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JJ Redick called his players out. The Lakers answered.
The Lakers responded to three blowout losses and a spirited team meeting by playing one of their most complete games of the season Sunday to earn a 125-101 win over the Sacramento Kings at Crypto.com Arena. For the first time this year, the Lakers (20-10) outscored their opponent in every quarter with Luka Doncic (34 points) and LeBron James (24 points) leading the way despite Austin Reaves’ absence.
“Hopefully,” forward Jake LaRavia said, “this is the first of a mini win streak.”
Here are three takeaways from the win:
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Nick Smith Jr. is ready for his moment
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Nick Smith Jr. placed his newest souvenir nonchalantly underneath the press conference table. This game ball will likely go to his mother.
Smith earned it Sunday with a starring performance off the bench while filling in for the injured Reaves. The 21-year-old guard on a two-way contract scored 21 points on eight-for-14 shooting with three rebounds and one assist. He made five three-pointers, including his first four from beyond the arc while starting seven-for-seven from the field.
With Reaves sidelined for at least a month with a grade two strain in his left calf, Smith will be in line for more consistent minutes, Redick said before the game. Especially with fellow guard Gabe Vincent missing his fourth game because of a back injury Sunday, the Lakers need Smith’s ball handling and shiftiness alongside James and Doncic.
But to offset the loss of their second-leading scorer, the Lakers are most desperate for Smith’s scoring.
“It’s why we wanted him on the Lakers and part of our program, because we knew he could score,” Redick said. “I like when he’s aggressive. … If he could just do him within our structure, a lot of times, good things happen.”
Smith has already flashed his scoring potential in big moments. The former first-round draft pick who signed with the Lakers a day before training camp started rescued the team with 25 points in Portland in a game without James, Doncic or Reaves. He had 12 points in 14 minutes off the bench against Toronto when the Lakers survived thanks to a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Rui Hachimura.
“We trust him,” Redick said before the game.
After getting waived by the Charlotte Hornets, Smith recognized that he hasn’t had this level of trust from a coaching staff “in a long time.” To have it “means everything,” he added.
“It’s a different stage, you know, where I came from, and I understand that,” Smith said. “So I just want to make sure I’m ready. … I’m just blessed to be here, just have the opportunity just to even play with the Lakers and stuff like that, even be in the league. A lot of guys where I’m from would, like, love to be in this situation.”
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JJ Redick switches rotation with Austin Reaves sidelined
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It’s not just Reaves’ absence that is shaking up the Lakers rotation. Redick experimented with a new substitution pattern that could allow Doncic and James to individually lead the offense more often.
Doncic, who typically plays the entire first quarter, subbed out with 2:31 remaining in the first quarter Sunday. James kept his typical first-quarter pattern of playing roughly the first six minutes, sitting for three, then returning for the final three. Doncic would typically sit for the first five to six minutes of the second quarter, but returned Sunday at the 9:12 mark of the second.
“It just gives more time for those guys to sort of be the quarterback without the other one,” Redick said. “Having said that, we ran a lot of stuff for them to be in two-man action, for them to be part of the play together tonight. So it’s not like we’re trying to, like, keep them apart. It’s just kind of the nature of what we’re trying to do, and we’re going to do this for the foreseeable future, and just see how it goes.”
Pressed by Redick to set the tone for a better start after the Lakers struggled in first quarters of their three blowout losses, Doncic and James combined for 19 points in the first quarter. Doncic leads the league in scoring and first-quarter scoring, but instead wanted to focus on distributing the ball early. All of the Lakers starters had at least one shot in the first three minutes of the game.
“Just trying to get everybody involved more than I used to,” Doncic said. “Everybody got some shots up today. Just shows when we share the ball, when we move the ball, it’s great for us.”
The Lakers had 25 assists on 47 made shots Sunday. They are 19-4 when they have 23 or more assists and 1-6 with 22 or fewer.
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Detroit matchup gives Lakers a chance at a Houston do-over
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The Lakers’ win over the struggling Kings (8-24) matters. It prevented the season from inching closer to disaster with a fourth consecutive loss. The defensive energy and effort, especially during a 13-2 run to start the third quarter, showed the team’s character in response to a deflating three-game skid.
But the win also doesn’t make a major statement. The Lakers improved to 13-3 against teams with losing records. They are just 7-7 against teams .500 or better. Those losses were by an average of 19.6 points.
Tuesday’s game against the Detroit Pistons could be the statement game the Lakers are looking for.
The Pistons, who lead the Eastern Conference with a 24-7 record, are the NBA’s second-best rebounding team behind only Houston. The Rockets just dominated the Lakers, outrebounding L.A. by 23 last Thursday.
“They play a good brand of basketball,” James said of the Pistons. “It’s that Detroit feeling again. So we got to be ready for that, and I think we should be.”
Center Jalen Duren is averaging a career high 18.3 points and 10.8 rebounds per game. Former first-overall pick Cade Cunningham is also having a career season with 26.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, 9.6 assists and 1.6 steals per game.
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