After their correction received in Phoenix, the Lakers moved this time to the Kingstheir Californian neighbor and rival, but the end result was the same, since they left with a clear and flawless defeat in their suitcases: 134-120!
Yet, unlike Monday night, LeBron James (30 points, 6 rebounds, 11 assists, 3 blocks) was present in the camp of Los Angelesbut he just couldn’t pull off a miracle in front of Domantas Sabonis (13 points, 21 rebounds, 12 assists) and the 91 points of the other four holders of Sacramento.
Before receiving the Hornets and then going to the Mavericks during the christmas daythe “Purple & Gold” lost for the second time in a row, while the players of “Sactown” won for the third time in four games.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
— Domantas Sabonis in the oven and in the mill. Twentieth career triple-double for the Lithuanian and his second under the colors of the Kings. Omnipresent in this meeting, despite a discreet start due to the good defense of the Lakers (yes, yes…), the All-Star interior then gradually increased in power, once again blackening the stats sheet. Dominator in the rebound, capital in creation and scorer if necessary, he had no trouble reigning in the paint, in the absence of Anthony Davis on the side of Los Angeles.
— The Los Angeles defense held out… twelve minutes. 41 points conceded in the second quarter, then 40 in the third, for a total of 134 units conceded on arrival… Reduced from base, and opposed to one of the most effective attacks in the league, the Lakers were (hopefully) aware that they had to roll up their sleeves defensively, to give themselves a chance of winning in Sacramento. The problem is that they stopped defending and making efforts from the first quarter, leaving boulevards to the Kings in the paint (58 points) or behind the arc (17 baskets at 3-pts ).
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ The Sacramento Holders. Besides Domantas Sabonis and his big triple-double, therefore, the Kings received a nice helping hand from the other four members of their five. Namely De’Aaron Fox (22 points, 6 assists and an expulsion for two technical fouls, at the end), Kevin Huerter (26 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals), rookie Keegan Murray (23 points, career record tied ), as well as Harrison Barnes (20 points and 8 rebounds). An impressive collective strike force, which took full advantage of the Lakers’ defensive mistakes…
✅ LeBron James. At almost 38 years old, the “King” continues to perform (almost) every night, regardless of the defenses offered to him and the opponents facing him. Certainly supported properly by the triplet Dennis Schröder (18 points) – Lonnie Walker IV (19 points, 5 rebounds) – Thomas Bryant (17 points, 10 rebounds), he will however have lacked the support of another All-Star or ‘a energizer off the bench, to succeed in dominating the Kings despite a collective defense with absent subscribers. He will therefore have missed Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook, in short…
⛔ The lack of creators in Los Angeles. Without Russell Westbrook or Austin Reaves, the Lakers had to rely on LeBron James and Dennis Schröder, or even Patrick Beverley and Kendrick Nunn, to create and produce things on offense. Despite some interesting passages, we generally saw that the Californian game was very poor without the Westbrook / Reaves pair to support and relieve LeBron James. Especially when the “King” (11 assists) was resting. This caused, during certain sequences, difficulties in finding the fault offensively and overcoming defensive absences.
THE FOLLOWING
Sacramento (17-13) : reception of Washington, on the night of Friday to Saturday (04:00).
Los Angeles (13-18) : reception of Charlotte, on the night of Friday to Saturday (04:30).
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