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The LA Lakers lost 120-107 to the Sacramento Kings on the road on Wednesday, March 13, in a game that saw LeBron James struggle to find efficiency in his shots.
Back for a second straight game after sitting out a previous match over nagging ankle issue, ‘The King’ played 40 minutes against the Kings and finished with 18 points.
LeBron James was far from on-point with his marksmanship, going 6-of-16 (37.5%) from the floor and 2-of-8 (25%) from three.
But despite his offensive struggles, the four-time NBA champion could not be blamed for his team's loss as he more than made up for his misfires in other facets of the game.
He finished the match with 13 rebounds and nine assists, which were both team-highs. For good measure, he added two steals.
His efforts, however, were not enough to tow the Lakers to the win as they saw the Kings made a move in the third quarter to pull away and never look back after.
Here is the full stat line of the 20-time NBA All-Star from their game against Sacramento on Wednesday:
LeBron James and LA Lakers’ playoff push dented after another loss to the Sacramento Kings
LeBron James and the LA Lakers’ push for an outright playoff spot was dented after another loss at the hands of Pacific Division rivals Sacramento Kings on Wednesday.
The purple and gold bowed to the Kings, 120-107. Sacramento are also battling for outright playoff position. The loss also saw the Lakers go winless against the Kings this season.
The Lakers had four players scoring 18 points or more, led by Austin Reaves, who had 28 points, but found it tough to keep in step with the Kings in the second half en route to the defeat.
The loss dropped the Lakers to 36-31, ninth in the Western Conference and outside of the outright playoff picture (top 6) if the postseason started today.
They still have 15 games left to make a move to squeeze in the top 6 and avoid going through the play-in phase before entering the playoff proper.
Apart from Reaves, also scoring 20 points or more for the Lakers on Wednesday were Anthony Davis with 22 points and Rui Hachimura 20.
LeBron James, meanwhile, had a near triple-double of 18 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists.
Following the game, Lakers coach Darvin Ham lamented their inability to deliver when needed, especially when the Kings were pulling away. He said (via Wral Sports Fan):
“Can’t skip details. We had some guys who didn’t shoot the ball well, got great looks they usually make. But just in the sense of team basketball, just continuing to have a next play mentality.”
Harrison Barnes top-scored with 23 points, followed by De’Aaron Fox with 21, for Sacramento, who are 38-27 this season. Domantas Sabonis had a triple-double of 17 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists.
LeBron James and the LA Lakers return to action on Saturday against the Golden State Warriors at the Crypto.com Arena.
