The Sacramento Kings headed to LA to face the Lakers in a preseason rematch, this time only losing by a score of 114 to 110. For the Kings, that's basically a victory. As usual for Sacramento, it was a healthy dose of bad mixed with random bits of good and a late-game comeback that almost worked.
After getting completely stomped by the Lakers in their preseason opener, the Kings were looking to get one back. And they almost got there. Thanks to a second-quarter collapse, Sacramento went into the half down 59 to 41. They managed to turn that around after halftime.
Much like their last meeting, the Kings actually won the second half 67 to 57. This was thanks to a dominant fourth quarter for Sacramento. In the end, the Kings fell four points short of sending the game into overtime. That being said, you have to respect the effort to make it that close.
Once again, Keegan Murray, Malik Monk, and Ben Simmons did not suit up for the game. Domantas Sabonis was also benched, making Maxime Raynaud the starting center. The Lakers, on the other hand, had Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves leading the charge alongside their new-look roster.
What went right and wrong for the Kings
As usual, this game was a real mixed bag for Sacramento. The first half showed little to no consistency or coherence on either end of the court. They could barely muster any kind of defense to slow Doncic down. Plus, the Kings were turning the ball over like crazy.
In the second half, Sacramento came out of the locker room with a bit more confidence. They locked in and finally started putting up a real fight. Unlike game one, Darius Acuff struggled with his shooting in the first half, eventually finding a groove. What's more concerning is that he only had one assist.
Precious Achiuwa led the team in scoring, followed by Maxime Raynaud, Zach LaVine, and Emanuel Sharp. What was great to see was the stellar performance from two-way player Jonathan Mogbo. He collected 12 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and two steals. He also played solid defense.
This outing was an improvement over the first preseason game, but there is still so much work to do. The Kings still lack any kind of team identity, but that won't happen until the regular season is well underway. For now, they just need to show incremental improvement in the preseason.
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