The Sacramento Kings faced off against the Los Angeles Lakers tonight for their third preseason game. Check out how the purple and white competed against their long-time rival.
For a third straight game, Kings’ head coach, Dave Joerger, went with a different starting five to begin the match. The lineup consisted of George Hill, Garrett Temple, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Zach Randolph, and Kosta Koufos.
Rought Start
The first quarter did not go well for the Kings. Due to sloppy offensive mistakes, the Kings lacked scoring to start the game and fell behind early to their division foe.
The second quarter did not help the Kings either. Poor passing decisions and lack of execution continued the offensive woes for Sacramento. And to top it all off, De’Aaron Fox injured his back after a nasty fall which sidelined him for the rest of the game.
Finding Momentum
After enduring two rough quarters, the Kings finally found some life once the second half was in session. Sacramento was able to play solid defense against Los Angeles, forcing 19 turnovers for the game, as well as relying on their veterans to help with the scoring production, Randolph with 16 points and Temple with 12 points. As a result, the Kings were able to come back and keep the game competitive till the very end.
Final Results
Unfortunately, the Kings’ rally fell short. After trading off leads in the fourth quarter, the Lakers found a way to seal their victory by a score of 75-69.
Overall, the game was sloppy from the start. As the Kings and Lakers are rebuilding their teams with revamped rosters, growing pains were to eventually come for both clubs.
For Sacramento, it is exciting to see the young talent compete on the court, but this game shows that they still have a long way ahead of them before they can make some noise in the league. The next time Sacramento hits the hardwood will be tomorrow against the Portland Trailblazers. Let the process continue!