Just when it looked like the Los Angeles Lakers were finding their mojo, they regressed. The same problems that had held them back prior to the three-game winning streak returned Wednesday.
They hosted the Sacramento Kings, a team that had also won three games in a row. From the start, there were red flags. De’Aaron Fox scored a quick and-one off the opening tip. That seemed to set the tone.
The Lakers fell behind, 37-17, in the first quarter as Sacramento continually earned easy baskets in transition, especially from 3-point range. The Lakers went on a 15-1 run to make the game more competitive, but the Kings reasserted themselves and took a 13-point lead at halftime. L.A. drew no closer than six points in the second quarter. The Kings scored 16 points off eight Laker turnovers and outrebounded the Purple and Gold by eight, which led to 13 second-chance points in the first half.
The game grew even worse for L.A. in the second half. It trailed by as many as 26 points early in the fourth quarter. It made a run to come within nine with just over three minutes left, but it was too little, too late, and it fell 125-110.
In the end, turnovers may have been the Lakers’ biggest problem. They gave up the ball 23 times, which led to 30 points for Sacramento. It was a replay of many of the problems that caused them to lose five of their first eight games.
They are 6-6 as they prepare to visit the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday.
Anthony Davis: D
This was Davis’ worst game of the season and his worst outing in quite some time. He missed all but one of his six shot attempts and finished 3-of-9 for nine points. He committed five turnovers, though he faced plenty of double teams. He did grab nine rebounds and block four shots, but he simply didn’t have it versus Sacramento.
On the defensive end, he also wasn’t his usual self. He allowed Domantas Sabonis to light him up for 29 points on 13-of-19 shooting, 16 rebounds and seven assists.
Davis appeared to perhaps tweak the hip he had injured last week early in this game. While it isn’t an excuse, it may have been a factor in his awful performance.
Taurean Prince: C
Prince shot 3-of-7 overall and 1-of-4 from 3-point range, giving him seven points in 25 minutes. He got some good looks from downtown, but he didn’t hit enough of them to give the Lakers a shot at winning.
Cam Reddish: B
Reddish continued to shine in his new role as a starter. He shot 7-of-14 from the field and 2-of-5 from downtown, giving him 16 points in 32 minutes.
Defensively, he did well in some ways with his activity, which resulted in five steals. But he was assigned to guard De’Aaron Fox, and he couldn’t contain the Kings’ best player. Fox had 28 points, and although it wasn’t the most efficient of nights for him, he killed the Lakers in the first half and ensured they would fall behind by too large a margin.
D'Angelo Russell: B/B-plus
Offensively, Russell had a good outing with 28 points on 12-of-20 overall shooting and 4-of-6 from 3-point land, and he also dished five assists while committing two turnovers.
On the other end, he allowed Kings starting guard Kevin Huerter to go off for 28 points of his own on 10-of-16 field-goal shooting and 6-of-11 from deep. Russell continues to have troubles on the defensive end, just as he did in last season’s Western Conference finals. L.A. needs to find a remedy.
LeBron James: A/A-minus
James showed no real signs of fatigue on the second night of a back-to-back set of games. He shot 9-of-15, including 3-of-7 from downtown, to score 28 points while grabbing 10 rebounds, dealing out 11 assists, getting four steals and blocking a shot, giving him his first triple-double of the season. He did a lot of his damage in the first hal,f when he went 6-of-8 from the field, and he tried to lead the charge in the fourth quarter until his team ran out of time.
Unfortunately, James also committed six turnovers, and at least one of them was unforced. Overall, he looks to be the same player he has been throughout his career, even at age 38 and in his 21st season.
Rui Hachimura: D
Hachimura did very little in this game. He went 2-of-5 and scored five points in 18 minutes, and the Lakers needed much more from him. He made no other contributions in any other area of the stat sheet.
Austin Reaves: C/C-plus
Reaves shot 4-of-10 and missed all five of his 3-point attempts while committing five turnovers on Wednesday. He didn’t seem to have much room to operate: He couldn’t shake Sacramento defensively and find enough daylight on a consistent basis.
The third-year guard did get 11 rebounds and eight assists to help Los Angeles’ cause, and he was one of the few players on the team who played with decent energy throughout this contest.
Jaxson Hayes: C/C-minus
After an excellent game on Tuesday, Hayes made little impact versus the Kings. In 13 minutes, he had three points, all of them coming on free throws, one rebound, one steal and two turnovers.
Christian Wood: C
After a promising start to the season, Wood’s offense has been about as dry as a San Fernando Valley summer lately. He made both of his shot attempts, but he scored only five points to go along with two rebounds in nine minutes.
The Lakers signed Wood because of his ability to score in bunches and take some pressure off James and Davis offensively. He needs to start asserting himself more on that end of the floor.
Maxwell Lewis, Max Christie, D'Moi Hodge: Incomplete
All three young players entered the game with the outcome already decided. Christie produced one rebound, but none made any other contributions on the stat sheet.
