Four Kings scored 20 or more points.
After being 10-point favorites and falling to the Charlotte Hornets on Monday, the Kings were back on their home floor in Sacramento looking to bounce back against an ailing Los Angeles Lakers team and wound up walking off the court with a 134-120 victory.
The Lakers would head into Sacramento with injuries to Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook and Austin Reaves, putting a hell of a workload on the shoulders of LeBron James. Through the first quarter, the Kings looked to be in a bit of a rush to find their offensive flow. Their shots weren’t falling and everything started to look like a “here we go again” type of feel.
It wasn’t until the second quarter when Sac found their tempo and groove. Domantas Sabonis (13 points, 21 rebounds and 12 assists) was a huge catalyst in helping the Kings head into the half with a 66-58 advantage. Nemas Queta was a treat to watch as well in that first half. The two-way contracted big man was called upon early and did a pretty decent job in his 10 minutes of action, finishing with 10 points on 5-for-5 shooting and three rebounds. Mike Brown recently spoke about trying to find “that guy” to put in as the secured backup for Sabonis when he’s off the court.
While this wasn’t a job securing type of outing for Queta, the young big did show he has been developing in the G-League and he may be looked at again to see if he’s ready to see some consistent minutes.
Starting the second half, the Kings once again showed a bit of a slow start. Shots weren’t falling and they kept giving up a ton of easy baskets to the Lakers. After an early timeout from coach Brown, Sacramento came out strong defensively and began playing to their strength, which is getting out in transition and finishing on the break.
De’Aaron Fox put together another solid night to add to his potential All-Star year, finishing the game with 22 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists. Keegan Murray, who had been struggling, finally had his breakout game, scoring a career-high 23 points and knocking down six three-pointers. Harrison Barnes has just been Mr. Reliable for the Kings as of late, as he would finish the night with 20 points and 8 rebounds.
I can’t forget about Kevin Huerter who just put on a clinic on how to keep moving with or without the ball and get to your spot. Huerter would finish the game with a team-high 26 points to go along with 5 rebounds and 3 steals.
This was a tremendous bounce back game from the Kings and against a Western Conference opponent who is hunting them in the playoff standings. Sacramento will now get a couple of days to rest and prepare for their upcoming bout against Bradley Beal and the Washington Wizards on December 23.
Oh, before I go….
LIGHT THE BEAM!!!!!!