Richaun Holmes overcomes personal, professional hardships to lift Kings in win over Lakers
Richaun Holmes has experienced tough times on and off the court while dealing with personal and professional hardships over the past couple of years. On Wednesday night in Los Angeles, Holmes got to remember what it’s like to experience a moment of triumph.
Holmes temporarily lost his son during an ugly and bitter custody battle with his ex-wife and then lost his starting job when the Kings made a blockbuster trade to acquire Domantas Sabonis from the Indiana Pacers. After starting 136 games over two-plus seasons in Sacramento, Holmes was relegated to a backup role and eventually fell out of the rotation.
The Kings called on Holmes again Wednesday when Sabonis was ruled out due to illness. The 29-year-old center came up big, producing a double-double in a dramatic 116-111 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena. Holmes finished with season highs of 16 points and 11 rebounds while going 7 of 7 from the field to help the Kings win their fifth game in a row to move into a tie for third place in the Western Conference.
“It’s just a great opportunity to still call myself a professional basketball player,” Holmes said while sporting the team’s defensive player of the game chain. “Still get an opportunity, go in the gym, work out every day, continue to try to get better, even when things aren’t going as good as I want them to. You still have an opportunity, and I just wanted to continue to work, continue to the put the effort and energy behind it, and the rest will take care of itself. I was happy I was able to contribute tonight, happy we were able to get a win as a team, and it’s a very, very good win tonight.”
De’Aaron Fox scored 31 points for the Kings (25-18), who moved seven games over .500 for the first time since the end of the 2004-05 season. Harrison Barnes had 20 points and six rebounds. Kevin Huerter added 18 points and eight assists while Keegan Murray, who has been challenged to become a better rebounder, finished with 10 points and a career-high-tying 10 rebounds.
LeBron James had 32 points, eight rebounds and nine assists for the Lakers (20-25). Russell Westbrook came off the bench to post 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
The Kings beat the Lakers for the third time this season to finish 3-1 in the season series with Los Angeles.
“Everybody’s hyped,” Holmes said. ““It’s a great win, hard fought. That’s a tough team over there we just beat. We had to come together to do it. It took a lot from everybody and I’m just happy we were able to get it done.”
Everybody in the visitor’s locker room was happy for Holmes, who had not started a game since Feb. 5, 2022, three days before the Kings made the trade for Sabonis.
Kings coach Mike Brown praised Holmes and Chimezie Metu, who had six points, five rebounds and two blocked shots in 17 minutes, for staying ready despite their fluctuating roles.
“It’s fantastic,” Brown said. “(Holmes) was our defensive player of the game with his eight defensive rebounds and his deflections and his ability to guard multiple guys. … Nobody’s going to stop LeBron. LeBron, if he’s not the all-time greatest, he’s for sure one of them. But to have to guard Thomas Bryant, and then go from Thomas Bryant to (Wenyen) Gabriel, and then go from Gabriel to LeBron, especially when you haven’t played, and to know you may be starting at the last second, he was huge. It’s a testament to his character, his professionalism and his ability to play the game at a high level, both he and Mezie.
“Obviously, Richaun is going through some stuff off the floor that you don’t wish on anybody, but both of those guys have been in and out of the lineup, and yet and still, they’ve kept themselves ready. They’ve kept themselves ready to contribute at any time. “
Holmes was thrust into the lineup after the team was hit hard by a non-COVID-19 illness in the hours leading up to the game. Sabonis, Alex Len and Matthew Dellavedova were all ruled out. A number of team staffers were also impacted.
Prior to the game, Brown was asked about the nature and extent of the illness his team is facing.
“It’s just a stomach deal,” Brown said. “Obviously, a couple of guys have it. A few of them are going to be out tonight, but I don’t anticipate it being any long-term deal.”
James was listed as questionable due to left ankle soreness, but he was cleared to play after going through pregame warmups. James came out firing in the opening minutes. He scored the first basket of the game on a pull-up jumper from 19 feet and knocked down a 3-pointer on the next possession.
The Kings briefly took the lead on a 3-pointer by Murray midway through the first quarter, but then the Lakers started pounding the ball inside. They created some separation with an 8-2 run and went up by as many as 14 near the end of the opening period.
The Kings have emphasized interior defense after giving up 70 points in the paint in a 136-134 loss to the Lakers on Jan. 7 in Sacramento. They’ve done a better job over the past few games, but that was a major concern with Sabonis out of the lineup against a Lakers team that ranks second in the NBA with 57.1 points in the paint per game.
“It’s a huge concern for us,” Brown said before the game. “We want to try to protect the paint. We want to try to get bodies in there and try to make it difficult for our opponents to score at the rim. Part of it is us not being proactive and doing our work early, part of it is missing assignments at times, and part of it is not finishing a play defensively at times.
“There’s definitely room to grow and we’re going to keep trying to work with our guys, keep trying to teach them the right way until we feel like we’re at a point where we’re pretty good in that area. If we can get that down, it would help our defense tremendously.”
The Lakers led 39-28 after scoring 24 points in the paint in the first quarter. Brown was not pleased with the early results, but after the game he proudly pointed out that the Kings held the Lakers to a total of 26 points in the paint in the second, third and fourth quarters.
“Our guys are more than capable of protecting the paint,” Brown said. “Our guys showed they can do it tonight, and it’s something we have to embrace as a group going forward because it’s going to be huge for our development, for our growth, and our ability to win, not only during the regular season, but in the playoffs as well.”
The Lakers were still up by 11 midway through the second period when the Kings staged a 12-2 run to cut the deficit to one on two free throws by Barnes. James reentered the game with his team clinging to a two-point lead, but the Kings kept coming. They went up 57-56 on a 3-pointer by Murray and led 61-60 at the halftime break.
Sacramento trailed by one following a basket by Bryant early in the third quarter, but the Kings outscored the Lakers 23-9 over the next 6:30 to take an 88-74 lead. Huerter, Barnes and Holmes did most of the damage during that run to put the Kings up 90-82 at the end of the third.
The Lakers came back to tie the game on a three-point play by James with 1:10 to play in the fourth quarter. Barnes answered with a three-point play of his own to put the Kings up 111-108 with 50 seconds remaining.
Kendrick Nunn hit a 3-pointer to get the Lakers within one with seven seconds to play, but Holmes and Trey Lyles each made two free throws in the final seconds to close out an impressive victory.
Fox said Holmes was a big factor in the win.
“He was ready,” Fox said. “He was prepared. He still comes in. He still works his tail off even when he’s not playing. He’s a true professional, and whatever’s happening outside the lines, he’s handled that, but he comes into work every day and he puts the work in, so he’s always prepared. Domas wakes up this morning and he’s not feeling it. He’s sick, and it’s always next-man up mentality, and I think Rich did a hell of a job today.”
This story was originally published January 19, 2023 at 1:04 AM.
