After the Lakers dominated the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday, the modern media take machines asked the only logical questions.
Could the Lakers win the West? Had they turned the corner? Could they somehow finish in the top four in the conference?
You could almost feel the segment producers readying Wednesday night, the Lakers running all over the Kings in a win that would have vaulted them up the standings. The Kings’ high-motor offense had stalled with the Lakers’ replicating the defensive intensity they played with Monday. And the Lakers’ offense rolled — the ball found the open shooter and the open shooter hit all the big shots.
They led by 19 points late in the first quarter, their potential impossible to ignore.
But then came all the flaws.
Blown rebounds, inconsistent identity, bad body language, untimely turnovers and, quickly, an opportunity squandered.
In a violent swing, the Kings grabbed Wednesday’s game and flipped it before halftime, turning the 19-point deficit into a 15-point lead before hanging on to win 130-120 at Crypto.com Arena.
And, in a worst-case-scenario turn, the Lakers (34-30) played the final minutes of the fourth quarter with LeBron James in the locker room after the team took a timeout to remove him from the game.
The Lakers’ defense, which has been largely absent since their return from the All-Star break minus small stretches, completely deserted them. The Kings (35-26) made 18 of 23 shots in the second quarter, including 14 in a row.
Their bench, led by former Laker Malik Monk, dominated the Lakers’ reserves, who have struggled to put points on the board since the team settled on having Rui Hachimura, D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves in the starting lineup.
The Kings’ run started near the end of the first as Lakers coach Darvin Ham began his substitutions, Sacramento scoring the final 10 points of the quarter to wipe out more than half of the Lakers’ early lead.
It continued as Domantas Sabonis bullied Anthony Davis, of all people, with Davis needing to play through foul trouble. And with his presence at the rim partially negated, the Kings’ guards attacked Reaves, Russell, Taurean Prince and whomever else tried to get in front of De’Aaron Fox and Monk.
Fox scored 44 points, Monk had 26 and the Kings scored 76 points in the paint. Sabonis had 16 points, 20 rebounds and 12 assists.Davis finished with only 14 points and 11 rebounds.
James led the Lakers with 31 points before exiting.
LBJ. POSTER. pic.twitter.com/YmOxVZATYm
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) March 7, 2024
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) March 7, 2024
The Lakers next host the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday, continuing a stretch in which they’re facing some of the best teams in the NBA.
