After leading by as much as 15 points in the fourth quarter, the Los Angeles Lakers fell to the Sacramento Kings thanks to a deflating 3-point buzzer beater by Bogdan Bogdanovic.
Bogdanovic was giving the Lakers problems all night, but they had an especially hard time staying in front of him in crunch time. He finished the game with with 23 points on 56.3 shooting from the field, including 42.9 percent shooting from behind the arc.
Every loss hurts a little bit, but this one hurt a little more because for most of the game they looked like they had figured it out without LeBron James. Instead, they put together a game that was eerily similar to the type of games they had last season, before they signed a closer in James.
It was only one game, but the Lakers showed why they need James when they were trying so hard to do the opposite, as 17 turnovers and multiple miscues down the stretch doomed the Lakers’ youngest starting lineup since the 1985-86 season.
However, there were a few bright spots, including Lonzo Ball, who tallied 20 points, 12 assists and 9 rebounds. He was one rebound shy of notching his second triple-double of the month. Had he not gone down with a leg cramp in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, it’s possible the game would have ended differently.
Kyle Kuzma was also a big positive for the Lakers, scoring a game-high 33 points on an efficient 50 percent shooting from the field, but he wasn’t able to be the closer they needed (although not for a lack of trying).
With a loss on Thursday, the Lakers fell to 20-15. They’ll return to action on Friday to take on the No. 5 seed Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center. We’ll see you then.
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