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The Lakers encountered one of the NBA’s least impressive teams in the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night, making it incumbent on them to take the right approach against a team that has one of the worst records in the league.
Slowly, the Lakers and Luka Doncic found their groove against the Kings, pulling away for an uneven 116-103 win at Golden1 Center.
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Doncic, of course, was at the center of it all, scoring 40 points to go with nine rebounds, seven assists and six turnovers. It was the third straight game Doncic has scored 40-plus points in an outing.
He had 10 points in the first quarter, a slow start for him considering he averages 15 points per game in the first 12 minutes. He had 13 in the second and 12 in the third and five in the fourth.
Walker Kessler had a strong game with 15 points on six-for-eight shooting, eight rebounds and three blocks.
Read more: Fun, flowing, not yet flawless: Lakers’ league-best offense still has room to improve
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Austin Reaves had 21 points.
The Kings began the game with a 1-6 record, one of six teams in the league with that mark.
They give up 124.3 points per game, the second-most in the league, and teams shoot 50.5% against them, a league-high.
So, the high-scoring Lakers just had to play to their usual effort.
They entered the game second in scoring (122.5) in the league and first in field-goal percentage (52.0).
But the first half was a choppy affair because of all the fouls being called.
Each team was called for 12 fouls in the first half. The Lakers were called for nine fouls in the second quarter and the Kings were called for eight.
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Jake LaRavia picked up his fourth foul with eight minutes and two seconds left in the second quarter.
The Lakers had committed enough fouls to put the Kings in the penalty with 9:24 left in the second quarter.
That was the kind of first half the Lakers had to endure.
But when Doncic got going in the second quarter, the Lakers played a little better.
He scored 13 of their final 15 points in the half and had 23 points at intermission.
Read more: Lakers newsletter: Luka Doncic’s scoring reaches new universe
Kings…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/lakers-win-uneven-game-over-060708180.html
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Publish date : 2026-11-05 06:07:00
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