After three consecutive blowout losses, the Los Angeles Lakers badly needed a get-right game and that was exactly what they got on Sunday night against the Sacramento Kings. Luka Doncic and LeBron James led the way, but the entire team contributed in the 125-101 blowout victory over a shorthanded Kings team.
There were a couple of rotational tweaks, but Jake LaRavia was the Lakers’ leader in minutes off the bench and was one of six players in double-figures. And overall, the forward felt the Lakers looked very good on both offense and defense.
“I thought we did a really good job. I just felt like this game was a real together game,” LaRavia said after the victory. “I thought defensively we all had each other’s backs. We had a couple scramble plays where everyone was guarding everyone on the floor. We were covering everyone and if someone got beat, someone else was there. I just thought we looked really good as a team tonight on both sides of the ball. It was just a really good team win and we won all four quarters which I think is the first time that’s happened so very good game.”
It was certainly the performance that everyone hoped to see after the last couple of games. The Lakers had a team meeting on Saturday followed by an intense practice and LaRavia believes they responded very well to everything.
“I thought this was a great response to the meeting that we had,” LaRavia added. “It was a very positive meeting. We came together, talked about some things and if we play like this every night, I mean this is what I talk about when I say, we’re a tough team to beat when we are playing like this.”
LaRavia would continue on, noting that the energy from Saturday’s practice carried into Sunday’s performance and hoping this victory will be the start of another win streak for the Lakers.
“Energy. Energy was really good. The vibes were good, everyone was positive after the meeting. Like I said we came out of the meeting in a positive way and didn’t look at whatever criticism or whatever was said, we didn’t let that negatively affect us. We came out, we had a great practice and hopefully this is the first of a many win streak.”
Getting this win streak going won’t be easy as the Lakers are set to host the Detroit Pistons in their next contest, who hold the best record in the East and will be motivated after a couple of losses on their West coast road trip. But as LaRavia said, the Lakers are very tough to beat when they play like they did on Sunday.
Lakers’ Nick Smith Jr. remained confident, ready for opportunity
Another rotation tweak for the Lakers was the insertion of Nick Smith Jr., who had 21 points off the bench in the win. And even though he is on a two-way contract, Smith remained confident and ready for his opportunity.
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