Poor defense, questionable calls cost Kings in loss to Lakers

Jan 7, 2023, 11:13 PM | Updated: 11:16 pm

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 07: LeBron James #6 of the Los Angeles Lakers drives to the basket...

(Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)

Editor & Kings Beat Writer

For what feels like the hundredth time this season, a Sacramento Kings game came down to the final possession and was engulfed in more controversial whistles.

With Domantas Sabonis battling foul trouble, De’Aaron Fox activated his fourth-quarter heroics on Saturday night, but the Kings fell short to the Los Angeles Lakers by a final of 136-134 at Golden 1 Center.

Once Sabonis fouled out with 48 seconds remaining, Fox was involved in two controversial incidents that had a hand in determining the outcome of another one-possession loss for Sacramento.

Fox, who was called for a foul on Lakers guard Dennis Schroeder with 3.1 seconds remaining that resulted in Los Angeles taking a two-point lead, got a last-second, game-winning attempt from deep as time expired.

The speedy guard believed that Russell Westbrook fouled him on the arm during his attempt, but there was no call, and Fox left the court furious as the Kings (20-18) dropped its second-straight game to open up a five-game home stand.

De'Aaron was NOT HAPPY there wasn't a foul called on the last shot of the game 😡 pic.twitter.com/R5q34NT8jI

— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) January 8, 2023

The final two possessions of the game were undoubtedly questionable, but the fact that Sacramento allowed the Lakers to shoot a season-high 61 percent from the field and finish the night with a 70-48 advantage in the paint was what truly sealed their fate during the loss.

“Defensively, we are not good…at all,” Kings head coach Mike Brown said postgame of his team’s defensive struggles. “It’s going to be hard to beat somebody when they are shooting 60% from the field during a whole game. We just have to do a better job of being consistent when it comes to getting stops.”

Indeed, stops were needed on Saturday night, but they never came for Sacramento.

Los Angeles–who also had a poor night on the defensive end, to be clear–had four players finish the night with 23 points or more during the win–LeBron James (37 points), Thomas Bryant (season-high 29 points), Dennis Schroeder (27 points), and Russell Westbrook (23 points, season-high 15 assists).

All night long, the Lakers got whatever they wanted on their offensive end of the floor while Sacramento’s defense folded like a two-dollar lounge chair.

Bryant was a force on the inside against a weak Kings interior defense as the big man finished the night nine-of-11 in the paint while pulling down 14 rebounds. Even though Sacramento shut out Los Angeles’ three-point shooting during the second half (0-for-eight), the Lakers continued to do damage in the paint–something that proved costly down the stretch.

Sabonis, who picked up his fifth foul with 8:20 to go in the fourth, was handcuffed on the defensive end as he tried to defend an aggressive Bryant in the paint. With Bryant and James on the attack and Sacramento having no defensive punch in the paint, Los Angeles was a perfect five-of-five on attempts at the rim during the fourth quarter.

EFFORT. pic.twitter.com/qBgNJlQv6A

— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) January 8, 2023

Sabonis fouled out with 48 seconds remaining after establishing a new Sacramento Kings record with his 16th-straight double-double, as the center scored 25 points, grabbed 12 rebounds, and handed out seven assists over 35 minutes.

With Sabonis out of the game, Fox had his latest ‘Fourth Quarter Fox’ performance as the 25-year-old scored 17 points (five-of-eight shooting) during the fourth quarter, with his final bucket tying the game at 134-134 with seven seconds to go.

A sold-out Golden 1 Center erupted as Fox’s shot fell through the net, but the Lakers had a chance to end this game as Schroeder made his move to the basket for a game-winning attempt.

Fox slightly bumped Schroeder with his hip and was whistled for a call that (in my opinion) doesn’t get called nine out of 10 times. Sacramento challenged the call, which was deemed unsuccessful, meaning that the Kings had no timeouts left after Schroder gave Los Angeles a two-point lead with 3.1 seconds remaining.

A questionable foul call on Fox led into a questionable no-call on Fox during back-to-back plays, and Sacramento suffered its second-straight-one-possession loss.

This foul call was upheld after review 😳 pic.twitter.com/baXbomtxqe

— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) January 8, 2023

De’Aaron Fox, in a since-deleted tweet, sounds off following Saturday’s loss to the Lakers.

It’s frustrating to watch the Kings lose these close games, but poor officiating aside, the main issue is that this team cannot play defense.

Scoring the basketball isn’t a problem for Sacramento. Passing the basketball isn’t a problem for Sacramento. Stopping opponents and stringing together consecutive, consistent stops is this team’s Achilles heel, and it’s something that must be addressed in the coming weeks as the trade deadline approaches.

With one month to go until February 9th’s trade deadline, you can expect that Kings GM Monte McNair’s phone will be getting a lot of use in the near future.

Notes

De’Aaron Fox scored 17 of his 34 points during the fourth quarter on Saturday night. The talented guard has scored 10+ fourth-quarter points in eight of the past ten games. Fox also dished out nine assists while shooting 11-of-21 from the field over 37 minutes.

All of Sacramento’s starters finished in double-figures during the losing effort:

Harrison Barnes: 18 PTS | 4/9 FG
Kevin Huerter: 17 PTS | 7/15 FG
Keegan Murray: 16 PTS | 4/5 3PT
De’Aaron Fox: 34 PTS | 9 AST
Domantas Sabonis: 25 PTS | 12 REB | 7 AST

Injury Updates

Malik Monk (lower leg soreness) did not play against the Lakers on Saturday.

Head coach Mike Brown told the media that it was his decision to sit Monk, and that the guard needed a day off to rest after playing in the team’s first 37 games of the season.

Monk is considered day-to-day going forward.

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Next Game

Sacramento will continue a five-game home stand on Monday when they face the first-overall pick Paolo Banchero and the Orlando Magic.

Be sure to get all of your Kings vs. Magic coverage on Sactown Sports 1140 starting at 5:30 pm PST on Game Night before action tips off at 7:00 pm PST from downtown Sacramento.