SACRAMENTO — In a two-game set like the Lakers wrapped up with a 103-99 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Saturday afternoon, especially after winning the first matchup on Thursday night, the little moments can shine through.
But it was LeBron James’ offensive aggressiveness early that gave the Lakers an early edge.
And then the little plays made by the Lakers’ late sealed their third consecutive victory and fourth in their last five games, putting them at 16-12.
James (32 points, seven rebounds, six assists, four steals) attacked the rim early and often.
He scored 23 first-half points and made his first eight shots inside the paint to help give the Lakers a 56-53 lead during another game in which they struggled with their outside shooting (9 of 35 on 3-pointers – 25.7%).
Just like on Thursday, the Lakers’ defense not only gave them the advantage throughout Saturday, but their play down the stretch helped them seal the win.
James hit a 14-footer to put the Lakers up 99-91 with just under four minutes remaining. D’Angelo Russell (20 points, five assists, four rebounds off the bench) followed up with a 14-footer of his own, giving the Lakers a 101-91 edge with just under three minutes left.
After the Kings scored five unanswered points, De’Aaron Fox missed an open pull-up 3 that would’ve cut Sacramento’s deficit to two.
Domantas Sabonis made an and-1 layup and the ensuing free throw to cut the Lakers’ lead to 101-99 with 1:11 remaining.
James missed a 3 that would’ve given the Lakers a two-possession lead, allowing the Kings to tie the game or take the lead, but Fox missed a floater over Austin Reaves and Anthony Davis corralled the defensive rebound.
Davis was later fouled by Malik Monk on a Lakers’ inbounds play with 12 seconds left in the game.
He missed both free throws, but Hachimura grabbed his third offensive rebound of the game to maintain possession for the Lakers.
Reaves, who the Kings intentionally fouled with Sacramento trailing by two with 9.2 seconds left, made both free throws to put the Lakers up 103-99 and seal the victory for the Lakers.
Austin Reaves finished with 16 points, five assists and four rebounds. Davis was once again limited as a scorer, finishing with 10 points on 4-of-10 shooting, but added 15 rebounds, five assists and three blocked shots.