It wasn’t as comfortable a win as some may have wished, but the Lakers took care of business in Sacramento on Wednesday, beating the Kings, 116-103.
Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves carried LA on the night, combining for 61 points and 11 assists. The team had its best game in terms of turnovers, only coughing it up 12 times.
Their defense was better as well, limiting the Kings to 38.2% shooting from the field and 31.6% shooting from range.
LA started the game very active defensively by altering shots,
but their offense was stagnant, as they were 2-8 early. Austin Reaves had five points. Luka Dončić had a rare slow start, going 0-4 from the field.
At the 7:15 mark, the Kings were up by eight.
Los Angeles started to get their offense together, mostly thanks to their three ball falling. They were shooting 50% from behind the arc. The wing duo of Matisse Thybulle and Ziaire Williams both drained triples.
The game was tied at the end of the first. Luka’s struggles to start the quarter didn’t last long as he was up to 10 points.
It was not a particularly nice second period start for LA as they were called for three consecutive fouls early. Neither team was doing well offensively, with the Lakers shooting 28% from the field and the Kings shooting 20% in the quarter.
Thanks to a pair of triples from Jake LaRavia and Collin Sexton, Los Angeles was up by three at the 8:17 mark.
Williams led LA’s bench with six points. Sexton was close behind with five. They weren’t getting much bench production beyond those two, though. Darius Acuff Jr. was playing well for Sacramento with 11 points.
Luka went on an insane tear, scoring nine in a row and, giving the purple and gold an offensive boost as the quarter was winding down. At halftime, they were up by seven.
Williams started the third period with an excellent defensive play, stealing the ball and scoring on the other end. It was a back-and-forth affair for much of the opening stages of the frame.
Luka once again took over, scoring 10 points to lead a 14-5 scoring run that put LA up by 13 at the end of the third.
Sacramento began the final frame by scoring six points. Los Angeles only had a pair of free throws from Reaves until Walker Kessler got on the board with a layup. The Lakers went on another scoring run, this time a 10-3 spurt to build a 15-point lead.
Reaves was now at 21 points for the night.
The Kings went on a long four-minute scoring drought that was broken by a Malik Monk triple. Momentum shifted as Sacramento scored six straight, cutting the deficit to seven with 4:07 left.
Luka was fouled from behind the arc, prompting an unsuccessful Kings challenge. Luka made all three free throws. Free throws kept the Lakers in the lead and Kessler put the finishing touches on the win with six points in the fourth before fouling out.
Key Player Stats
Luka finished with 40 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Reaves ended with 21 points on 7-15 shooting. Kessler pitched in with 15 points, eight rebounds, three steals and three blocks.
Sexton had 10 points with three rebounds and two blocks. Williams logged 10 points with four rebounds and two steals.
LaRavia scored nine points with two rebounds and two assists. Thybulle did the dirty work with two steals, two blocks and dished two dimes.
The Lakers’ next game will be against the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday at 7:00 PM PT.
You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.
