FSM Essential Recap: Lakers vs Kings- Game 12 - 2023

FSM Essential Recap: Lakers vs Kings- Game 12 – 2023

Franchise Sports Media

Los Angeles Lakers (6-6) | Sacramento Kings (6-4)

 

The Lakers had their comeback fall short on Wednesday in a 125-110 loss to the Kings.

The Lakers vs Kings played in Sacramento on Wednesday.

The Los Angeles Lakers hosted the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night, going for their fourth straight win after a slow start to the year.

Despite it being the second game of a back-to-back, Lakers stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis were still able to suit up, although it didn’t matter as the Kings still won comfortably, 125-110. The loss drops the Lakers back to .500 at 6-6.

The Lakers couldn’t stop their messy turnovers with 23 Wednesday night. Each turnover sucked the life out of the game.

The Lakers fell back into bad habits last night. Starting the first quarter with no energy and having to come back each quarter is a constant formula for disaster. They have shown they can start great and keep it going all game. But they need to figure out how to do it consistently, especially on the second game of a back-to-back.

After playing a season-low 23 minutes against the Memphis Grizzlies, James played 35 minutes, scoring 28 points with ten rebounds, 11 assists, four steals, and one chase-down block on Domantas Sabonis. Davis did not have an Anthony Davis kind of game, finishing with nine points on 3-9 shooting.

D’Angelo Russell continued his strong run of games with 28 points on 12-20 shooting, while Cam Reddish had 16 points and five steals.

The Kings outworked the Lakers

The Lakers were looking to add ot their 3-game winning streak Wednesday night against the Kings.  

The start of the Lakers vs Kings first half. 

The Kings got off to a quick start in this one as De’Aaron Fox began the game with a three-point play. Domantas Sabonis then scored four straight to give his team a 7-2 lead.

The Lakers missed some easy looks at the rim early, although James connected on his first triple of the night. Harrison Barnes had it going early, however, with a pair of 3-pointers to give Sacramento a double-digit lead at 21-11.

While Darvin Ham took a timeout to settle the Lakers in, it didn’t slow the Kings down, as Kevin Huerter, Keegan Murray, and Malik Monk all drilled 3s to extend their lead even more.

After falling down by as many as 20, the Lakers had a solid close to the quarter, with Taurean Prince beating the buzzer with a triple to cut the deficit to 38-25 going into the second.

L.A. then scored four straight to begin the second, forcing a quick Kings timeout with their lead back at single digits.

The Lakers’ run continued out of the timeout, with James finding Rui Hachimura for a wing three before Fox ended it with a midrange bucket. L.A. continued to chip away from there, with Cam Reddish coming up with a nice steal and layup before James threw down a dunk to get the deficit to six.

The end of the Lakers vs Kings first half. 

The Lakers looked for answers as they trailed the Kings 72-59 at the half.

The start of the Lakers vs Kings second half. 

Similar to the start of the game, the Kings came out in the third quarter and blitzed the Lakers a bit to get their lead back up to a comfortable 19.

Despite James’ best efforts with another three and a chase-down block on Sabonis, the Lakers continued to get nothing going offensively while providing zero resistance on defense. Davis had an off night on both ends, and the Lakers eventually trailed 104-80 through three.

Ham opted to bring both James and Davis back in the game to begin the fourth quarter in hopes of one last run, and they actually made one as the Lakers fought all the way back to get within 11 after a three-point play by James.

The Kings took a much-needed timeout, and Kevin Huerter responded with two big buckets to keep them from spiraling. The Lakers stayed hot from deep, though, as Reddish drilled one from the corner to get it to single digits with three minutes to play.

That was as close as it would get, though, as the Lakers could never get over the hump, and the Kings were able to close it out with some free throws and leave with a 125-110 win over the Lakers.

The final score of the Lakers vs Kings was 125-110, Kings.

The Lakers will return to In-Season Tournament play on Friday when they travel to Portland. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m., and the game can be watched on Spectrum.

 

– Joe Arrigo – Franchise Sports Media

Follow Joe on all social media: @JoeArrigoFSM

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