lead to diminish to just 3 points in the final minute.

Heading into the game, there arguably was no Laker colder than Kyle Kuzma had been from behind the arc. In his last ten games prior to Sunday night, Kuzma was shooting only a dismal 20.5 percent from three in what had been just the latest cold stretch within a disappointing shooting season.

But, this dramatically changed once he and the Lakers hit the floor after half-time. Kuzma caught fire in the third, scoring a ridiculous 21 points in the quarter. All his seven made shots came from deep. He ultimately finished with 29 points for the game.

Kuzma’s hot hand in the third unfortunately did not add much fuel to the Lakers in the fourth as the Kings’ flurry late nearly cost L.A. yet another game. Fortunately, the team was able to withstand Sacramento’s run, with LeBron James helping seal the game by making six consecutive clutch free throws down the stretch to cap off yet another triple-double (29 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists).

JaVale McGee also helped with his second great game in a row, finishing with 17 points and 14 rebounds while shooting a perfect 8-8 from the field.

The Lakers will next take the floor when they host the Washington Wizards at Staples Center on Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m.

For more Lakers talk, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast feed on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Google Podcasts.