Lakers coach JJ Redick was asked before Monday’s game Sacramento Kings how he could ensure his players wouldn’t underestimate a nine-win team.
“We don’t look at any game as a walkover,” Redick said.
Then the Kings walked all over the Lakers, taking a 20-point lead in the third quarter before winning 124-112 a Golden 1 Center.
Luka Doncic did his best to keep the Lakers in the game, scoring 42 points and collecting eight assists and seven rebounds. But he scored just two points in the fourth quarter and looked slower after having his left thigh wrapped at the end of the third quarter.
The Lakers got to within seven points in the fourth, but the Kings pulled away. DeMar DeRozan scored 32 points Russell Westbrook finished with 22 points and seven assists for the Kings (10-30), who shot 59% from the field (48-82) and made 17 three-pointers.
LeBron James, who scored 22 points, was wearing a patch on his jersey commemorating his 23rd NBA season in the city where he played his first NBA game. The patch pays tribute to James becoming the first player to play in 23 seasons and he will wear it for the remainder of the season. It features a silhouette of his pregame chalk toss and three colored stripes that represents the Lakers, Cavaliers and Heat — the three franchises he has played for during his career.
Following every game, the patch will be removed from his jersey, dated and then shipped to a Topps’ production facility to be authenticated and later inserted into a pack of trading cards.
The Lakers (23-14) looked strong from the onset when Deandre Ayton won the jump ball and eventually threw a lob pass to James for a 2-0 Lakers lead, a play that has become something the Lakers have used several times to start a game.
James hit his first four shots and the Lakers took an 8-2 lead before everything started to crumble.
They were behind 59-43 late in the second quarter. They couldn’t stop Malik Monk, who had 18 points off the bench on six-for-eight shooting, including five for six from three-point range. Monk finished with 26 points.
After the hot start, James finished the first half going five for 12 from the field for 12 points. He finished the game shooting eight for 17.
The Lakers will play the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. When the Lakers played a back-to-back game last week, James sat out the second game. Will he do the same Tuesday?
“We’ll see how he feels in the morning,” Redick said.
Perhaps Rui Hachimura will make his return from right calf soreness. He was available to play Monday, but he sat out his seventh consecutive game.
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