LeBron James pours in 32 points as Lakers sweep Kings
Dec 21, 2024; Sacramento, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) and Sacramento Kings forward Keegan Murray (13) fight for possession of the ball during the first quarter at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images LeBron James scored a game-high 32 points, D'Angelo Russell came off the bench to chip in with 20 and the Los Angeles Lakers held on to complete a three-day, two-game road sweep of the Sacramento Kings with a 103-99 victory Saturday afternoon.
The Lakers had won the first game of the sequence 113-100 on Thursday night.
Russell's final points came on a 15-footer that gave the Lakers a 101-91 lead with 2:39 to play.
The visitors didn't score again until only 9.2 seconds remained, allowing the Kings to get within 101-99 after a Domantas Sabonis three-point play with 1:11 to go.
Attempting to snap a two-game losing streak, the Kings had a chance to tie with 37.3 seconds left, but De'Aaron Fox missed a runner in the lane.
Sacramento fouled Anthony Davis with 12.1 seconds to go and got a break when the Los Angeles big man missed both free throws. But Rui Hachimura grabbed the offensive rebound on the second miss and Austin Reaves dropped in two foul shots with 9.2 seconds left to lock down the Lakers' third straight win.
James complemented his big scoring night with seven rebounds, a team-leading six assists and four steals. He hit 13 of his 24 shots, helping the Lakers outshoot the hosts 48.2 percent to 43.3 percent.
Davis was the Lakers' top rebounder with 15 to go with 10 points, five assists and three blocks, Reaves totaled 16 points, and Hachimura logged 11 rebounds with nine points.
Led by Russell, the visitors held a 31-20 advantage in bench points.
Fox paced the Kings with 31 points to go with seven assists. He made three of his five 3-point attempts as Sacramento held a slight 30-27 edge in points from beyond the arc.
Sabonis had a game-high 19 rebounds with 19 points to go with five assists, DeMar DeRozan added 12 points and Keegan Murray had 10 for the Kings, whose late 10-point deficit was their largest of the game.
Sacramento's Malik Monk was the game's leading assist man with eight.
-Field Level Media
How Gary Bettman Built the Model MLB Owners Crave
UFC 325 Betting Preview: Three Bet Picks for Saturday Night
- Wednesday Jan. 28 NBA Best Betting Picks, Predictions
- Rangers vs Islanders Jan. 28 NHL Betting Pick and Predictions
- College Basketball Picks Today: Nebraska vs. Michigan Headlines Loaded Slate
- Tuesday NHL Betting Picks: Expert Bets for Jan. 27th
- Best NBA Bets Today: Spread Picks and Player Props for Monday’s Games
- NFL Championship Weekend Picks: AFC & NFC Best Bets
- College Basketball Player Prop Bet Picks for Saturday, January 24th

