SteemSports Presenter:@mateonav53
SteemSports Editor:@scottybuckets
The Lakers prevailed over the Kings in a thrilling Saturday night matchup in Sacramento. They squeaked out of the building with a 113-108 win thanks to the hot shooting of Kentavius Caldwell-Pope (34 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists). Sacramento had some amazing games from Willie Cauley-Stein (18 points, 16 rebounds, 1 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks) and Bogdan Bogdanovic (21 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists). Buddy Hield had a great game for them off the bench as well with 21 points, 7 rebounds and 1 assist. Lonzo Ball didn't play for the Lakers because he just came back from an MCL injury and they wanted to give him some rest coming off a back-to-back.
The Lakers came into this contest having lost their last 3 games away from Staples Center, so they were anxious to prove they could get another road win. Both squads came out pushing the pace to start things off. Brandon Ingram came out looking to facilitate, he had 4 assists in the first 8 minutes. Julius Randle tried to keep up his dominant paint play from the night before by sinking some tough shots at the rim, going right at the length of Willie Cauley-Stein. Buddy Hield hit a couple heat-check three's to put the Kings up 24-22 with one minute remaining in the first. A transition bucket and another three-pointer capped off Sacramento's run at the end of the first quarter to put them up 29-25.
Sacramento kept up their hot play to start the second. A few minutes in they called Vince Carter's number, the oldest player in the league in his 20th season. He made every Kings fan go wild when he drove to the rim and took flight for a fat dunk off a lapse in the Laker defense. Luke was playing Isaiah Thomas a lot more in this second quarter compared to last night at Dallas. That may have contributed to the lack of defense. When things were looking lost for the Lakers, Kentavius Caldwell-Pope's surprisingly good play kept them in it. Even so, the Kings were just out-hustling them and they walked into the locker room leading the Lakeshow 58-50. Willie Cauley-Stein already had a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds.
Cauley-Stein was everywhere to start the third quarter. He slammed home an alley-oop and drained a shot from the outside to boost his point total for his double-double and played some nice defense at the rim. Despite Willie's play, KCP kept hitting shots for the Lakers to keep the game within striking distance. They went on a 13-3 run and KCP had 22 points with 7 minutes remaining in the third. Sacramento called a timeout in an attempt to halt the Lakers momentum, but the purple and gold came back ready to play and grabbed the lead 75-72. The Laker offense kept chugging along led by KCP's hot shooting, and they finally clamped down on their team defense particularly at the rim. The third quarter ended with the Lakers up 87-83 thanks largely to KCP who already accumulated 30 points.
The Kings were pissed though, and they busted out of the gate with 4 quick points to tie the game 87-87. There were a ton lead changes as the Lakers struck back and the Kings counter-punched, but the Sacramento showed they weren't going to fold. There were a lot of riled up Laker fans that started belting out an audible "LET'S GO LAKERS" chant as the game became more intense. Both teams were hot from beyond the arc, and the Lakers actually hit a new season high for 3 pointers made (17). The Lakers took the lead 107-100 and they put in Josh Hart over Isaiah Thomas in the last minute and a half for defensive purposes. They put Isaiah back in when it was time to hit free throws but he got his pocket picked by De'Aaron Fox which led to a Sacramento score 107-104 with the Lakers still up. Bogdan Bogdanovic made an unbelievable 4 point play off a foolish foul by KCP to narrow it 109-108. They fouled Isaiah Thomas immediately after and he hit two clutch free throws to make it 111-108 Lakers still up. The Kings had a chance to tie it but they tried going for a quick 2 and missed. Josh Hart hit two free throws to put the game out of reach to seal the deal 113-108.
It was an engaging game because both teams were hitting their shots (13 3's for Sacramento, 17 for LA) and getting buckets in the paint (both teams had 40 points in the paint). Luke Walton did a good job at utilizing Isaiah Thomas for his scoring, but not leaving him in too long to the point that Sacramento would've exploited him on defense. Isaiah played well overall in his return to the city that drafted him 60th overall, tallying 17 points with 4 assists. Julius Randle looked great again tonight, he had 12 points and 13 rebounds and got a clutch and-1 in crunch time to solidify the Laker lead.
If they want to keep Randle this summer they'll have to give the big man some money. It might be hard freeing up that cash if the Lakers really are trying to make room for two max-level free agents. Julius has just looked so good ever since Luke started playing him more, it would be unfortunate to see him go. He's not turning it over as much when he posts up, and shots that were rimming out last year are finally getting a friendly bounce. He's shown he's used to the pace of the game and battling the strength of his defenders. The purple and gold will play the Atlanta Hawks on Monday in A-Town. If they come out with a victory, they'll tie last season's win total with 26.
Thank you for following @steemsports and you can find me @mateonav53
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