Lakers vs Kings Final Score: The Lakers beat the Kings thanks to LeBron James

A hard-fought game ends with the Lakers again beating the Kings 103-99 on Saturday afternoon.

LeBron James was in intense attack mode. In the first half alone, he had 23 points. He finished the game with 32 points, seven rebounds, six assists and four steals. Anthony Davis had a slow game offensively and only scored 10 points, but his defense was huge with three blocks. He also grabbed 15 rebounds and dished out five dimes.

D’Angelo Russell had 20 massive points off the bench. Austin Reaves chipped in with 16 points, four rebounds and five assists. Gabe Vincent went two for three from behind the arc for six points.

However, the game ball must go to Rui Hachimura. He secured the team victory with a crucial ball play to create an extra possession for LA. He finished with nine points and 11 rebounds.

The Lakers’ defensive intensity was high to start the game. AD had two rejections early and the rest of the team was suffocating the Kings. LeBron didn’t just dish out dimes, one of which was a jump pass to Rui for a dunk. He also attacked the paint. LA, went up eight.

Austin converted on two mid-range jumpers of his own. Rui was on the receiving end of another pass, a lob from Austin, for his second dunk. The Kings were down by six and slowly started to creep back into it.

DeMar DeRozan had a huge dunk and the Kings found themselves within four. Gabe entered the game and knocked down a 3-pointer. At the end of the first, Los Angeles was up five. LeBron scored 12 points in the quarter.

Sacramento cut the deficit to three to start the second quarter. LeBron attacked the paint again for a layup that turned into an and-1 when he was fouled and converted on the free throw.

The Lakers maintained good defense while AD was still on the bench.

LeBron was extremely fired up and kept attacking the Kings. LA was up 11 fastbreak points to the Kings’ depressing two. AD didn’t score well, but his defensive presence was massive for the team.

Halfway through the quarter, the Lakers were only up two. They were on a two-minute scoring drought and the Kings took advantage and went up by two. Both teams traded a few baskets, tying the game and chipping away at the lead.

At halftime, the Lakers were up by three.

The second half began with both teams taking turns with the lead. Sacramento looked better offensively, while Los Angeles missed a few shots. At the first timeout, the Lakers were down one.

Rui finally made a 3-pointer after missing three attempts to bring LA back. The Kings looked much better offensively and made the shots they missed in the first half.

AD finally looked like he found an offensive rhythm and made three shots. The match was a close match throughout the quarter. Neither team was able to distance themselves much. Gabe and Fox traded 3-pointers.

At the end of the third, LA was up by four.

LeBron started offensively for the Lakers in the final frame. The Lakers jumped six ahead on the King’s shoulders. Cam Reddish’s defense shined with a steal that led to an and-1.

LA did a decent job of holding the lead, but the Kings got within two. When the Kings tied it, the Lakers answered and went back by six. Sacramento missed many opportunities to shave some points off the deficit.

Los Angeles was on fire, going up by 10 on an 11-2 run. Fox then scored five quick points to make it a five-point game. Fox missed a wide-open three that could have been fatal, but then Domantas Sabonis converted on an and-1 opportunity, making it a two-point game.

The seconds ticked off the clock and the Lakers nursed the two-point lead by an extremely thin hair.

With 12 seconds left, Malik Monk made a stupid foul that sent AD to the line. Unfortunately for LA, Davis missed both shots. Rui then hit the ball out to Austin and he caught it and was brought down. He made both free throws to secure the win.

Key takeaways:

Make those wide open threes!

LeBron James? LeBron James.

The Lakers have improved by leaps and bounds in being able to answer back whenever the opposing team tries to take momentum.

The extra effort has been great for the Lakers the last few games. They’ve been trying to grab every single rebound, diving for loose balls and making the right plays.

The Lakers’ next game will be Monday against Detroit Pistons at 7:30 p.m. PT.

You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.