Lakers vs. Kings Final Score: DeMarcus Cousins dominates, Lakers lose 97-96

The Los Angeles Lakers made a surprising comeback effort on the back of Lou Williams, but DeMarcus Cousins was simply too much to overcome in a 97-96 loss. Williams scored 19 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter, singlehandedly breathing life into a lifeless Lakers team, but nothing could stop the Kentucky terror.

Cousins devoured the soul of each defender thrown at him. Tarik Black fouled out. Larry Nance, Jr. was thrashed by a vicious spin move into a dunk. Ivica Zubac looked out of his league. Timofey Mozgov saw the floor for the first time in ages and was only there as a safety cone that somehow had the ability to foul.

Boogie ended the night with 40 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists, leaving the Lakers in a smoldering crater.

Williams led all Lakers scorers. Julius Randle and Nick Young were the only other Lakers who broke into double-digit scoring. D’Angelo Russell started the game with a few lazy turnovers, ending the night coughing the ball up five times. Both teams turned the ball over 17 times.

There’s not much by way of critical analysis to say here. The Lakers were crushed by an all-NBA talent, are as bad as we’ve come to understand they are, and played a very bad game against the Kings that only looks good because of the totally-sustainable-and-impactful effort of Lou Williams.

An ugly game of hoops between two Western Conference teams en route to the lottery played out exactly as it read. The Lakers head out to face the Phoenix Suns in the second half of a back-to-back Wednesday night before a much-needed All-Star break.