SACRAMENTO — The Lakers, who have statistically had the league’s best defense over the last 1½ weeks entering Thursday, knew they would be tested in their consecutive matchups against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center.
They passed the first leg of the exam, beating the Kings, 113-100, on Thursday night in the first of two matchups over three days in Sacramento.
They’ll square off again on Saturday afternoon.
On a night when their offense struggled after a 37-point first quarter to take a nine-point lead going into the second, it was the Lakers’ ability to win around the margins that gave them their third win in their last four games.
The Lakers (15-12) grabbed nine more offensive rebounds (13-4) than the Kings (13-15), giving them an 18-4 edge in second-chance points and 94-81 field-goal attempts advantage.
Anthony Davis led the Lakers on the boards, grabbing six of his 18 rebounds on the offensive glass to go along with 21 points, a season-high six blocked shots, four assists and three steals.
The Lakers scored 24 points off of the Kings’ 17 turnovers, taking advantage of being disruptive on the defensive end of the floor.
Austin Reaves led the Lakers in scoring with 25 points on 7-of-14 shooting to go with five assists and five rebounds.
The Kings closed to within 93-90 on De’Aaron Fox’s jumper with eight minutes remaining. Reaves’ short bank shot and two free throws from Davis sparked a 10-2 run that helped the Lakers pull away.
Reaves knocked down a 3-pointer off an assist from LeBron James (19 points, seven assists, six rebounds) to finish that surge and put them ahead 103-92 with just over four minutes left in the game.
The Lakers led by at least double figures for the rest of the night.
D’Angelo Russell (16 points, six rebounds) and Gabe Vincent (12 points, five rebounds, three assists) made significant contributions off the bench.
Max Christie had eight points, four rebounds (three offensive) and two steals. Vincent also had a pair of offensive boards.
Fox had 26 points, five assists, three rebounds and three steals to lead Sacramento. Domantas Sabonis added 18 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists. Malik Monk scored 17 points.
NOTE
Davis fell hard to the floor in the fourth quarter and stayed down for several moments before getting up and limping heavily. Davis, who has been dealing with left plantar fasciitis, stayed in the game and immediately made a big defensive stop.
More to come on this story.
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