Lakers vs Kings: LeBron and Monk recital save Los Angeles

LeBron James and Malik Monk were the figures of the commitment by scoring between the two 25 of the 37 points of the Los Angeles Lakers in the fourth quarter and thus saved their team against a very complicated Sacramento Kings and who stood firm until the end (122 -114).

James extended his streak of great recent performances and added 31 points (12 of 26), 5 rebounds and 5 assists while Monk contributed 24 points (8 of 15), 4 rebounds and 4 assists.

Monk’s aim from the triple (6 of 11) and James’ fierce penetrations in the final stretch were essential for the Angelenos to certify their victory after a very exciting duel.

Frank Vogel’s team came out again with a low starting five with James as five, but turned to Dwight Howard as a reserve and the center responded with a very outstanding performance (14 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals in 22 minutes ).

In this way, the Lakers gain momentum with their third straight victory and their fourth win in the last five games.

For the Kings, De’Aaron Fox (30 points, 3 rebounds and 6 assists) and Buddy Hield (26 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists) were the most prominent.

The Sacramento team bled to death with turnovers (18) against some Lakers who, unlike what has happened the rest of the season, controlled this facet of the game very well (only 5 lost balls).

Lows vs. highs

The Kings’ plan was clear from the start: balls in the paint for centers Damian Jones and Marvin Bagley III and penetrations from De’Aaron Fox to capitalize on the lack of intimidation from these “little” Lakers.

The Angelenos suffered from the start their inferiority in the rebound but they countered it with speed in the transitions and the dynamism in static attack of players like Malik Monk (13-15 with 6.24 left).

Dwight Howard entered the second unit and those in purple and gold returned to a more traditional quintet, but the energetic reinforcement for the Kings of Buddy Hield, who sounded last summer as a signing of the Lakers, bolstered the advantage of the visitors in the first quarter (26-31).

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The Lakers’ reaction was immediate: a 9-0 starting run, led by the momentum of Talen Horton-Tucker, changed the game (35-31 with 10.02 on the clock).

Carmelo Anthony’s early third foul forced Dwight Howard back onto the court, who responded wonderfully by charging up the offensive rebound and hitting the zone with several dunks.

The Lakers defended better and began to like each other as with an electric counterattack that James culminated after a pass from Monk’s back.

However, the insistence from the triple by Fox (19 points at halftime) and Hield (15 points) allowed the Kings to go to the locker room with a modest advantage (57-59).

Unlike other games, the Lakers controlled their turnovers very well in the first half (one to 10 for the Kings) but crashed on the perimeter (3 of 16 on triples).

Excitement until the last minute

In the resumption, neither team knew how to take the reins of the match.

Fox continued to score without great difficulty for the Kings while the Lakers benefited from the sporadic but valuable contributions of Bradley (71-70 with 7.10 remaining).

Barnes and Monk then challenged each other to a 3-point contest and neither emerged victorious (they scored two per head in a row).

The Lakers crowd needed encouragement and found it in Anthony, who with two suspended baskets lifted spectators from the stadium now called Crypto.com Arena (85-83).

LeBron, Monk Lead Lakers & # 39; Late Rally Past Kings, 122-114 - CBS Sacramento

Without making much noise, the Sacramento team opened a small lead in the fourth quarter that, after such a balanced game, seemed like a very precious booty (89-96 with 8.11 remaining).

The Lakers had gotten stuck between offenses in attack, protests to the umpires and misses in the shot, but James, Monk and Horton-Tucker joined forces to regain their energy and keep the score level until the end (101-102 with 5.21 for the final).

And if Barnes and Monk were measured before, now it was Hield and James who exchanged two consecutive triples each to give the game even more excitement (109-108 with 3.31 to be played).

Monk gave a new blow to the Kings with his umpteenth triple, but it was James who with two great penetrations – the last with an additional one – finished the game while he heard his audience shouting “MVP, MVP” and he beat his chest angrily .

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Lakers vs Kings: LeBron and Monk recital save Los Angeles