2 Bright Spots Emerge in Kings 131-127 Loss to Lakers

The Sacramento Kings' late comeback fell short against the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night.

Oct 26, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Sacramento Kings forward DeMar DeRozan (10) drives the ball against Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves (15) and forward Anthony Davis (3) during the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images / Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images

In another close game, the Sacramento Kings fell to the Los Angeles Lakers 131-127 to drop to 0-2 on the season. The Lakers used a 21-0 run to start the fourth quarter and never relinquished the lead.

While the Lakers made the run, new King DeMar DeRozan did exactly what he was brought in to do.

The Kings struggled with stopping runs last season, and while the stretch was too long for the Lakers, DeRozan scored 15 points in the fourth quarter to bring them back into the game. DeMar finished the night with 23 points on 9-of-12 (75 percent) from the field.

Ultimately, Anthony Davis and LeBron James led the Lakers with a combined 63 points, 23 rebounds, and 12 assists.

LeBron got it going in the fourth and was unstoppable when he started hitting his threes. 

While the Kings didn’t get the victory, Kevin Heurter was a bright spot in game two of the season. He scored 14 points while shooting 4-of-7 (57.1 percent) from beyond the arc.

Another trend in the right direction was the Kings attempting 44 three-pointers, compared to just 29 against the Timberwolves. They only made 15 for a 34.1 percent clip, but getting more looks from beyond the arc will be what takes this offense to the next level.

Next up for the Kings: 7:00 pm PT, Monday, October 28th vs. Portland Trail Blazers

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