Lakers Set Tone Early, Close Strong in Win Over Sacramento

The Sacramento Kings were defeated by the Los Angeles Lakers Thursday at Golden 1 Center 113-100. The game began how it ended, with the Lakers imposing its will on both ends of the floor. The Kings slow start put Sacramento in a quick 15-2 hole in the first quarter. Sacramento was able to take the lead though in the second quarter following a nice scoring punch from Malik Monk. Things remained close in the third quarter, but ultimately the Lakers rebounding, free throw shooting, ability to score off Kings turnovers, and 21 and 19 from Anthony Davis, allowed Los Angeles to take over down the stretch of the fourth quarter.

The Good

• De’Aaron Fox’s Scoring: Fox overcame a slow start (1-5 from the field early) and foul trouble (he picked up his 5^th foul with 6:47 left in the third), finishing with 26 points and 5 assists and 3 steals. (Though he did have 4 turnovers.)
• Malik Monk’s Spark: Monk’s scoring flurry, including an alley-oop, in the second quarter ignited the arena and gave the Kings its first lead of the game. Monk electrified the crowd with key plays, including an alley-oop dunk, and contributed 17 points. (But he also had turnover issues, finishing with 5 of his own.)
• Another Day In The Office For Domantas Sabonis: Sabonis finished with 18 points, 12 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 blocks and only 1 turnover.

The Bad

• Rebounding: The Kings were outrebounded 53-43, including 14-4 on offensive boards.
• Free Throws: 68.2% (15-22) from the free-throw line. The Lakers finished at 83%.
• Foul Trouble: De’Aaron Fox picked up his 5th foul in the third quarter. This limited his impact at a turning point in the game, but he was able to play throughout the fourth. Team problems were too much to overcome then though.

The Ugly

• Slow Start: The Kings started the game down 15-2. The Lakers set the tone.
• Struggles Down The Stretch: Nothing was working in crunch time. Turnovers and defensive lapses were countered by efficient play by the Lakers. The Lakers set the tone.
• Turnovers: 17 of them, resulting in 24 points for the Lakers. The Lakers set the tone.

What’s Next

The Kings take on the Lakers again Saturday at 3 p.m.