Third-quarter surge carries Kings past LeBron, Lakers
De’Aaron Fox #5 of the Sacramento Kings drives to the basket on Stanley Johnson #14 of the Los Angeles Lakers during the first quarter at Golden 1 Center on January 12, 2022 in Sacramento, California. . Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images/AFP
Sacramento used a 24-3, third-quarter flurry to take the lead and De’Aaron Fox capped a 29-point performance with a key jumper to stall a late Los Angeles Lakers rally as the Kings earned a 125-116 home victory on Wednesday night.
The Kings ended a five-game losing streak and finished with a 2-2 record in the season series against the Lakers.
LeBron James produced a game-high 34 points for the Lakers, who dropped their second straight after winning four in a row.
The Lakers led for most of the first half, including by as many as 14, and were up 76-68 in the third minute of the third period before the Kings flipped the tables.
🦊 29 PTS 🦊@swipathefox propels the @SacramentoKings to a thrilling home win! pic.twitter.com/sQItQGzVx2
— NBA (@NBA) January 13, 2022
Harrison Barnes buried a pair of 3-pointers and Fox had a three-point play among seven points in the 24-3 run that turned the eight-point deficit into a 92-79 lead.
The margin was 10 with 3:40 remaining before James had two hoops in an 8-0 spurt that got the Lakers within 118-116 with 1:36 to go.
That’s when Fox countered with his momentum-stopping 12-footer. Chimezie Metu then nailed a 3-pointer for the Kings after Russell Westbrook had missed a long-distance attempt for the Lakers, giving Sacramento breathing room at 123-116 with 46.7 seconds remaining.
Barnes finished with 23 points, Marvin Bagley III 16, Metu and Tyrese Haliburton 14 apiece and Buddy Hield 10 off the bench in a balanced Kings attack.
Fox hit 11 of his 21 shots and Barnes nine of his 14 for the Kings, who outshot the Lakers 55.1 percent to 42.9 percent.
Chimezie. Metu. CASH.
The CLUTCH bucket puts the @SacramentoKings up 7 late on NBA League Pass: https://t.co/L8Rrlv9ZoR pic.twitter.com/JBR7xtGDbD
— NBA (@NBA) January 13, 2022
Haliburton completed the game’s only double-double with a game-high 10 assists, while Bagley pulled down a team-high nine rebounds.
James had seven rebounds and a team-high-tying six assists to go with his game-high point total. However, he shot just 13-for-29 overall, 3-for-12 on 3-point attempts and 5-for-10 at the free-throw line.
Malik Monk backed James with 22 points, a majority of which coming on 6-for-9 shooting from deep. The Lakers outscored the Kings 48-33 on 3-pointers but needed 47 attempts to do so, while Sacramento tried just 30.
Austin Reaves was the only other Laker to score in double figures, notching 19 points off the bench.
Westbrook was held to eight points on 2-for-14 shooting, but he did find time for a game-high 12 rebounds and six assists.
