Marcus Thornton stars as Sacramento Kings stun the Los Angeles Lakers 100-91: NBA Recap
A young and vibrant Sacramento Kings side overcame the famed Los Angeles Lakers 100 – 91 to the delight of some 17,000 home fans. The Kings were underdogs going into the game against a Lakers side that in all fairness wasn’t at
full strength.
Marcus Thornton was the most effective player for the Kings as he bundled in 27 points, shooting 9-of-13 from the field. DeMarcus Cousins had a double-double with 11 rebounds and 12 points while point guard Tyreke Evans put up
20 points as well.
Kobe Bryant, who else, led the Los Angeles Lakers with a game high 29 points, although he could have done better than 10-of-24 from the field. Metta World Peace came off the bench to register 19 points while power forward Pau Gasol
had 15 to go along with 9 rebounds.
The Lakers came out of the blocks with more zest and got a couple of baskets early to go ahead at 5 – 1. The quarter though was very evenly contested and the Kings levelled things soon at 8 – 8 and continued to match the Lakers
for the rest of period. They actually ended on top at 21 – 20.
The Kings got a grip of the game in the second quarter. With both sides going toe to toe early on, Sacramento started a 12 – 3 run with 8:26 remaining that gave them at 8 point lead. Los Angeles cut down the lead to 2 later on
but Sacramento ended the half with a 7 – 0 run to ensure a 9 point advantage.
The Kings started the second half on the front foot as well and used an early 4 – 0 spurt to take their lead into double figures. Los Angeles did well to claw back at Sacramento and brought the lead to as low as 5 points, but in
the end Kings were able to take a 14 point advantage into the final period at 78 – 64.
The Lakers weren’t going down without a fight and they showed that in the last quarter. They used a 7 – 0 run to bring the deficit back into single digits and then a 8 – 0 run that started close to the halfway mark which brought
the scores to 89 – 87, advantage Kings.
The mood was suddenly nervous in the arena as the Lakers looked set to roll the Kings over.
Los Angeles though lost the plot afterwards as they simply failed to; either get some points on the board, or get some stops in at the back end. What promised to be a thrilling finale turned out to be an easy romp for the Kings
who crossed the finish line with ease at 100 – 91.
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