Kings 120, Lakers 107: Break Out the Brooms, Baby


For the final time this regular season, the Sacramento Kings took on their annoying neighbors from the south in a classic California showdown against the Los Angeles Lakers. A win would give the Kings a clean series sweep against the Lakers. A loss would give the Lakers an extra push in the standings, inching them closer to the heels of Sacramento. With the way things have been going lately, where up is down and left is right, the Kings had a good chance of breaking the brooms out after this one. Let’s see how they did:

Quick Stats

Outcome: Kings win, 120-107

Sacramento Kings: 120 pts, 52.3% fg, 46.3% 3 pt, 75.0% ft, 30 ast, 44 reb, 14 to

Los Angeles Lakers: 107 pts, 48.7% fg, 43.8% 3 pt, 77.3% ft, 25 ast, 38 reb, 14 to

Do you hear that? It is the sound of brooms sweeping the floors everywhere around the greater Sacramento area. The Sacramento Kings have officially swept the Los Angeles Lakers this season with tonight’s big win at home. With this win, the Kings increase their separation over the Lakers in the standings, the beam is lit, and all is right in the world.

The Good, The Better, & The Best

The Good:
  1. Welcome to Ellis Island: With Kevin Huerter out tonight, Keon Ellis got the starting spot and made a convincing case of why he should remain there. Ellis had an immediate impact on the defensive end and fit seamlessly into the Kings’ fast flowing offense. Early on, it became clear that De’Angelo Russell was in for a rough night. Ellis fought over every screen and recovered on every point of attack to disrupt and frustrate Russell with the ball. To top it off, just when Russell thought he might get a break, Davion Mitchell came in and took over right where Ellis left off, keeping Russell trapped in basketball hell. Russell scored just 1 point through three quarters and ultimately finished with 6 points. Ellis racked up 3 steals on the night. On the offensive end, Ellis looked confident in his role, not hesitating to take open shots within the flow of the offense and making decisive drives to keep the ball moving. He finished with 14 points on 3-5 from the 3-point line. With the defensive presence he brings to the starting lineup, and being stacked with Mitchell’s equally intense defense off the bench, Ellis may have found himself a new job in this starting lineup.
The Better:
  1. Team Win: A win is good. A win against the Lakers is great. A win against the Lakers by a dominant and collective team performance should be labeled as a controlled substance in Sacramento because I want it pumped through my veins at all times. The best part of this win was that everyone did their job. All five Sacramento starters finished in double digits. Domantas Sabonis notched another incredible triple double with 17 points, 19 rebounds, and 10 assists. It still blows my mind that this is the kind of production we can expect from a Sacramento Kings player every night. De’Aaron Fox does what he does best under the bright lights and showed off his midrange expertise with 21 points and 7 assists. Keegan Murray earned himself a double double with 19 points and 11 rebounds on 5-10 from deep. Off the bench, Malik Monk provided timely plays and shotmaking down the stretch, while Alex Len brought the physicality needed to contain the Lakers while Sabonis got his rest. Everyone did their part and played within their roles and it was beautiful basketball to witness.
  2. Timely Responses: The Lakers had multiple runs from multiple players tonight, but the Kings did well in responding to all of them. To start, Austin Reaves opened the game up on a heater, scoring 13 of his 28 points in the first quarter. The Kings eventually slowed him down with different defensive looks and forced other Lakers to step up. Rui Hachimura was next, scoring 17 of his 20 points in the first half by finding all the weak spots in the Kings’ defense and taking advantage of mismatches. Again, the Kings made adjustments with varying defenses and forced the Lakers to pass the torch. The Kings had their best defensive quarter in the third, holding the Lakers to just 17 points. Down the stretch, LeBron James (18 points, 13 rebounds) and Anthony Davis (22 points, 10 rebounds) tried to kick things into gear for Los Angeles, but once again, the Kings responded accordingly and prevented the Lakers from gaining any significant momentum for a comeback. The Kings did what good teams do – they suffered some runs, called a timeout, and responded with defensive effort and offensive execution.
The Best:
  1. Clean Sweep: Any day where the Kings beat the Lakers is the new best day of my life. 4-0 never sounded so good. At what point is this no longer a rivalry? (Just kidding, I will hate the Lakers until I am rotted dust in the ground).

The King of Kings

Harrison Barnes was out of his mind tonight in the best way possible. He led the Kings with 23 points on 7-11 from the 3-point line, with 4 of those cashing in during the fourth quarter. Every time LeBron James tried to breathe life into the Lakers for a final push, Harrison Barnes was there to punch them in the stomach and knock the wind out of them with another dagger. We all knew he wasn’t here to mess around when he did this in the first quarter:

Up Next

Saturday, March 16th vs. New York Knicks – 7:00 P.M. (PT)





Source link

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR