Kings Continue Dominance Over Lakers

The Lakers’ stars were nonexistent against the Sacramento Kings Wednesday night losing 120-107. This would also mark the first time the Kings sweep the season series since 2015-16.

Anthony Davis struggled to find any kind of rhythm which is a nightmare if the Lakers want to win. He had just 22 points against his non-All-Star counterpart Domantas Sabonis.

The one bright spot, Austin Reeves, started off hot from three but when he cooled down the Lakers had trouble collecting rebounds and defending Sabonis, who finished with a triple-double.

In the second quarter the teams traded shots, unfortunately for the Lakers, the shots didn’t come from their big man. Davis had the chance for a three-point play with 2:44 left, which appeared to be his biggest highlight of the half.

The Kings opened the third quarter with a run to get to their biggest lead of nine points. The Lakers failed to fight over screens and get quality possessions during that stretch. 

Davis ended a 6-plus minute scoring drought that only made a small dent in the deficit.  From then on the lead remained above double digits, and the Lakers found themselves down 15 to start the fourth quarter.

The final period saw no sign of life from the purple and gold, which was just a microcosm of the entire game. The Lakers started off the quarter 4-for-4, but then back-to-back threes from Harrison Barnes and Malik Monk crushed the Lakers dreams of a comeback. 

Another player who seems to disappear against the Kings is D’Angelo Russell, who had six points and just one point at the end of the first half.

There is just something about Sacramento that the purple and gold can’t figure out both offensively and defensively. This must press the issue of whether Darvin Ham can lead the team in the playoffs.

After the loss, Ham was asked how they combated the Kings’ runs, “In the sense of team basketball, continuing to have a next play mentality…again, do it as a unit, we can’t skip the details.”

Skipping details can’t continue to be an excuse for defensive breakdowns. The Lakers season will end short if their head coach can’t figure out a way to stop big men from dominating, and incredible opponent performances from behind the arc.

Anthony Davis and company will take on the Golden State Warriors on Saturday, who are also battling to stay out of a play-in spot.

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