Coming off a come-from-behind win on Thursday over the Phoenix Suns, the Los Angeles Lakers headed north to take on the Sacramento Kings on Sunday hoping to get their second victory of the season.
Early on, the Lakers mounted little resistance defensively to a Kings team that averaged over 120 points a game last season. They gave up 41 points in the first quarter as Sacramento went 7-of-13 from 3-point range. Los Angeles was able to come to within four late in the second quarter behind an Anthony Davis-fueled run, only to give up seven straight points right before halftime.
The team chipped away at its deficit and made it a back-and-forth affair down the stretch. Clutch buckets by Anthony Davis and LeBron James in the final 30 seconds forced overtime, but once there, the Lakers lost because they couldn’t defend the 3-point line or get rebounds.
The 132-127 defeat dropped L.A. to a 1-2 record. The team had the edge in several effort categories, including rebounds, fast-break points, free throw attempts and free throw makes, but it got outscored in the paint 56-44. It will be back at it on Monday when it returns home to host the Orlando Magic.
Anthony Davis: A
Davis certainly did just about everything he needed to do to give the Lakers a chance at victory. He made half of his 22 shots and went 7-of-8 from the free throw line and 1-of-2 from 3-point range to score 30 points. The big man also gobbled up 16 rebounds, blocked three shots and notched two steals.
Taurean Prince: B/B-plus
After a horrific game on Thursday against Phoenix, Prince got hot and helped L.A. compete hard in this one. He went 5-of-13 from downtown, giving him 20 points for the game, and he also blocked a shot by Domantas Sabonis. However, he went 1-of-5 in the fourth quarter and overtime combined, and the Lakers need him to connect on enough of his attempts in crunch time.
D'Angelo Russell: B-minus
Russell was a mixed bag in this game. He shot just 5-of-13 overall and 1-of-5 from beyond the arc, although he perked up late by going 4-of-7 in the fourth quarter and overtime combined. He also had nine assists and didn’t commit a single turnover.
Defensively, however, Russell wasn’t able to help his team. De’Aaron Fox shot 14-of-24 and scored 37 points with eight assists, and Russell needs to find a way to slow down opposing guards enough moving forward.
Austin Reaves: F
This was by far the worst game Reaves has had in some time. He missed all but one of his 12 shot attempts and was 1-of-8 from downtown while committing three turnovers against just two assists. As a result, head coach Darvin Ham opted to have Russell and Gabe Vincent in the game during crunch time instead of Reaves.
LeBron James: B
James shot 11-of-19 to score 27 points, with seven of his buckets coming in the fourth quarter and overtime, and he also dished off eight assists while grabbing 15 rebounds. He was a big reason why the Lakers came back after being behind by a sizable margin to have a chance to win this contest.
However, he had five turnovers in the fourth quarter and overtime, with two of them coming on traveling violations. In all, he had eight turnovers for the game, which was two-thirds of the Lakers’ total as a team.
A pattern seems to be emerging: James largely deferred to his teammates in the first three quarters, then asserted himself in earnest afterward.
One thing to watch is his minutes. He played 39 minutes in this one, and the Lakers will play again on Monday versus the Orlando Magic. How much will Ham play James on Monday, how much will James assert himself and how fresh and energetic will he be?
Rui Hachimura: B/B-plus
After two poor games to start the season, Hachimura came alive a bit on Sunday. He struggled in the first three quarters of this game, as he didn’t make a shot during that span, but he knocked down back-to-back treys early in the fourth period to give the Lakers their first lead of the contest.
He finished with 11 points on 3-of-6 field-goal shooting and 2-of-4 from beyond the arc and six rebounds in 17 minutes.
Christian Wood: A/A-minus
Wood didn’t get as many minutes in this game as he did on Thursday, but he still did well. He made all three of his shot attempts, which came in quick succession early in the second quarter — he hit two 3-pointers and got a three-point play by scoring a bucket and getting fouled on a fast break.
In 14 minutes, Wood finished with 11 points, as well as five rebounds and one assist.
Gabe Vincent: C/C-plus
Vincent only scored one bucket in three attempts, but he had two assists and one steal in 32 minutes, and he stuck like glue to Fox defensively. He played most of the fourth quarter and overtime, and it’s starting to look like Ham trusts him as someone to rely on down the stretch of games.
Jaxson Hayes: B
In seven minutes, Hayes scored four points and got two rebounds. His lone basket came on an alley-oop dunk, which was set up by Russell. The Lakers need more shot-blocking and rim protection from Hayes, and those two things happen to be arguably his two greatest abilities on the court.
Cam Reddish: D
Reddish played five minutes, and he missed both of his field-goal attempts. His only contribution was one rebound.
It will be interesting to see what happens to Reddish’s playing time once Jarred Vanderbilt, who will miss some more time with left heel bursitis, returns to game action. It’s easy to see Reddish fall out of the rotation, especially given Vanderbilt’s defensive versatility and overall prowess.
