Kings blow out Los Angeles Lakers despite triple-double from the ‘amazing’ LeBron James
Floyd Mayweather, Cedric the Entertainer and other Hollywood stars showed up to watch the Los Angeles Lakers, but what they saw was another electric performance by the Beam Team.
The Kings unveiled their black and purple Statement Edition uniforms Wednesday and what a statement they made, opening a six-game road trip with a 125-110 victory at Crypto.com Arena despite a triple-double by LeBron James.
Domantas Sabonis had 29 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists for the Kings (6-4), who led by as many as 26 points and never trailed while winning their fourth in a row. Sabonis said the Kings are finding their rhythm after enduring some offensive struggles early in the season.
“We’re definitely shooting the ball better like we did last year, so that’s definitely having a huge factor,” Sabonis said. “Hopefully we can maintain that.”
Kevin Huerter had 28 points, four rebounds and seven assists, making 10 of 16 field-goal attempts and 6 of 11 from 3-point range. De’Aaron Fox had 28 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals.
The Kings finished with 20 steals for the fifth time in franchise history and the first time since they did it against the Houston Rockets on Jan. 11, 2001.
Huerter said it was important to start a long road trip with a win.
“It really is,” he said. “We’re going to be on the road for 10 days. It’s great to get off to a good start. If we can take care of business, we’ll put ourselves in a good place. We just have to keep going. It’s super early in the season, but it feels like we’re catching a rhythm a little bit.”
James had 28 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists for the Lakers (6-6), who went into the contest with a three-game winning streak and a 5-0 record at home. D’Angelo Russell also scored 28 points. Anthony Davis was held to nine points on 3-of-9 shooting with nine rebounds and five turnovers.
“They’re a good team,” Kings coach Mike Brown said. “I’m sure they feel like they had an off night, but for us to come in here and get this one to start this road trip off the right way, it was a really good win for us.”
Brown marveled at the performance by James, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, who is now in his 21st season at age 38. James moved into fifth all-time in triple-doubles and became the second-oldest player ever to record a triple-double.
“Amazing,” Brown said. “People are like, ‘Well, he might have a couple more (years left).’ I don’t know if you can put a timetable on when he’s going to be done. I think there’s only one person who can and that’s him. Maybe two because his wife might be able to do something about that, too, but he’s absolutely amazing to do what he still does at his age. It’s phenomenal.”
The Kings went 10 of 16 from the field to start the game with 3-pointers from Harrison Barnes, Keegan Murray and Huerter. The onslaught continued as Huerter knocked down his second 3-pointer of the night to put Sacramento up 37-17.
The Lakers ended the first quarter with an 8-1 run and outscored the Kings 7-0 to start the second quarter, cutting the deficit to six on a 3-pointer by Rui Hachimura. The margin was still six when Fox returned to the game with the rest of Sacramento’s starters at the 6:44 mark to spark a 14-4 run that put the Kings up 63-47.
Sacramento carried a 72-60 lead into the halftime break. The Kings shot 54.7% from the field and made 10 of 26 (.385) from 3-point range.
The Kings maintained a double-digit advantage throughout the third period. They staged an 11-3 run late in the third and went into the fourth with a 104-80 lead.
The Lakers stormed back to cut the deficit to 10 on a 3-pointer by Russell with 4:55 remaining. They got within nine on a corner 3 by Cam Reddish with 3:05 to play, but the Kings came up with four steals and held the Lakers scoreless over the final three minutes.
“I think we’re more connected than ever,” Huerter said. “When we do mess up, we quickly know whose fault it was. We talk about it. Coaches bring it up. Everybody’s accountable. I think we’re connected to what we want to do defensively. We have really good team defense right now.”
Trey Lyles update
A league source told The Sacramento Bee Kings forward Trey Lyles has been cleared to resume basketball activities after missing the first 10 games of the season with a left calf strain.
Lyles is now working through the reconditioning process. The timeline for his return to play will be determined based on his progression.
Lyles has been sidelined since suffering the injury before a preseason game against the Golden State Warriors on Oct. 18. He was a key reserve for the Kings last season, averaging 7.6 points and 4.1 rebounds while shooting 36.3% from 3-point range.
Up next
The Kings will continue their 10-day road trip and the quest for the inaugural NBA Cup when they visit the San Antonio Spurs on Friday in a West Group C in-season tournament game.
The Kings are 1-0 in group play after beating the Oklahoma City Thunder 105-98 on Friday in Sacramento. The Spurs are 0-2 in the group stage. They have lost six in a row since winning back-to-back games against the Phoenix Suns.
San Antonio is led by 7-foot-4 French phenom Victor Wembanyama, the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NBA draft. Wembanyama is averaging 18.6 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.4 blocks.
Upcoming schedule
Nov. 17 at San Antonio Spurs
Nov. 19 at Dallas Mavericks
Nov. 20 at New Orleans Pelicans
Nov. 22 at New Orleans Pelicans
Nov. 24 at Minnesota Timberwolves
