Kings Drop California Classic Finale To Lakers
Aug 4, 2021, 9:55 PM | Updated: 9:56 pm
(Chris Watkins/Sports 1140 KHTK)
(Chris Watkins/Sports 1140 KHTK)
Next up for Sacramento: Las Vegas Summer League
Even though it’s summer, the Sacramento Kings have not dropped the tradition of blowing fourth quarter leads.
The Los Angeles Lakers outscored the Kings 33-17 in the fourth quarter to win by a final of 84-74 in the third annual California Classic finale on Wednesday night at Golden 1 Center.
Sacramento went 0-2 during the Classic and will not set its sights on the Las Vegas Summer League and tournament that will begin on Monday afternoon.
Not even 24 hours removed from a rough showing against Golden State, Louis King found his groove early on Wednesday against Los Angeles. King scored seven points in the first quarter to lead Sacramento to an 18-15 lead heading into the second period.
After leaving the very end of Tuesday night’s overtime loss to Golden State due to leg cramping, it was uncertain if ninth-overall pick Davion Mitchell would be active for Wednesday night’s California Classic finale.
Any concern regarding Mitchell’s injury would be put to rest early as Mitchell’s game-high eight points in the first half would be enough to give the Kings a 34-32 advantage at the half.
Sacramento’s 14-7 run to open up the second half would give them their largest advantage of the game, a 48-38 lead before a 12-5 run by Los Angeles cut the Kings lead to 53-50 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Lakers burst out of the gates in the fourth with a 26-14 run to take a 77-71 lead with 2:13 remaining and would never look back on their way to knocking off the Kings in front of their home crowd at Golden 1 Center.
Rounding out the box score
Louis King led all Kings scorers with 19 points on eight-of-16 shooting from the field on Wednesday night to go along with six rebounds, two assists and two steals over 32 minutes of action in what was an all-around strong showing for the young forward.
Emanuel Terry, who just narrowly missed a double-double on Tuesday night (nine points, 14 rebounds), put forth another strong effort against the Lakers. The 24-year-old posted 16 points on eight-of-nine from the field to go along with nine rebounds, one steal and one block over 28 minutes of action.
Davion Mitchell added 10 points on four-of-13 from the field along with three rebounds and a steal over 29 minutes.
Originally thought to be inactive for the California Classic, rookie center Neemias Queta made his summer league debut on Wednesday night. The seven-footer scored six points and grabbed four rebounds over his first 12 minutes of summer league action.
Injury Updates
- Davion Mitchell: Mitchell, who left the end of Tuesday’s game against Golden State due to a leg cramp, was listed as available hours before Wednesday night’s game.
- Neemias Queta: After head coach Bobby Jackson told the media on Monday that the 39th pick would likely sit out until the Las Vegas Summer League due to an undisclosed injury, the Kings revealed that the seven-footer would be available against the Lakers.
- Jahmiβus Ramsey: The sophomore guard missed Tuesday night’s action due to a sore right ankle and was questionable leading into Wednesday night’s game. Ramsey was upgraded to available shortly before tip-off.
Coming Up
Sacramento will have a break to get some practices in as they prepare for the Las Vegas Summer League and tournament that will take place August 8th-17th.
The Kings will play their first game on Monday, August 9th against 11th pick James Bouknight, 19th overall pick Kai Jones and the Charlotte Hornets. Tip-off will take place at 3:00pm PST at the Thomas & Mack Center in downtown Las Vegas.
Be sure to get all of your Kings Summer League action and all breaking news regarding free agency news, trades and more right here on Sports 1140 KHTK.
