No LeBron, No Problem: Lakers Dismantle Kings At Golden 1 Center
Nov 30, 2021, 9:35 PM | Updated: 9:46 pm
(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Another day, another second half meltdown for the Sacramento Kings
When news broke that Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James would not play on Tuesday night due to health and safety protocols, the Sacramento Kings appeared to be in a good position to pick up another win against their old rival.
Sacramento held a 14-point lead in the third quarter before the Lakers exploded for a demoralizing 65-26 run to end the game, giving Kings fans in attendance nightmare fuel during an embarrassing win for Los Angeles at Golden 1 Center.
With the loss, the Kings fall to 8-14 on the season as they dropped their 10th game over their past 13 contests.
Sacramento opened things up with a 25-14 run to set the tone early behind an exciting first quarter from starting power forward Chimezie Metu. Metu scored six points (three-of-three shooting, grabbed five rebounds and a career-high three steals in the period to give the Kings a 28-20 lead at the beginning of the second quarter.
Tyrese Haliburton and Richaun Holmes continued to flex their impressive two-man game as Haliburton assisted four of Holmes’ six made field goals in the first half. Holmes led all Kings scorers with 12 points to pace an efficient Sacramento offense to a 59-50 advantage at the halftime break.
The Kings guards were moving the ball around with a purpose in the first half as De’Aaron Fox, Buddy Hield and Haliburton combined for 13 assists over the first two quarters.
Los Angeles erupted for a 24-13 run to open up the second half to take their first lead since the opening minutes of the game.
Sacramento looked like a chicken running around with its head cut off, allowing the Lakers to bully their way to a commanding 87-74 lead after outscoring the Kings by 20 points in the third quarter. A fourteen-point lead with over nine minutes remaining in the third disappeared in what felt like a blink of an eye as a Lakers team that was without star forward LeBron James (health & safety protocols).
All hope would be lost for the Kings as they would once again be unable to dig themselves out of a hole that they dug themselves into.
It hasn’t been a rare sight to see this team completely come apart at the seams in the second half, with opposing teams only needing a short 14-minute intermission each night to turn things around in the second half.
The Kings scored just 33 points in the second half. Los Angeles topped that total in the third quarter alone.
“As the coach of this team, I want to apologize to every Kings fan out there,” Kings head coach Alvin Gentry said after the game. You don’t deserve that. Nobody deserves that. You deserve better.”
“Let’s go Lakers” chants became deafening near the end of the game as Kings fans made their way towards the exits. Another abysmal showing for this Kings team that once again looked dead in the water in front of their home crowd.
It’s sad. There is no other way to put it into words. Sacramento Kings basketball is sad to watch right now.
Injury Updates
- Richaun Holmes (eye contusion/non-COVID illness) returned to action on Tuesday night following a three-game absence. Holmes was Sacramento’s lone bright-spot in the loss, finishing 12-of-13 from the field to score 27 points over 33 minutes.
- Harrison Barnes (right foot sprain) missed his third-consecutive game on Tuesday, but the forward is not expected to be out for an extended period of time. Barnes was listed as doubtful prior to tip-off and is considered day-to-day moving forward.
- Moe Harkless (left knee soreness) was listed as questionable before the Kings took the floor against the Lakers. The 28-year-old was ruled out shortly before tip-off and is considered day-to-day.
- Marvin Bagley III (non-COVID illness) was unavailable against the Lakers after leaving morning shoot-around. Bagley is day-to-day and considered questionable for Wednesday against Los Angeles Clippers.
- Davion Mitchell exited the game with three minutes to go in the third quarter after turning his right ankle on the foot of a referee. Mitchell returned shortly after heading into the locker room.
Coming Up
It will be a quick turnaround for the Kings as they will travel to Los Angeles tonight for a matchup with the Clippers tomorrow to complete the second game of a back-to-back.
The Clippers took two of three regular season matchups against Sacramento during the 2020-21 season, although the Kings claimed a 113-110 win in the most-recent matchup on February 7th–Super Bowl Sunday–at STAPLES Center. De’Aaron Fox scored a game-high 36 points on 15-of-25 shooting in the victory.
Los Angeles will be without two-time NBA Finals MVP forward Kawhi Leonard (ACL recovery) on Wednesday night.
Be sure to get all of your Kings vs Clippers coverage right here on Sports 1140 KHTK starting at 5:30pm PST on Game Night with Scott Marsh and Henry ‘The High Flyer’ Turner at 6:00pm PST prior to a 7:30pm PST tip-off from STAPLES Center.
