Lakers slay Kings behind suffocating defense, big rebounding performance

The Lakers didn’t have a great offensive night, but dominated the boards and silenced the Kings offensively to earn a big road win in Sacramento.

The Lakers dominated the glass with 15 offensive rebounds, led by 20 from Anthony Davis, to pick up a big 113-100 win over the Kings on Thursday.

Anthony Davis passed Serge Ikaba to become 30th all-time in blocks. While he struggled shooting the ball, he still tallied 21 points with a season-high 20 rebounds while also adding six blocks, four assists and three steals.

Austin Reaves had another great game, scoring 25 points with five rebounds and five assists. LeBron James made history, moving to first all-time minutes played in NBA history. He also joined the 10,000 Lakers points club. He ended with 19 points, six rebounds and seven assists.

Gabe Vincent had an excellent showing off the bench, going 4-5 from behind the arc and ending with 12 points. D’Angelo Russell pitched in with 16 points and six rebounds.

The Lakers started the game red-hot offensively. Austin and LeBron both made 3-pointers, and everyone except Rui Hachimura scored. At the first timeout, LA was up by nine. After LA had extended their lead to 13, Sacramento started to heat up.

Domantas Sabonis and Kevin Huerter, who both like shooting the lights out against the Lakers, made 3-pointers. It was a three-point game with 4;12 left in the quarter.

Gabe knocked down a 3-pointer to stop some of the bleeding. AD was extra active, trying to give the Lakers multiple opportunities by diving for loose balls and rebounding. At the end of the first, the Lakers were up by nine.

The second quarter began with a 3-pointer by Huerter. Dalton Knecht replied with a fastbreak layup.

Sacramento started heating up again. With 7:01 left in the half, the Lakers were nursing a 3-point lead. Austin was the first Laker in double figures with 10 points.

A layup by Sabonis and a 3-pointer by former Laker Malik Monk put the Kings up by two. D’Lo drilled a three of his own and put the Lakers up by one. Malik hit back with another 3-pointer and forced the Lakers to call a timeout. Sacramento was up to 50% shooting while the Lakers were shooting 39%.

Malik was shining against his former team. He threw down a ferocious dunk, increasing the lead to five. Both teams played with a bit of spiciness. Luckily for LA, their offense kept them in the game. Gabe drained his third 3-pointer.

At halftime, LA was up four.

The second half saw the Kings take a lead of two after consecutive 3-pointers by De’Aaron Fox and Malik. Luckily for the Lakers, Fox picked up his fifth foul of the game. The Lakers missed a few good shots, but still managed to tie the game.

AD’s offensive game was a little rough, but his defense was outstanding as he was up to six blocks.

Both teams started trading baskets and kept tying the game up, making it a hard-fought battle. The Lakers jumped ahead by four to force the Kings to take a timeout. LeBron had one of his signature chase-down blocks and then took it coast to coast for a layup on the other end.

The lead went up to seven for the Lakers before Keegan Murray knocked down a 3-pointer. LA finally finished a quarter successfully, going up by six.

The final frame started with the Lakers going up by nine. Gabe once again drained a 3-pointer. But LA couldn’t hold onto their big lead for long as the Kings cut the deficit down to within two.

Both teams were battling extra hard, especially defensively. With six minutes left in the game, the Lakers were up five. The vibes were very testy, each team was playing with a chip on their shoulder, despite a few missed shots.

A 3-pointer from Austin added the lead for LA, putting them up 11. Sacramento was beginning to take desperate shots. Fox did make another three, but their shots were not good looks.

After another big 3-pointer from Reaves late, Sacramento waved the white flag, emptying their bench and waving the white flag.

Key Takeaways:

Austin needs to keep his headband on permanently. It might have some magical powers.

AD’s defense is the Lakers’ lifeline. He gives this Lakers team a chance.

Max has been steadily improving after such a bad start to the season. He’s not only looking comfortable with his shot, but his defense has also been suffocating.

Gabe has also improved by leaps and bounds. His shot looks a lot better and he has done so much of the dirty work each game, giving the Lakers a lot of opportunities to score.

The Lakers’ next game will be Saturday against the Sacramento Kings at 3:00 PM PT.

You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.