This was a mess from the start for the Lakers and only got messier as they lacked energy against the Sacramento Kings in their second game in two nights.
The Lakers were down by 26 points early in the fourth quarter, and this was with starters LeBron James, Anthony Davis, D’Angelo Russell and Cam Reddish on the floor with sixth man Austin Reaves.
So, that feel-good, three-game winning streak the Lakers had is no more after a 125-110 defeat Wednesday night at Crypto.com Arena.
“If I had a definitive answer, we wouldn’t have been in that position to start with,” Reaves said when asked about the lack of energy at the start. “Everybody goes through it. Every team that’s ever played has done the same stuff. But you just got to fight it. Energy in the second half was much better. But you just gotta fight it as much as you can and just continue to play the game.”
The Lakers (6-6) made a late push, pulling to within nine with 3:03 left on a Reddish three-pointer.
But the Lakers turned the ball over on consecutive trips down the court, part of their 23 miscues, and that was that.
LeBron James takes the ball upcourt against the Kings in the second half.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
“It had an effect on the game. I think definitely the turnovers [hurt us],” James said. “They did a good job of being in the passing lane. We turned the ball over way too many times and allowed them to score off our turnovers. A couple of times it broke our run when we had defensive stops, or whatever the case may be, and they were able to read some of our passes.”
James, who had 28 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds, passed Jason Kidd for fifth in NBA history with 108 triple-doubles, also becoming the only player to record a triple-double in his 21st season in the league.
James and Kidd were Olympic teammates and won an NBA championship together in 2020 when Kidd was an assistant coach with the Lakers.
James spoke about what he learned from Kidd, who is now the coach of the Dallas Mavericks.
“Making teammates better no matter what. Can never do it individually,” James said. “Can never do it by yourself. Also, communication. I think those were two things that I took from him and I’ve been able to apply.
“The third thing I haven’t been able to apply and I will never ever be able to apply and that’s patience. That’s just not in my nature. He does a great job of it, though. So I got two out of the three.”
Reaves and Davis had a subpar game with nine points apiece, Davis on three-for-nine shooting and Reaves on four-for-10. Reaves did have 11 rebounds and eight assists, and Davis added nine rebounds.
Davis said he has been dealing with muscle spasms in his left adductor and hip area.
“I’m still treating it every day,” Davis said. “Obviously, you don’t get that day to really attack it with the back-to-back. But it is what it is. I suit up, I will play. I got to be more effective. Obviously it was still bothering me a little bit but I still got to go out there and do my job.”
The disturbing trend of the Lakers falling behind in the first quarter surfaced yet again, their defense nowhere to be found and their offense just adequate.
In 12 games, the Lakers have trailed after the first quarter eight times.
There was no coming back for the Lakers after falling behind by 20 points while the Kings shot 53.6% from the field and 50% from three-point range. The Kings finished the game shooting 50% from the field.
This story originally appeared on LA Times
