Four Takeaways From The Lakers' 129-113 Win Over The Kings
The Lakers beat the Sacramento Kings on Saturday, 129-113, in their second-game of a back-to-back, following an emotional loss to Portland on Friday in their first game since Kobe Bryant's death.
With Saturday's win, the Lakers became the first team in NBA history to win 15-straight road games against Western Conference opponents.
The Lakers improved to 37-11, 21-5 on the road.
Here are our four takeaways from the game.
1. 81 POINTS AT HALFTIME
The Lakers scored 81 points at halftime, matching Bryant's career-high.
It was a symbolic coincidence for a Lakers team that's trying to cope after Bryant died Sunday in a helicopter crash along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven other people.
Lakers' coach Frank Vogel said he realized the significance of their halftime point total as he was studying the box score before talking to the media.
"It's a great number, 81," Vogel told reporters.
2, TIME TO WIN
Friday's 127-119 loss to Portland was incredibly emotional for the Lakers. Bryant was honored at Staples Center throughout the night with multiple video tributes, musical performances, a speech from LeBron James and two empty courtside seats, which Bryant and Gianna sat in during a game in December.
On Saturday, the Lakers tried to focus on winning.
The Lakers never trailed against the Kings. They made 19 three-pointers, shot 51.2 percent from the field and had 33 assists, compared to the Kings' 21 assists.
Heading into Friday's game, Vogel said the Lakers had forgotten that they had also lost their last game against Philadelphia (108-91) on Jan. 25, the night before Bryant died.
The Lakers' motto all season had been not to lose two games in a row. They used that as motivation against the Kings.
"We come out mad," Vogel said.
3. COMPLETE TEAM EFFORT
Seven Lakers players scored in double figures.
LeBron James had a triple-double with 15 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists. Anthony Davis had 21 points and six assists. Avery Bradley had 19 points, making five of his nine three-point attempts.
Rajon Rondo had 13 points and eight assists. Alex Caruso had 13 points, shooting three-for-four from beyond the arc. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had 15 points and Kyle Kuzma added 12 points.
Every single Laker played at least three minutes.
It was another great team effort for the Lakers, who learned of Bryant's death while they were flying home from Philadelphia on Sunday and have supported each other through their grief all week.
4. THIS IS THE NEW NORMAL
The Kings had video tributes for Bryant and the fans at Golden 1 Center repeatedly chanted Bryant's name throughout the game. There was a memorial wall outside of the arena, where fans wrote messages and left flowers to honor Bryant.
The Lakers know this will continue while they're on the road, as teams around the league want to honor Bryant, a five-time NBA champion, two-time Finals MVP and one-time league MVP in 2008.
This is the new normal for the Lakers.
"It was our first win," Vogel said. "It's never going to feel normal. It's never going to feel the same. But we got our first win since this happened. There's going to be a lot of important steps for us along the way, and this was one of them."
