Lakers lose to Kings for fifth straight time
The Lakers' offense took the night off against the Kings as Los Angeles dropped its fifth in a row against Sacramento.
The Lakers continue to lose games against the best in the West, falling to Sacramento 120-107 on Wednesday. This is their fifth loss in a row against the Kings dating back to last season.
The Lakers' offense was abysmal. D'Angelo Russell had his worst game of the season, scoring just six points on 2-9 shooting. LeBron James also struggled with 18 points, 13 rebounds, and nine assists and Anthony Davis was lackluster, with 22 points and 10 boards.
The loss means the Kings have swept the Lakers in the regular-season series and are comfortably in seventh place in the Western Conference standings.
Reaves started aggressive and hot, scoring on his first four-shot attempts to help the Lakers jump to an early lead. It wasn't just the Reaves show; Rui Hachimura matched him basket for basket, scoring his first four field goals.
The Kings made multiple mental blunders, including a five-second violation and an illegal defense call, and the Lakers controlled most of the quarter. However, Sacramento hung around and thanks to Malik Monk and Alex Len, things ended at 29 a piece after one.
While the role players were rolling, Lakers stars LeBron James and D'Angelo Russell were offensively absent.
James struggled with zero points in the first quarter, finally getting on the board two minutes into the second and following up that basket with a 3-pointer. Russell started the night 0-6 from the field and didn't make a field goal the entire first half.
Hachimura and Reaves stayed hot, with Reaves scoring 19 first-half points and Hachimura right behind him with 17. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to stay in front and the Lakers trailed by four points at the half.
Things didn't improve for Los Angeles at the start of the third, as Sacramento started the quarter on a 10-2 run. The scoring outburst forced Lakers head coach Darvin Ham to call a timeout in an attempt to keep the game from getting out of hand.
The Lakers didn't convert a field goal in the second half until the 5:59 mark of the third and somehow, the deficit was only at eight. The basket didn't do much to jumpstart the offense, as the Lakers continued to struggle and the Kings extended their lead to 15.
In the final frame, the Lakers finally found their offense. They scored on their first four field goals, but it was too little too late, as Sacramento was able to exchange baskets with Los Angeles the rest of the way.
Key Takeaways
There are plenty of reasons why the Lakers lost to the Kings.
Russell had his worst game of the season and Davis struggled once again to score against Domantas Sabonis or stop him from getting whatever he wanted in the paint. In addition, Monk, De'Aaron Fox and Keegan Murray got hot against the Lakers guards and Los Angeles never stood a chance.
The loss reveals some ugly truths: If the Lakers' opponent has talented wings and a dominant big, they can't win. They are 0-8 against the Nuggets over the past two seasons and now 0-4 against the Kings. I don't see a scheme, strategy, or rotation that can soon fix this.
In the meantime, the Lakers will have to bounce back in the Bay as they have a massive game against the Warriors on Saturday. Los Angeles is just a game in front of Golden State, so a win is necessary if they want to stay comfortably at the ninth spot in the West.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.