The Lakers rally late, then hold off the Kings for another win

The test was clear in the minute Lakers got their schedule for the 2024-25 season.

They would make a trip to Sacramento to face the Kings twice, two games against a team whose pace and physicality have been the difference in years of dominance over the Lakers.

If the Lakers were somehow able to beat the Kings in their first meeting at the Golden 1 Center, they would have to try to do it again a day and a half later.

Through the first few months of the program, the Lakers had seemingly exorcised their Kings demons. They beat them in the first week of the season and silenced the noise surrounding Domantas Sabonis’ dominance against Anthony Davis. On Thursday, in their first game against the Kings in Sacramento, Davis was terrific in what Lakers coach JJ Redick called his “favorite” win of the season.

Read more: LeBron James sets another NBA record in Lakers’ win over Kings

To do it again? It would require sustained attention, sustained effort, and sustained execution. It would take, as coach Doc Rivers used to tell Redick’s Clippers team, the Lakers to hang on to the ropes in the game of tug-of-war.

At the end of the game, there was not much to hang on to. But there was enough.

Rui Hachimura’s offensive rebound after Davis missed a pair of free throws with 12.1 seconds left kept the Kings from getting a chance to tie or take the lead, the Lakers held on to a dawning 103-99 win.

“It’s a little thing. But just to have the mindset and effort to try to get an offensive rebound on a free throw … just a big play,” Redick said.

LeBron James scored 32 points a game after setting the NBA’s all-time scoring record for games in the regular seasonbullies the Kings on the offensive end while grabbing four steals on the defensive end. D’Angelo Russell scored 20 off the bench and Davis finished with 15 rebounds, five assists and three blocked shots on a tough offensive night.

“I just wanted to take the chance,” James said. “We had an opportunity to get two quality wins on the road in a hostile environment against a really good team, a team that we haven’t had much success with over the last couple of years. And I just tried to take the chance and breathe energy into my teammates.”

The Lakers led by as many as 10 points late in the fourth quarter before the game began to slip through their hands. Blown coverages on defense, poor offensive possessions and missed free throws put the Kings within two late as the Lakers had a chance to put the game away. First, a close outside call went their way. Then Malik Monk, the former Laker, beat Davis on the rushes late in the shot clock and saved possession for the Lakers.

But Davis, just like he did earlier this season in a loss to Orlando, missed the clutch free throw. Hachimura, whom Redick praised for an improved attention to detail, hit the second miss for the Lakers. Austin Reaves got fouled, sank both free throws, and the Lakers got another stop for the win.

“I wouldn’t say I’m frustrated because I liked them both. Both in and out,” Davis said of his missed free throws. “I don’t feel like I could have shot it differently. Those in the past I was like completely missing either left short or right or long, but both of these in and out. But I know I definitely appreciate Rui with the tip out.

“And my wife even called me and said ‘Rui saved you’. So … it made me feel worse. “Whose side are you on?” But at the end of the day, Rui got tipped out, AR hit two down and we were able to get a win.”

The Kings entered the series up two games with the Lakers having the fifth most efficient offense in the NBA. After eight quarters against the Lakers, the Kings could only manage 199 points.

In December, the Lakers have the seventh-best defense in the NBA, and over the past four games, no team has been harder to score on.

“Everything we do defensively, we’ve been physical, we talk, we communicate, we cover each other,” Davis said. “We’re rebounding. Our coverage is on point. So we’re just flying around doing everything, being rough, playing desperate on the defensive end.”

The Lakers, who have won three in a row, visit Detroit on Monday in Los Angeles.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.