The shorthanded Sacramento Kings turned in a valiant effort to pick up their first preseason victory with a dramatic win over the Los Angeles Lakers.
Dennis Schroder scored 25 points and Keon Ellis came off the bench to score 20, leading the Kings to a 117-116 victory Friday night at Crypto.com Arena.
Isaac Jones made a go-ahead free throw with 0.8 seconds remaining and Dalton Knecht missed a 3-pointer as time expired, allowing the Kings to escape with an improbable victory while most of their biggest stars sat on the bench in street clothes.
DeMar DeRozan (groin), Keegan Murray (thumb), Domantas Sabonis (hamstring), Malik Monk (illness) and the newly signed Russell Westbrook (reconditioning) were all ruled out for Sacramento.
Zach LaVine had 15 points, four rebounds and six assists for the Kings (1-3), who avoided another winless preseason after going 0-5 last season. Rookie first-round draft pick Nique Clifford had 13 points, five rebounds and seven assists.
Luka Doncic had 31 points, five rebounds and nine assists for the Lakers (1-5), who will be without LeBron James (sciatica) until mid-November. Rui Hachimura scored 18 points. Gabe Vincent and Marcus Smart scored 14 points apiece.
Halftime report
Kings coach Doug Christie chose to start Dennis Schroder, Zach LaVine, Nique Clifford, Isaac Jones and Drew Eubanks with so many of his stars unavailable.
The Kings made their first seven shots to take an early 15-10 lead. Los Angeles went up 32-27 late in the first quarter, but Sacramento responded with a 9-2 run to take a 36-34 lead at the end of the opening period.
The Kings took a 41-36 lead early in the second quarter. The Lakers came back to tie the game with 6:15 to play in the opening half, took a 53-48 lead on a 3-pointer by Gabe Vincent and carried a 61-58 advantage into the halftime break.
Second-half summary
The Lakers staged a 10-1 run to take a 76-65 lead on a 3-pointer by Doncic midway through the third quarter. The Kings came back to cut the deficit to two on a three-point play by rookie big man Maxime Raynaud.
The Kings had a couple of injury scares when Schroder and Ellis were shaken up in the third period. Fortunately for Sacramento, both returned to the game.
The Kings trailed 90-86 going into the fourth quarter. The Lakers opened up a seven-point lead on a basket by Jarred Vanderbilt with 4:39 to play.
The Kings got within two on a jumper by Raynaud. They took a 114-113 lead on a bucket by Carter and went up 116-113 on a driving layup by Raynaud with 10.8 seconds remaining, but Knecht hit a 3-pointer to tie the game with 9.4 seconds to go.
That set the stage for Jones, who was fouled by Nick Smith Jr. with less than one second remaining. Jones made the first free throw and missed the second on purpose. The Lakers quickly corralled the rebound and called timeout, but Knecht missed at the buzzer.