In the midst of a four-game homestand, the Los Angeles Lakers found themselves in a much more difficult matchup than anticipated against the Sacramento Kings.
LeBron James continued his resurgent 2019-20 NBA season as he finished with another double-double (29 points and 11 assists) while also adding three steals. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who got the start in place of the injured Avery Bradley, also had his best game of the season as he scored 16 points with 12 of them coming in the fourth quarter.
The Kings exposed the Lakers shaky three-point defense as they made 16-of-39 including several contested ones that swung the momentum in their favor. Buddy Hield and Bogdon Bogdanovic accounted for nine of those makes as Los Angeles had trouble locating them off the ball and giving them enough room to launch.
Anthony Davis, who missed the previous game with rib and shoulder injuries, returned to the lineup and had a subpar performance by his standards as he finished with 17 points on 5-of-12 shooting and also only managed to pull down five boards.
Despite his so-so shooting, Davis was still integral to the team’s win as he played lockdown defense in the final moments. He came up with the biggest play of the game as he rotated over to block a last-second Harrison Barnes layup and seal the game.
While Los Angeles will happily take the win, it was concerning to see them once again struggle shooting from beyond the arc as they only hit 29.7%.
The Kings, like other teams have shown, were willing to pack the paint and concede open jumpers that the Lakers had difficulty knocking down.
Regardless, the purple and gold are now riding a three-game winning streak heading into a matchup with an exciting Atlanta Hawks team led by Trae Young.
