Eight Lakers Score In Double-Digits, Beat Kings 118-108

Posted by Stephen Rhodes under NBA Game Recap

The Los Angeles Lakers, in their game against the Sacramento Kings on Sunday night, came very close to giving the game away, due to their sloppy ballhandling and questionable transition defense; but as usually the case with the Lakers, they overcame those deficiencies with some decent shooting – 51.7% from the floor – which helped Los Angeles defeat Sacramento 118-108 at Staples Center.

The Lakers used nine players in the first quarter – all of who scored – including Sasha Vujacic who hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer, which put the Lakers up 32-27 going into the second period. A highlight of the second period was what can be described as a controversial non-call when the Kings’ Brad Miller managed to escape a flagrant foul call at the 3:24 mark when Los Angeles’ Trevor Ariza drove to the basket past Miller, who wrapped his arm around Ariza’s throat while he was in the air – sending Ariza crashing to the floor; Ariza made just one of the 2 free throws after the incident. The Lakers went into halftime with a 61-52 lead.

The third quarter was pretty much a shootout as Los Angeles outscored Sacramento 35-28, taking a substantial 96-80 advantage into the final period. Trailing by as many as 19 points courtesy of a 3-point play by the Lakers’ Andrew Bynum, the Kings went on a 21-4 barrage that narrowed the gap to 105-101 with 6:17 left to go; after a Lakers timeout, Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Derek Fisher re-entered the game. Los Angeles would score the next 9 points, sealing the deal.

Bryant led all Lakers scorers with 24 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals and a blocked shot while Gasol added 16 with 7 rebounds; Bynum chipped in, scoring 15 with 10 rebounds, 3 assists, a steal and a blocked shot while Ariza notched a double, pouring in 11 with 11 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals. Sacramento was led by John Salmons with 24 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists while Bobby Brown added 21 with 7 assists and 2 steals. Jason Thompson and reserve Bobby Jackson chipped in, scoring 15 each – with Thompson grabbing 7 rebounds, dishing out 2 assists with 3 steals and 2 blocked shots while Jackson grabbed 4 boards and dished out 3 assists. Los Angeles (11-1) plays again on Tuesday as they host the New Jersey Nets while Sacramento (5-10) flies north to Portland to take on the Trail Blazers on Monday night.

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