The Sacramento Kings picked up their first preseason win with a 117-116 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena on Friday night. Sacramento improved to 1-3 while the Lakers fell to 1-5.
Sacramento opened a quick 36-34 lead in the first quarter behind strong play from Nique Clifford and Zach LaVine. Clifford scored seven points early, including a deep triple, while LaVine’s assists set up Drew Eubanks for dunks.
Los Angeles responded with Luka Doncic’s pullup threes and driving layups for 10 points in the frame. Gabe Vincent added two from deep, but turnovers from LaVine kept the margin slim.
The second quarter stayed tight as the Lakers tied it at 61-61 on Vincent’s step-back triple. Dennis Schroder countered with eight points for the Kings, including a driving layup off a steal.
Sacramento held a one-point halftime edge at 61-60 after Keon Ellis drained a buzzer-beater three. Deandre Ayton grabbed six rebounds for Los Angeles, but the team committed seven turnovers.
The third saw the Lakers surge ahead on a 10-2 run fueled by Ayton’s turnaround hook and Doncic’s step-back three for 21 points total. Schroder answered with 14 points in the period, including pullups and free throws, to keep Sacramento close.
Los Angeles led 90-86 entering the fourth after Marcus Smart’s finger roll layup. But the Kings flipped the script with an 11-0 spurt sparked by Ellis’ threes.
Schroder erupted for 19 points in the final frame alone, hitting a step-back three and driving floaters to push the lead to five. Doncic tied his game-high 31 with another deep pullup, but missed free throws hurt the Lakers late.
Clifford sealed it with a bank shot and alley-oop assist to Isaac Jones for a dunk, finishing with 13 points and seven assists. Ellis led the bench with 20 points on six triples for Sacramento.
Schroder topped the Kings with 25 points on 10-of-17 from the field, plus two assists. Keon Ellis scored 20 off the bench. LaVine added 15 points and six assists, while Clifford finished with 13 points and seven assists.
Eubanks, Jones and Saric each scored 10 for Sacramento in the win. The visitors shot 54.7 percent from the field.
Doncic paced Los Angeles with 31 points and nine assists, including six threes. Rui Hachimura added 18 points with four from beyond the arc, while Vincent scored 14 efficiently on 5-of-6 shooting.
Ayton contributed 12 points and nine rebounds in the paint battle, where Sacramento edged out 48-40 in points. Smart tallied 14 points and four steals, but the Lakers shot just 45.3 percent overall.
Sacramento forced 16 turnovers while committing nine, turning them into 15 points. The Kings shot 54.7 percent from the field in the close contest.
This back-and-forth affair tested both benches ahead of the regular season. Los Angeles focused on integrating Doncic, who logged 32 minutes.
