The Los Angeles Lakers hosted the Sacramento Kings on Saturday night, looking to earn a season sweep over their division rivals.
The Lakers were without a key piece in LeBron James while the Kings had just fired their head coach in Mike Brown. Something had to give, and ultimately it was the who came out on top with a 132-122 victory to improve to 18-13 on the year.
With James out, Austin Reaves was in control of the Lakers’ offense and he scored their first five points. After a 3-pointer by Max Christie, the Lakers jumped out to a 10-4 lead although Malik Monk quickly responded with a triple of his own.The Kings got red-hot from deep from there to take their first lead.
Anthony Davis went to work from there though and then Austin Reaves hit a 3 to give the Lakers a 40-31 lead at the end of a high scoring first quarter.
Dalton Knecht, who got out of his shooting slump on Christmas Day, continued that in this one with seven early points off the bench for L.A. Free throw shooting was an issue for the Lakers in the first half though as they made just 8-of-14 attempts.
Davis was ultra aggressive offensively and Rui Hachimura made all three of his 3-point attempts, but the Kings stuck with them every step of the way and took a slim 66-65 lead into the halftime locker room.
Cam Reddish (back spasm) and Gabe Vincent (oblique strain) both hurt themselves towards the end of the first half, leaving the Lakers even more shorthanded for the time being. Reddish was eventually able to return while Vincent was ruled out.
That meant that others needed to step up and it was Reaves, Hachimura and Davis who did to start the third quarter, leading a 7-0 run to take an eight-point lead and force a Kings timeout.
Domantas Sabonis then proceeded to pick up both his fourth and fifth fouls, heading to the bench for an extended period. With the Kings star not out there, Davis and the Lakers continued pouring it on to take a 107-90 into the fourth quarter.
After stretching their lead to 20, the Lakers let go of the rope a bit as the Kings got hot from deep to get back in it, cutting their deficit to single digits.
Sabonis committed his sixth foul midway through the fourth quarter though so was out for the rest of the night. With that being the case, the Lakers had no issues closing it out as the Kings had no answer for Davis and Reaves down the stretch with Christie making some timely shots as well.
What’s next for the Lakers
The Lakers will now get a couple of days off before returning to action on New Year’s Eve when they host the Cleveland Cavaliers, who blew them out earlier this season.
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? It’s the best way to watch player interviews, exclusive coverage from events, participate in live shows, and more!
