Kings fall to Lakers in first game since firing Mike Brown

Dec 28, 2024, 10:40 PM | Updated: 10:57 pm

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 28: Interim Head Coach Doug Christie of the Sacramento Kings coa...

Interim Head Coach Doug Christie of the Sacramento Kings coaches during the second half of a game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena on December 28, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

(Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

BY FIELD LEVEL MEDIA

Sactown Sports

Anthony Davis scored 36 points with 15 rebounds and Austin Reaves added 26 points with a career-high 16 assists as the short-handed Los Angeles Lakers earned a 132-122 victory Sunday over the visiting Sacramento Kings, who were playing one day after head coach Mike Brown was fired.

Playing without star LeBron James (illness), while Gabe Vincent (oblique) did not see time in the second half, the Lakers got past the Kings as Rui Hachimura scored 21 points, while rookie Dalton Knecht had 18.

De’Aaron Fox scored 14 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter with 12 assists, while DeMar DeRozan scored 25 points for the Kings, who have lost six consecutive games for the first time since an eight-game losing streak in January of 2022.

Sacramento was playing under the guidance of interim head coach Doug Christie.

Malik Monk scored 20 points and Domantas Sabonis had 14 points with 12 rebounds before fouling out as the Kings ended the season series 0-4 against the Lakers, including three defeats in a span of 10 days.

The game was tied 76-76 with 9:32 remaining in the third quarter before the Lakers took charge with a 12-2 run to take an 88-78 lead. Los Angeles closed the third period on a 9-0 run, with five points from Davis, to take a 107-90 lead into the fourth.

The Kings used a 12-0 run in the final quarter to get within 113-105 with 7:28 remaining after a 3-pointer from Fox. Sabonis fouled out with 5:20 remaining and Sacramento ran out of gas down the stretch.

Both teams were red hot from the floor in the first half, with the Lakers taking a 40-31 lead by shooting 73.9 percent in the first quarter and 6 of 8 (75.0 percent) from 3-point range.

The Kings went into halftime with a 66-65 lead after shooting 53.8 percent over the first two quarters, while the Lakers shot 58.5 percent in the half.

–Field Level Media

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As the Sacramento Kings work through the drama of a shocking in-season coaching change, rookie guard Devin Carter took the floor at Golden 1 Center on Saturday afternoon for a tune-up game with G-League affiliate Stockton.

Carter, the 13th pick from June’s NBA Draft, has missed the first two-plus months of action as he recovers from a torn labrum in his left shoulder. Originally slated to be reevaluated in January, the Providence product was cleared for full-contact basketball activities earlier in the week.

As the Kings struggle to a sub-.500 start to the regular season, Carter’s impending return is viewed as a potential bump to a rotation that could use a lift.

In his first quarter as a professional, the 6’3 guard poured in 10 points on four-of-six shooting (two-of-three from deep) over eight minutes. Carter looked confident shooting the ball from beyond the arc and displayed some craftiness during a coast-to-coast score during his first stint of the night.