While fists fly in crowd, Kings strike back against Lakers to snap five-game losing streak
Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox wasn’t thinking about how Los Angeles Lakers fans flew their flags after taking control of the building last time they visited Golden 1 Center. He was thinking about how the Kings had a 14-point lead in the third quarter before the Lakers takeover commenced.
Fox and his teammates didn’t let either of those things happen this time.
Fox scored 29 points to help the Kings snap a five-game losing streak with a 125-116 victory over the Lakers on Wednesday night. The win gave Kings fans something to celebrate after weeks of struggles dating back to their earlier home debacle against the Lakers, but Fox said the scene that unfolded that night did not cross his mind.
“If I’m going to be honest, I didn’t think about it at all,” Fox said. “They came in here. We were up 14 or 15 and it went downhill from there. That’s all I remember.”
This time it was the Kings who took command, using a 24-3 run to outscore the Lakers 40-23 during a raucous third quarter that brought life to the arena after some dreadful losses and lifeless crowds. Fists flew in Section 104 and fans were ejected as the Lakers charged back to cut a 13-point deficit to two on a basket by LeBron James with 1:36 remaining.
Fox answered with another basket of his own and Chimezie Metu followed with a 3-pointer that sent Lakers fans scurrying for the exits. The gameday operations crew had some fun at their expense, showing the exodus on the giant videoboard inside the arena while bidding them adieu over the public address system.
Harrison Barnes had 23 points and seven rebounds for the Kings (17-27), who shot 55.1% from the field while holding the Lakers to 42.9%. Marvin Bagley III had 16 points and nine rebounds. Tyrese Haliburton recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 assists. Metu, a late addition to the starting lineup, added 14 points and seven rebounds with four assists, two steals and two blocked shots.
James had 34 points, seven rebounds and six assists for the Lakers (21-21), but he went 13 of 29 from the field and 3 of 12 from 3-point range. Malik Monk had 22 points with six 3-pointers, but Russell Westbrook and Avery Bradley were held to a total of 14 points on 4-of-23 shooting, going a combined 0 of 9 from 3-point range.
The Lakers went small with James starting at center due to the absence of Anthony Davis, who is out with a left MCL sprain. The Kings capitalized by attacking the basket, finishing with a 70-42 advantage on points in the paint.
“It was a much-needed win,” interim Kings coach Alvin Gentry said. “We really tried to stick with the gameplan all the way through and the guys did a good job. … I thought we did a good job of rebounding and I thought we did a good job of taking the ball to the basket. When they play the small lineup, the rim protection is not great.”
Gentry, Haliburton and Barnes acknowledged that the thought of their third-quarter collapse against the Lakers on Nov. 30 in Sacramento has lingered in their minds for the past six weeks.
“I think anytime you lose to a team like that, especially the way in which we did, you remember that,” Barnes said. “We remember the last time we played them. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to get a win, but coming back here again, we’ve seen that movie before. Up against this team, have them storm back and we sit here in the locker room and look at what happened, so we didn’t want a repeat of that tonight.”
This story was originally published January 13, 2022 at 12:40 AM.
