The Sacramento Kings showed some fight in their second preseason meeting with the Los Angeles Lakers, but the same issues that have been hanging around them showed up again in a 114-110 loss.
Sacramento was better than it was in the first preseason game, especially in spurts. The reserves made the final minutes interesting, the energy was there, and a few young players flashed.
Still, the Kings couldn’t clean up the sloppier parts of the night. Missed shots piled up, turnovers kept hurting them, and Los Angeles spent too much time at the line.
Precious Achiuwa led the way for Sacramento with 18 points and five rebounds on 9-for-13 shooting. Daeqwon Plowden scored all 15 of his points in the fourth quarter, and Maxime Raynaud posted 13 points, 10 rebounds, and two blocks.
The Kings were without Ben Simmons, Keegan Murray, Malik Monk, and Domantas Sabonis. The Lakers were also short-handed, sitting Cameron Carr, Walker Kessler, Dalton Knecht, Collin Sexton, Ziaire Williams, and Arthur Kaluma.
Sacramento’s offense opened with a clear emphasis on the paint. The Kings scored their first 10 points inside and grabbed four offensive rebounds early.
That set the tone for a first quarter where the Kings stayed close despite shooting just 8-for-23 overall. They collected seven offensive boards in the period, turning them into eight second-chance points, and trailed by only one, 21-20.
Rookie Emanuel Sharp gave Sacramento a jolt off the bench right away. He played with physicality on defense and wasn’t shy about letting it fly from deep. Sharp knocked down both of the Kings’ first-quarter threes while the rest of the team went 0-for-4 from beyond the arc.
Sacramento also went deeper into the bench early, giving Jonathan Mogbo, Elfrid Payton, Alex Karaban, and Leaky Black opportunities to show something.
The second quarter belonged to the Lakers. Los Angeles outscored Sacramento 36-23, shot 11-for-18 from the field, and hit 5 of 10 from three as its lead climbed to 16. The Kings were still fighting on the glass, but the offense stalled and the gap widened.
Achiuwa kept Sacramento alive in the third quarter, especially once the Kings went to a lineup with him at center alongside Flagler, Sharp, LaVine, and Black. That group helped trim the Lakers’ lead to eight, and a 17-6 run brought the Kings within five at 74-69 after Luka Doncic’s night was done. Achiuwa scored 10 points in the quarter on 5-for-6 shooting, and Sacramento made 11 of 13 free throws.
But the momentum didn’t stick. Los Angeles closed the period on a 12-1 run and carried an 86-70 lead into the fourth. Sacramento also went cold from long range again, missing all seven of its three-point attempts in the third and falling to 4-for-26 from deep at that point.
The last quarter belonged to Sacramento’s young group. The Lakers pushed the margin to 19, then Sharp, Clifford, Plowden, Karaban, and Mogbo answered with 14 straight points to get the Kings back within five with fewer than three minutes left.
Plowden did most of his damage there, while Karaban hit both of his three-point tries. Clifford handed out six assists in the quarter, and Mogbo scored eight of his 12 points as the bench kept the game from getting away.
The Kings finished 6-for-10 from three in the fourth and outscored Los Angeles 40-28 in the frame, making the ending much tighter than it looked going in.
Sacramento shot 44.2% from the field overall and 27.8% from three. The Kings scored 62 points in the paint, got 22 second-chance points off 20 offensive rebounds, but also turned it over 26 times. Their physical style also sent Los Angeles to the line far too often, with the Lakers converting 31 of 38 free throws compared with Sacramento’s 16 of 24.
For the game, Doncic led Los Angeles with 23 points, while Mamukelashvili scored 19 and LaRavia added 17. Acuff finished with 12 points on 4-for-15 shooting, and LaVine contributed 11 points, four assists, and four steals.
After two preseason games, both against the Lakers, Sacramento is 0-2. The Kings will play the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center on Saturday.
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