The Los Angeles Lakers went to Sacramento on Wednesday night to take on the Sacramento Kings in an effort to triumph over their Pacific Division opponents for the first time in four years.

The Lakers were two games behind the Kings in the standings going into the evening, so this was a big game. Regretfully, the Lakers’ awful play against the Kings did not improve as they lost 121-107.

Austin Reaves scored the first five points of the game to give the Lakers a big lead. The Lakers had an early 11-point lead (13–9) as he made two more three-pointers.

They rallied after a Kings timeout, scoring four straight points to even the score before Rui Hachimura’s thunderous slam. That spurred Hachimura on, and he scored eight points in a brief stretch of time.

At the end of the first quarter, the score was tied at 29. De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis then started to click, like they always do when playing the Lakers.

After a scoreless first quarter, LeBron James got Los Angeles going early in the second quarter by scoring six points in a succession. However, the Kings went on to make a few threes, which gave them a slight advantage.

The Kings led 60–56 at the half because to Keegan Murray, who was equally as hot as Reaves in the opening frame.

The Lakers had a slow start to the third quarter, and the Kings took advantage of many turnovers to score five baskets in a row. Davis eventually snapped L.A.’s drought by getting to the free throw line.

As the turnovers continued and failed to create any momentum as Sacramento’s lead increased to double digits for the first time, James was the main culprit.

After a Lakers timeout, Davis eventually made a field goal to end a run of over seven minutes without one. The Lakers tried their hardest to escape their rut, but Sabonis and Fox outplayed the dynamic pair of Davis and James.

James committed costly turnovers and bad shooting in the third quarter, which allowed the Kings to extend their lead to 88-73.

If the Lakers were going to make a run at the game, they had to open the fourth quarter strong. But with James and Davis off the court, the Lakers were unable to muster much momentum.

When LeBron did eventually return, he went to attack mode to try to cut Sacramento’s 18-point lead. He scored five points in a row, including two huge dunks, to force a hasty timeout from the Kings.

The score abruptly back to single digits after Reaves hit another triple to conclude the timeout. But it was as close as it would get, as the Kings responded with back-to-back three-pointers.