Anthony Davis flirts with triple-double as Lakers top Kings in Christie’s coaching debut
Anthony Davis flirted with a triple-double as the Los Angeles Lakers topped the Sacramento Kings 132-122 on Saturday night at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
The Kings lost their sixth in a row in Doug Christie’s debut as interim coach a day after Mike Brown was fired.
Davis had 36 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists for the Lakers (18-13), who have won five of their last six games.
De’Aaron Fox had 29 points and 12 assists for the Kings (13-19), who have not won since Dec. 12.
The Kings will be back in action when they face the Dallas Mavericks on Monday at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
Stat leaders
Austin Reaves had 26 points and 16 assists for the Lakers. Rui Hachimura scored 21 points while Dalton Knecht came off the bench to score 18.
DeMar DeRozan had 25 points, six rebounds and seven assists for the Kings. Malik Monk added 20 points, six rebounds and seven assists. Domantas Sabonis finished with 14 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists.
Injury updates
Sabonis returned to the lineup after missing Thursday’s game against the Detroit Pistons due to illness.
Lakers star LeBron James (illness) was ruled out. Davis (ankle) and Hachimura (illness) were cleared to play after being listed as questionable.
Halftime report
The Lakers led by as many as 11 while shooting an eye-popping 73.9% from the field in the first quarter. The Kings tied the game on a dunk by Keegan Murray midway through the second quarter and carried a 66-65 advantage into the halftime break after Fox made two free throws with 13.1 seconds remaining.
The Lakers shot 58.5% from the field and 52.9% from 3-point range in the opening half. The Kings shot 53.8% but made just 5 of 19 (.263) from long distance.
Third-quarter collapse
The Lakers staged a 15-2 run to take a 10-point lead early in the second half. They outscored the Kings 15-5 to open up a 17-point lead after Sabonis went to the bench with his fifth foul with 4:17 to play in the third period.
Fourth-quarter comeback
The Kings came back to cut the deficit to six on a driving layup by Fox with 3:49 remaining, but they couldn’t get any closer.
Rookie report
Rookie guard Devin Carter had a big game in his G League debut for the Stockton Kings on Saturday at Golden 1 Center.
Carter had 29 points and eight rebounds in a 109-107 win over the Austin Spurs. Carter was recently cleared for unrestricted basketball activities after undergoing left shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum in July.
Up next
The Kings will return to Sacramento to face the Mavericks on Monday at Golden 1 Center.
The Mavericks (20-11) had won three of four going into Saturday’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers. They will be missing Luka Doncic, who is expected to be out at least four weeks with a calf strain.
