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Gonzaga Basketball

Ex-Gonzaga guard Zach Norvell Jr. knocks down winning shot to lead Los Angeles Lakers past Sacramento Kings

Los Angeles Lakers guard Zach Norvell Jr., right, shoots over Sacramento Kings guard Kyle Guy during the first half of an NBA basketball summer league game in Sacramento, Calif., Wednesday, July 3, 2019. The Lakers won 99-97. (Rich Pedroncelli / AP)
By Jim Meehan jimm@spokesman.com(509) 459-5585

Zach Norvell Jr., no stranger to hitting clutch shots when he played for Gonzaga, has carried that trait into the pros.

Norvell shrugged off a tough shooting day and calmly buried a 3-pointer with 4 seconds left to lift the Los Angeles Lakers to a 99-97 Summer League win Wednesday over Sacramento on the Kings’ home floor.

Norvell, coming off a 20-point effort Tuesday, was just 3 of 11 from the field and 1 of 6 on 3-pointers when he took a pass in front of the Kings’ bench and connected on the winner. The Kings pushed the ball downcourt, but Norvell was in position to challenge Wenyen Gabriel’s 3-point attempt. Gabriel’s shot came up short, setting off a Lakers’ celebration with Norvell the center of attention.

“All of my shots felt kind of good so it felt good to see that one go in,” Norvell said in an interview posted on the Lakers’ Twitter account. “The will we had towards the end of the game was amazing.”

Norvell scored nine of his 11 points and had three of his eight assists in the final 8 minutes as Los Angeles erased a 21-point deficit.

Norvell made clutch 3-pointers to help Gonzaga hold off UNC Greensboro and Ohio State as the Zags reached the Sweet 16 in the 2018 NCAA Tournament. He hit a number of big shots during the regular season.

The Chicago native declared for the NBA draft after his sophomore season. He went undrafted but signed a two-way contract with the Lakers one day after the draft.