LAS VEGAS (AP) — Pau Gasol had 12 points and six rebounds to help the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Sacramento Kings 94-89 in exhibition play Sunday night.

Kobe Bryant scored nine points in 25 minutes on 4-of-12 shooting for the Lakers (1-2), Andrew Bynum had nine points, five rebounds and three blocks, and Vladimir Radmanovic also finished with nine points and had seven rebounds.

Jason Thompson led the Kings (1-2) with 15 points and also had eight rebounds. John Salmons added 11 points, and Brad Miller had 10.

Los Angeles built its largest advantage at 84-72 with 5:25 left. The Kings cut it 92-89 with 36 seconds to go, but got no closer.

After consecutive losses against Utah and the L.A. Clippers to begin the 2008 preseason, the Lakers take their next shot at the win column Sunday evening in Las Vegas against the Sacramento Kings. The game tips off at 6:30 p.m. at the Thomas and Mack Center, and can be viewed on KCAL HD or listened to on AM 570 KLAC.

The Kings, who traded Ron Artest for first-round pick Donte Greene, Bobby Jackson and a 2009 first-round pick over the summer, opened their preseason with a 110-81 loss to Portland before rebounding for a 94-85 victory over Oklahoma City. Sacramento's young roster is led by Kevin Martin, who averaged 23.7 points last season, and led the NBAby taking 8.2 free throws a game, not to mention shooting over 40 percent from the three-point line. The Kings also features first-round picks Spencer Hawes (10th in 2007) and Jason Thompson (12th, 2008), both of whom should see solid minutes this season.

Brad Miller is the only King to have appeared in an All-Star game in his career, while Jackson is the senior member of the squad heading into his 12th year. However, with Miller, Hawes, Thompson, Mikki Moore and Kenny Thomas up front, the Lakers will see some size put up against Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum. L.A.'s coaching staff has suggested that the two Laker bigs will see more time together as the preseason continues, and both players continue to grow more comfortable with respective roles. Furthermore, keep an eye on how Lamar Odom's able to handle the varied roles being put to him by head coach Phil Jackson, who is with the team in Vegas as he was in Fresno.

In the Laker loss in Fresno to the Clippers, the purple and gold got its best play of the evening not from its starters but from Jordan Farmar, Trevor Ariza and Vladimir Radmonovic, all of whom were terrific off the bench. Perhaps Las Vegas will be kinder to L.A.'s starters, at least for a healthy stretch of time.

We'll be courtside on Lakers.com through the BasketBlog throughout the contest.

GAME NOTES
NOTES & CONNECTIONS

The Lakers won their 2007-08 season series with Sacramento 3-1 for the second consecutive season. The two franchises have met 266 times overall and 101 times since the Kings moved to Sacramento. The Lakers lead the all-time series with the Kings 181-85 (72-29 vs. Sacramento). In their last 10 meetings, the Lakers are 7-3 against Sacramento. The Lakers are 11-7 all-time against the Kings at STAPLES Center but are just 5-5 in their last 10 contests. At ARCO Arena, the Lakers have gone 5-5 in their last 10 games but have won four straight in Sacramento. In their last visit to Sacramento on April 6, 2008, the Lakers defeated the Kings by 22 points, their largest victory in Sacramento since a 23-point win 3/23/89. Two seasons ago in 2006-07, the Lakers were whistled for 42 personal fouls in their 132-128 overtime victory January 4, 2007 at ARCO Arena, establishing a new Los Angeles era franchise record. The Lakers last committed 42 personal fouls back on 2/17/57 versus St. Louis when the team was still in Minneapolis. Additionally, the Lakers and Kings combined for 80 personal fouls and 102 free throws on the night, which was, at the time, the most fouls committed by two teams in more than seven years. Under head coach Phil Jackson, the Lakers are 20-12 against the Kings. In 43 career games against the Kings including 35 starts, Kobe Bryant is averaging 25.6 points. The Lakers and Kings haven’t met in the postseason since the 2002 Western Conference Finals. While Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher both played in that series, only Bobby Jackson remains on their roster from that season following an offseason trade that brought Jackson back to Sacramento.

LAKERS UPDATES

LAKERS vs. KINGS IN THE PRESEASON
The Lakers and Kings have met 14 times in the preseason since 1979-80 with Los Angeles going 9-5 in those contests. Of those games, six have been in Las Vegas where the Lakers are just 2-4 against Sacramento. This will be the ninth consecutive preseason the two teams have met and the fourth straight in Las Vegas. The Lakers have taken 2-of-their-last-3 preseason games against the Kings. In their most recent meeting, the Lakers defeated Sacramento 101-97 10/26/07 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, NV.

LAKERS IN LAS VEGAS
The Lakers have a long history in Las Vegas dating as far back as the 1960s. On November 20 1965, the Lakers played the San Francisco Warriors in Las Vegas. The game was notable because Chick Hearn was not present to announce it. He had gone to Fayetteville, Arkansas to announce a college football game, and inclement weather had prevented his flight from being able to leave in time for him to make it to Las Vegas for the Lakers game. It was only the second game he had missed for the Lakers since starting with the team in 1961. It was also the last game he would miss for the next 36 years. Beginning on November 21, 1965, Hearn announced the next 3,338 consecutive Lakers regular season and playoff games. In addition, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar broke Wilt Chamberlain’s NBA scoring record with a 10-foot skyhook on April 5, 1984 at the Thomas and Mack Center vs. Utah (one of Utah’s 11 home games at Thomas and Mack that season). Eight years later, Game 4 of the 1992 Western Conference First Round was moved from the Forum on May 2, 1992 to the Thomas and Mack Center on May 3, 1992 due to civil unrest in Los Angeles. The Lakers fell to Portland 76-102, dropping the series 1-3. Since 1979, the Lakers have played 15 preseason games in Las Vegas, going 6-9 in those contests. During that time, the Lakers have met a number of different teams including the Los Angeles Clippers, New Orleans Hornets (then Charlotte Hornets), Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns, Sacramento Kings and Washington Wizards. Not including the shortened two-game preseason of 1998-99, the Lakers have played 11 games (4-7) over 10 consecutive preseasons in Las Vegas dating back to 1997.

BRYANT (1st) AND GASOL (3rd) SIT ATOP NBA’S LIST OF MOST POPULAR JERSEYS IN EUROPE
On October 8, the NBA announced that Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers tops the list of most popular NBA jerseys in Europe. Bryant was No. 4 on the list at the beginning of the 2007-08 NBA season. Jerseys of European players make up half of the list with Spain’s Pau Gasol of the Lakers moving up four spots from last season to No. 3. The popularity of basketball and the NBA in Europe has led to record growth for the NBA’s merchandise business in the region. The Most Popular NBA Jerseys in Europe list is based on sales from retail locations across Europe during the 2007-08 NBA season. The NBA's merchandising business in the region has doubled in the last five years to include over 60 partners distributing NBA products to more than 16,000 retail locations. International sales account for more than 25 percent of the league’s overall global merchandise business.
Top 10 Most Popular NBA Jerseys in Europe: 1. Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers; 2. Kevin Garnett, Boston Celtics; 3. Pau Gasol, Los Angeles Lakers; 4. LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers; 5. Tony Parker, San Antonio Spurs; 6. Allen Iverson, Denver Nuggets; 7. Andrea Bargnani, Toronto Raptors; 8. Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat; 9. Marco Belinelli, Golden State Warriors; 10. Jose Calderon, Toronto Raptors