Lakers' Ivica Zubac: Explodes for season highs in Thursday's loss

Zubac generated 19 points (8-8 FG, 3-6 FT) and 11 rebounds across 20 minutes in Thursday's 119-111 loss to the Timberwolves.

The 20-year-old big man's breakout performance came out of nowhere, considering Zubac had scored a combined 11 points in the last four games he'd seen any court time. He'd also been the recipient of a DNP-CD designation more often than not since his most recent recall from the G-League on Feb. 6, but Thursday's line was reminiscent of some of the ones he produced late in his rookie 2016-17 campaign. Zubac tellingly played just six fewer minutes than Brook Lopez against Minnesota in large part due to the latter's foul trouble, and it will be interesting to track whether this effort propels him to a more consistent allotment of playing time following the All-Star break.