Lakers forward Nick Young was credited by coach Byron Scott for his defense in the Lakers’ 97-85 win over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday at Staples Center. AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

The inconsistency in Nick Young’s shot once irritated Lakers coach Byron Scott. Young’s lack of defensive intensity bothered Scott, too. It did not help Scott became annoyed with Young’s goofy personality. So, Scott often yanked Young out of the lineup and benched him throughout the 2014-15 season.

But all of that took a 180-degree turn in the 2015-16 campaign, the most vivid example happening in the Lakers’ 97-85 win over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday at Staples Center.

Young finished with 13 points off the bench on four-of-six shooting in 26 minutes. Young netted a game-high +/- of 20 points, signifying how much the Lakers outscored the Pistons when when he was on the floor. And he injected enough defensive energy to play all 12 minutes of the fourth quarter.

“He was not allowing his man to score. He did all the things that we talk about,” Scott said. “He tagged cutters when he had to. He got back to shooters when he had to. He just did all of the little things, that’s why he stayed on the court. Obviously he’s a treat on the offensive end, every time he catches the ball, so when he has both ends of the floor, it makes him that much better as a player.”

The lone exception marked when Detroit Andre Drummonds dunked over Young. But everywhere else, Young provided the play that Scott has craved from him. Instead of taking shots in isolation, Young routinely found the open man and moved quickly off-the-ball. In the fourth quarter, Young scored seven points on a 3-of-3 clip. After committing a turnover, Young rushed back on defense and grabbed a rebound. He often communicated on defensive rotations.

“We pretty much became like a boy band, like N’Sync,” joked Young, who was wearing a shirt of the 90’s boy band. “We were really in sync in the game. I was really more like Justin Timberlake out there on defense.”

With Kobe Bryant ruled out for Monday’s game in Phoenix, Young will have to be Nick Young on offense.

“Kobe’s been teaching me more and more out there,” Young said. “That’s what I like to do, go to the hole. Hopefully I’ll keep going out there with confidence. We have to be ‘N’Sync’, do our dance moves and get the crowd going.”

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