After a triple-overtime loss this past Friday, the Lakers took the W in their rematch against Sacramento tonight, 117-92. The Purple and Gold are back to .500.
Due to the NBA’s health and safety protocols, LeBron was inactive for tonight’s match. Without their starting point guard, a majority of the first three quarters were a bit concerning for the Lake Show. But then a halftime buzzer-beater by Malik Monk (22 pts) gave his teammates a surge of power heading into the third where they flipped the script and went on a 35-8 run. That was one of Microwave’s six triples. He went +33 on the night.
A real thing of beauty tonight was the Lakers' second-half defense who held the Kings to just 33 points. And it was Dwight Howard (12 pts, 13 reb, 12 blk) who was a major force for this Lakers dominant D. This season, the big fella has been averaging 13 minutes a game, tonight he played 35 minutes and went +27. Howard held his own as the big man in the paint, he led the guys in rebounds and contributed to the Lakers 10-point success in the paint over Sacramento.
Anthony Davis (25 pts, 7 reb, 2 blk) was another influence on the Lakers' impressive defensive performance. AD played a hand in forcing a few of the King’s turnovers in the third quarter, which fed the fast break and in turn, fed the comeback. Davis was the Lakers' leading scorer. He was splish-splashing from the mid-range like he normally does, but it was his availability in the paint that made him a major threat. He was an active target for Russell Westbrook (23 pts, 6 ast).
Russ has been on a run in these past five games, and tonight was no different. The Lakers were outworking the Kings after the first half, and it was Russ who was setting the example. This is his 12th season averaging 20 points per game. He grabbed the wheel in the third and drove endlessly to the hoop.
Everyone loves a team win and that’s what Lakers fans witnessed tonight. Coach Frank Vogel said postgame that tensions were high in the locker room at half and it was about that time to “light a fire under his team.” There was definitely some heat on that hardwood from everyone who was rocking the purple and gold.
The team heads back down to Southern California to face the Clippers on Friday.