The Los Angeles Lakers comeback fell just short in Sacramento on Thursday night as the team came roaring back despite being down by 27 points. The young players spurred the run, but they could not execute well enough down the stretch to take the victory. As the final buzzer rang, the Kings prevailed by three points, 118-115.
It was a career night for rookie D’Angelo Russell as he captained the comeback by the Lakers with his 27 points. As for Julius Randle, he finished with six points and 10 rebounds.
A lot has been made of the reported “feud” between Randle and head coach Byron Scott over playing time, but the forward from Kentucky put a rest to all that following the loss, via Lakers Nation reporter Serena Winters:
Julius Randle:
"Me and him (Byron Scott) never had issues, y'all (media) made it that."
(Post-game on @TWCSportsNet)
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) January 8, 2016
Randle is still coming off the bench for the Lakers, along with D’Angelo Russell. Both players have performed well in the second unit, and it will be interesting to see if and when Scott decides to change the lineup.
In the game against the Kings, Randle played just a shade under 30 minutes, but he was on the court during crunch time. Him and Brandon Bass shared the frontcourt in the final minutes and they did a great job on both ends of the court. Coach Scott has always said that setbacks are a part of the game and he is hoping Randle can fight through the adversity and produce results.