Los Angeles Lakers score confidence building 103-90 victory over Sacramento Kings – NBA Recap
The Los Angeles Lakers, days after firing their Head Coach Mike Brown, made some sense of their regular season when they defeated the Sacramento Kings 103-90 to improve to a 3-4 record for the season. The Lakers hosted the Kings
on Sunday night, and although they looked rusty in the early going, were able to put up a winning effort to pick up the victory. Dwight Howard led the Lakers with 23 points and 18 rebounds, going 8 of 14 from the field. Kobe Bryant finished with 20 points,
6 rebounds and 6 assists, but shot only 6 of 15 from the field. Pau Gasol and Metta World Peace both finished with 18 points apiece. Jimmer Fredette came off the bench to lead the Kings in scoring, finishing with 18 points for the night while going 7 of 9
from the field and 3 of 5 from the distance. Jason Thompson had 15 points and 10 rebounds on the night, while Isaiah Thomas finished with 13 points.
Both teams started well and remained competitive throughout the first period, with neither having any definitive advantage over the other. A three pointer by World Peace had the Lakers up 12-11, and a jump shot by Bryant later
put the team up 18-16. World Peace hit two free throws which were followed by a three pointer from Darius Morris and a jump shot by Bryant to have the Lakers leading 25-18. The Lakers held on to their lead and finished the first period leading 29-22.
The Kings scored the first five points of the second period, and the Lakers only managed 2 points till the 8:43 mark, when Jordan Hill scored two free throws to put them up 33-30. Aaron Brooks scored a three pointer for the Kings,
followed by a layup by James Johnson and a hook shot by Chuck Hayes to have the Kings leading 37-35. Bryant put the Lakers up again with two free throws, and a three pointer by him later in the period had the Lakers leading 50-44. The Lakers led 57-48 at the
half time break.
The Kings scored five quick points in the early going of the third period to trail 53-59, but the Lakers replied with an 11-0 run which helped them extend their lead to 72-57. The Kings trailed 66-79 heading into the final quarter.
The Lakers took almost two minutes to score their first point of the final period, but started with a 10-0 run as the Kings scored their first point at the 5:55 mark in the period, and had lost the game by that point. Back to back three pointers by World Peace
put the Lakers up 95-73, and they comfortably won in the end.
The Lakers shot 44.4 percent from the field compared to 40 percent for the Kings. They also had a 50-39 advantage over the Kings in rebounds, and managed 16 more free throw attempts than the travelling team.
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