What a tragedy in Sacramento! The Los Angeles Lakers picked up their fifth straight win, winning a shootout with the Kings 136-134. The decision was made by Dennis Schröder from the free throw line, before De’Aaron Fox and LeBron James had a big duel.
Sacramento Kings (20-18) – Los Angeles Lakers (19-21) 134:136 (BOXSCORE)
The two attacking players dominated for more than 48 minutes in an entertaining exchange of blows, in which neither side was able to take a double-digit lead. Fox defended against the impending loss with 17 of 34 points (11/21 FG, plus 9 assists) in the lone fourth quarter and kept the Kings short with Domantas Sabonis, who had his 16th double-double d in a row in the return fault before the end (25, 12 rebounds, 7 assists), in the match.
Previously, the mighty LeBron James tried to take the bar, but Fox always responded with his mid-range pull-ups. In a crazy final phase, Schröder finally made the decision with a good drive seconds from the end. He drew a foul, increased his points tally to 27 points and made the final score 136:134.
The German confirmed his solid form, hitting 8/11 from the field and 4/5 from downtown. James had 37 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists, support was also provided by the extremely effective Thomas Bryant (29, 14 rebounds, 12/14 FG) and Russell Westbrook, who had 23 points, 15 assists and 5 rebounds – only as the second player such a bank statline since 1970/71 at all. Kings coach Mike Brown summed up the night well: “We can score, but defensively we’re terrible.
Lakers vs Kings: Offensive fireworks with strong Schröder
LeBron (ankle) said he was in good shape over time, so the visitors to the City of Angels started the game with the same starting five as in the win over Atlanta the night before. Schröder was hot in the opening minutes (8 in the first quarter), and the Lakers offense generally got off to a great start. The only flaw was the 5 turnovers and Sacramento was awake from the start – and red hot. Taken together, the two teams started on 13/21 from Downtown, the first period narrowly going to the Kings: 38:37.
It was much the same in the second quarter. The Kings again responded to a Westbrook hammer dunk from distance, while LA responded with a 9-0 run. Sabonis followed that up with a poster dunk, which was hugely entertaining for the offensive fanatics. The defense remained short until halftime, Schröder already had 4 converted triples in 4 attempts, the Lakers set a season record for most points in a half. 73:73!
The two offensives continued fortunately. Numerous attacks to the zone led to tons of free throws, the Lakers have already passed the 100-point mark just four minutes from the end of the third quarter. Even after three quarters played, LA had a field shooting rate of over 60%, but it remained balanced (109:109).
Dennis Schröder secures spectacular Lakers victory
Thanks to an 11: 2 start from the Lakers, the guests have now moved away a bit. James attacked the area in the best way with the steamroller, Bryant could not miss with his sweaters either. But: Fox and Sabonis, who already played with five fouls midway through the quarter, brought the Kings back with LeBron on the bench. He entered critical time with a draw.
Bryant now dominated the zone, but LA could no longer hit three (0/8 in the second half). Keegan Murray also committed an offensive foul on LeBron, which Fox turned into a 132-130 lead with a minute left with a pull-up on the other side. The answer came from the king himself. Drive, lay-up, and-one – and the sixth foul for Sabonis.
Then Schröder and the Lakers showed very solid defense against Fox and on fences against shooters, but the offensive rebound ended with the Kings. But Schröder got his hands on the next entry pass, the turnover kings! The drama reached its climax when Westbrook received one and one and instead sank just one of its two free throws, Sacramento had one last chance: And Fox actually got the tie with a jumper from the middle instance.
6 seconds were still on the clock for the Lakers, Schröder shot to the basket and received the foul whistle. A challenge from the Kings was unsuccessful as the German put the ball to +2 with 3.6 seconds left. Sacramento ran out of timeouts, Fox sprinted to the halfway line, but his three-point shot was a little too long. Victory for the Lakers!
NBA: Stat Leaders in Kings vs Lakers
| Category | kings | lakers |
| Points | De’Aaron Fox (34) | LeBron James (37) |
| bounces | Domantas Sabonis (12) | Thomas Bryant (14) |
| assists | De’Aaron Fox (9) | Russell Westbrook (15) |
| stolen | Murray, Huerter (2 each) | ao James, Bryant (1 each) |
| block | ao Sabonis, Barnes (1 each) | ao Bryant, Westbrook (1 each) |
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