Nothing like a 12-point win over the now 17-3 L.A. Lakers to halt an eight-game home losing streak, huh Sacramento?
Without question, the Kings came out Tuesday night in Sacramento looking anything like a team that hadn’t won in forever, a team that was 6-15 and generally down in the NBA dumps. Inspired in part by a partisan crowd that had been lacking considerably in attendance in recent weeks, the Kings (with 16,068 cheering) didn’t stop attacking the Lakers and capitalized on a poor shooting night (9-of-25) from Kobe Bryant with an energizing win in the state capital.
Bryant’s poor shooting aside, the most disconcerting element of the loss was that the Lakers couldn’t seem to muster the same effort, energy or tenacity with which the Kings played for nearly the entire contest. The Lakers seemed almost helpless to stop the Kings from getting good looks both from the perimeter and near the hoop as the night wore on, as Francisco Garcia and John Salmons in particular slashed and thrashed through L.A.’s defense, resulting in 21 points a piece. There was only one part of the game in which the Lakers dominated, as the second unit came out firing with a 16-0 run at the end of the first and into the second quarter, but that would be about it for the Lakers.
Tellingly, the first possession of the game saw the Kings capitalize when Bynum and Gasol collided on a wide-open chance at a rebound, watching the ball trickle out of bounds and subsequently resulting in Garcia’s swished jumper. I mentioned in my running diary that the Kings would need several breaks like that to win, but what turned out happening was this: Sacramento’s energy level produced those breaks, and the Lakers didn’t really fight back.
Not everybody was out of the game for the visitors: Pau Gasol was fantastic, scoring 25 points with 12 boards, three boards and three assists, while Lamar Odom had his best game in a while with 11 points, eight rebounds two assists and two blocks in 27 minutes off the pine.
Just a few numbers for you tonight:
5
Fouls committed by Jordan Farmar in 16:25 of playing time. After nailing his first two shots during L.A.’s early run, Farmar would miss his final five.
16
Lakers turnovers, resulting in 25 Kings points. The Kings turned the ball over 11 times, which resulted in only eight points. Four Lakers had at least three turnovers (Fisher, Gasol, Bynum and Odom).
20
Shooting percentage by Trevor Ariza, who connected on only 2-of-10 shots. Ariza did add six boards, four assists and two steals, but he’s not shooting with the same confidence exhibited to start the season.
49.4
Sacramento’s shooting percentage for the game, a way-too-high number helped by 8-of-13 from Salmons and 5-of-7 from Brad Miller.
