Luka Doncic and LeBron James lift Lakers to win over Kings
The Lakers underwent some soul-searching at practice Saturday, with coach JJ Redick starting the conversation before allowing players to speak freely about the team’s issues.
It was an attempt by Redick and the team to prevent things from spiraling out of control after three consecutive losses.
When the Lakers faced the Sacramento Kings on Sunday night at Crypto.com Arena, Redick wanted to see players executing on defense and playing harder.
The Lakers did exactly that, with Luka Doncic and LeBron James leading the way to a 125-101 win.
For the Lakers, it was more than Doncic finishing with 34 points, seven assists and five rebounds. It was Doncic playing defense, illustrated best when he blocked a shot by DeMar DeRozan. It was Doncic hustling, such as when he dove to the floor for a loose ball.
It was more than James scoring 24 points and handing out five assists. It was James throwing down a reverse dunk and offering words of wisdom to teammates.
And it also was reserve Nick Smith Jr. finding a role in the rotation and producing, one of the six Lakers scoring in double figures. Smith had 21 points on eight-for-14 shooting, making five of 10 threes.
Rui Hachimura had 12 points, Deandre Ayton had 11 points and 11 rebounds, and Jake LaRavia had 11 points.
The Lakers (20-10) took control from the start of the third quarter, going on a 13-2 run to give them a 26-point lead that reached as high as 30 in the fourth quarter.
Granted, the Kings (8-24) have the second-worst record in the West and were missing injured stars Zach LaVine, Domantas Sabonis and Keegan Bradley, three of their top four scorers.
But the Lakers lost three straight games because of poor defense and an overall effort that Redick described as “terrible.”
And with Austin Reaves out for at least a month because of a calf strain, getting the chance to talk through their issues might end up changing the team’s fortunes.
“They’re trying, and you know, I told the guys, this is normal,” Redick said. “There’s very few teams that don’t hit troughs throughout the season. It’s not all peaks. … It’s just a natural cycle that every team goes through.
“So we need to identify the problems and then come up with the solutions. So that’s just the process that we’re in the middle of right now.”