LeBron James, Lakers fall to Kings in overtime
SACRAMENTO — Another game, another instance in which the Lakers dug themselves into an early hole in which they spent most of the game trying to get out of.
And similar to their first two games of the season, the Lakers did what was necessary on Sunday against the Sacramento Kings to get themselves back in the game. They took their first lead, 91-90, with 10:24 remaining after Rui Hachimura (11 points, six rebounds) knocked down a 3-pointer in transition.
After exchanging runs throughout the fourth quarter and forcing overtime with the score tied at 115, the Lakers didn’t keep up with the Kings’ offensive firepower in the extra period, falling to Sacramento 132-127.
“We did a lot of great things out there,” coach Darvin Ham said. “Definitely, some things we need to work on. Some things I need to tighten up. And I think that was it. At the end of the day, your hats off to them. They’re a hell of a ball club. But so are we. They edged us out. But we’ll learn from it and we’ll grow.”
The Kings went 3-of-7 on 3-pointers in overtime, including a Malik Monk 3 off an offensive rebound that gave Sacramento a 127-123 lead with 1:36 remaining.
LeBron James (27 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists in 39 minutes) had a dunk less than a minute later to bring the deficit back to two, but Kevin Huerter’s 3 to give the Kings a 130-125 lead with 32 seconds left that wound up deciding the game.
“Just have to put bodies on bodies,” Anthony Davis said. “We were switching and made guys just shoot over the top. Long shots mean long rebounds. We’ve got to know that. That’s what hurt us tonight. Offensive rebounds, any time we held them to one shot, we were able to get out into transition and run or get something good on the other end. So, there were too big ones that kind of killed us tonight, especially in overtime.”
On an inbounds pass under their own baseline, James threw a pass intended for D’Angelo Russell out of bounds with 15 seconds left, with Russell cutting in the opposite direction, sealing the loss for the Lakers.
Davis finished with 30 points, 16 rebounds, three blocks and two steals. Taurean Prince had 20 points (7-of-17 shooting) while Russell added 17 points (5-of-13 shooting) and nine assists. Christian Wood had 11 points (3-of-3 shooting) and five rebounds in 14 minutes. Despite having good looks for most of the games, Austin Reaves struggled with his shot, shooting 1 of 12 (1 of 8 on 3s) for five points.
For the third consecutive game, the Lakers were behind by double digits at the end of the opening quarter, trailing the Kings 41-28. Their collective ability to get to the free throw line kept them in the game but they didn’t consistently capitalize on those opportunities, shooting 50% (6 of 12) from the charity stripe in the first.
“Coming out, teams come out and they’re charged,” Ham said. “We’re gonna get everybody’s best punch. We’re the Lakers. We have certain individuals on our team, so everyone wants to have a night against us. That’s the way it is. I’m not complaining about that. I wouldn’t have it any other way. The biggest thing, the trend is us giving up a lot of points in that first quarter
“But the trend has also been our defense has tightened up over the course of the game in the second, third, fourth. So that trend needs to continue. But if we can just come out in the first quarter with a defensive focus and really be highly competitive on that side of the ball, that has to be our identity. Just setting a tone early and often with our defense.”
From there, the Lakers locked in defensively, winning the middle two quarters 55-46, and were more efficient with their free throws, shooting 15 of 17 on those looks in the second and third.
The Kings went on their own run once De’Aaron Fox (37 points, eight assists), who was in foul trouble for significant parts of the game, returned to the floor early in the fourth. They took a 110-104 lead after a Fox pull-up jumper. Fox assisted Keegan Murray on a pull-up three one minute later to give the Kings a 113-106 lead with 1:36 remaining.
But the Lakers used a 9-2 run, capped by a James layup with 13 seconds remaining, to send the game into overtime. Murray missed an open potential game-winning 3-pointer right before the end of regulation.
The Lakers will play the Orlando Magic (2-0) on Monday at Crypto.com Arena on the second night of the back-to-back.
Ham responded “not as of yet” when asked whether the Lakers have decided on the availability of James and other main players against the Magic.
MAGIC AT LAKERS
When: 7:30 p.m. Monday
Where: Crypto.com Arena
TV/radio: Spectrum SportsNet, 710 AM