On Sunday night, the Los Angeles Lakers traveled to Sacramento to take on division rivals. Both teams entered the game with identical 2-1 records.
The game went into overtime and was close throughout, but the Kings came out on top, 132-127.
The Lakers started slowly, turning the ball over twice, which led to a 7-3 advantage before L.A. finally scored on a 3-pointer by Taurean Prince.
Anthony Davis helped the Lakers relax with two blocks and a putback layup after they had gone scoreless for a while. However, the Lakers have had trouble in transition, and the Kings took an early 18-9 lead on them in this game.
The Lakers went on a 6-0 run in response to a timeout, but they struggled to keep the Kings from making early 3-pointers. Afterwards, former Laker JaVale McGee got the home crowd going with a poster slam to close out the quarter and give the Kings a 41-28 advantage after one.
Early in the second, Christian Wood started to heat up from deep with back-to-back triples, but it didn’t make a huge difference because the Lakers still weren’t putting up much of a fight defensively.
However, the Kings’ hot shooting from deep calmed down as the Lakers began making inroads. Despite Austin Reaves’ repeated early-season problems, L.A. remained competitive because to Davis’ two-way dominance. Reaves had several good scoring opportunities but failed to capitalize.
The Lakers closed to within four points, but a dismal finish to the half that included five consecutive points from De’Aaron Fox resulted in a 66-55 loss at halftime.
In the first two minutes of the third quarter, the Kings committed four team fouls, putting the Lakers in the bonus for the remainder of the period. The Lakers responded with a 6-2 run of their own, prompting a timeout from the Kings. They came back strong, though, hitting a couple of long balls to restore a 10-point advantage.
So far, Prince has been a great addition to the Lakers’ roster. He led a run in the third quarter that included a dunk from Davis and two three-pointers from Prince.
Despite Sabonis and Fox both picking up their fourth fouls and spending the final seconds of the third quarter on the bench, the Lakers were unable to overcome the deficit and took an 87-83 deficit into the final frame.
After a poor start to the season, the Lakers took their first lead when Rui Hachimura made two 3-pointers early in the fourth quarter. They had a five point lead before Fox came back and finished a crucial three-point play for his squad.
Fox subsequently rolled his ankle, spent a minute in the locker room, and then matched James’s three-pointer from the previous possession upon his return.
The Lakers fell cold at the worst possible time, missing seven consecutive baskets and falling behind by six with two minutes left until LeBron finally broke the drought with a slam.
Davis’s putback dunk in the last minute tied the score, but a careless foul by Gabe Vincent allowed Fox to win it with two free throws. James then drove for an uncontested layup, tying the game with 13 seconds left. On the ensuing possession, Keegan Murray missed a three-pointer, sending the game into overtime.
Malik Monk, who had a quiet night, exploded for nine points in the first minute of overtime, helping Sacramento take a four-point lead. Kevin Huerter’s huge 3-pointer in the last minute erased James’s five-point effort and put his side back ahead by five. The Lakers were unable to mount a comeback after that, and the game ended as a result.
