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If a few days ago it seemed that the Lakers were beginning to leave their bad times behind, Vogel’s men have not been slow to return to their old ways. The recent loss to the Grizzlies already left a very bad feeling, and this morning the Californians have continued this trend, falling 125-116 in Sacramento, balancing their balance of games won and lost (21-21). The Kings, for their part, took this way with their 17th victory, which keeps them close to the positions that give access to the play-in.
Those of Alvin Gentry, who had been behind during practically the entire first half, took control of the crash after the break thanks to a huge exit from the locker room. The locals signed a 31-12 run that allowed them not only to get ahead, but to do so relatively comfortably, opening a distance that the Lakers managed to reduce but never overcome. The Angelenos were only 2 down in the final bars (118-116), but the Kings’ pulse did not tremble and they were much more decisive to finish closing the duel.
De’Aaron Fox, with his 29 points, was the best of his, although he was well surrounded, as the entire Sacramento starting five finished in double digits in scoring. Harrison Barnes, author of 23 goals, was second in this matter, followed by 16 by Marvin Bagley and 14 by both Tyrese Haliburton and Chimezie Metu. The latter was in charge of scoring a key triple when the Lakers threatened to come back in the last moments, giving their own the necessary distance to sentence the match without excessive shocks.
“This was a much-needed victory,” Gentry said, pleased with his work. “We did a great job attacking the zone (the Kings scored 70 points in the paint). I think that was the key difference, the fact that I was able to get the ball to the basket on so many occasions.
In the Lakers, as usual, LeBron James was the most prominent man and practically the only stable figure in a sea of irregularities. With 34 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists, Akron’s shot from start to finish, and in fact was responsible for them being close to the comeback with 12 goals in the fourth quarter, but the little contribution around him It was again too heavy a slab. Malik Monk and Austin Reaves contributed 22 and 19 points respectively, but their help was not enough to make up for the mistakes of others.
As is also customary, Russell Westbrook was the other side of the Angelina coin. With a 2/14 shooting from the field (14.3%), the point guard was again more of a problem than a solution for the offense of his team, to the point that the Kings defense was limited to letting him do in certain moments while he focused on shutting down the rest of the attackers. The point guard finished with 8 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists, numbers that do not compensate for the bad feelings and do not change the feeling that these Lakers, at least until they recover the entire squad, are adrift.
(Cover photo: Harry How / Getty Images)
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