Upon learning that the Los Angeles Lakers would be without stars Luka Doncic and LeBron James due to injury on Sunday night in Sacramento, it seemed as if the Kings were in a strong spot to pick up a second-straight win.
Austin Reaves had other plans.
Reaves scored a career-high 51 points, with 21 coming at the free-throw line to lead the shorthanded Lakers past the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center by a final of 127-120.
Los Angeles made a living at the charity stripe on Sunday, finishing the night 41-of-46 (89%) as the Kings’ defense struggled to play aggressive defense without hearing a whistle.
The Lakers became the first NBA team to make 41 or more free throws on 89 percent or better shooting from the line since Los Angeles themselves on April 10, 2022.
With the loss, Sacramento (1-2) falls under the .500 mark ahead of a tough four-game road trip that includes stops in Oklahoma City, Milwaukee, and Denver.
coast-to-coast with brodie 😤 pic.twitter.com/apDRFpl1cn
— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) October 27, 2025
Sacramento Kings vs. Lakers recap & takeaways
Although Los Angeles entered Sunday’s game without its best two players, Luka Doncic and LeBron James, there was still uneasiness about Sacramento’s chances of coasting to a win.
Facing shorthanded teams in recent memory has often resulted in frustrating, head-scratching losses for the Kings, and the start of this one looked like it would be the latest addition to a list of underwhelming performances.
The Lakers jumped out to a ten-point lead in the first quarter thanks to a red-hot start in the paint as Sacramento struggled to slow down Los Angeles inside the key.
Facing a nine-point deficit to start the second quarter, the Kings benefited from the play of Russell Westbrook and DeMar DeRozan as the future Hall of Fame duo ignited a 13-2 Sacramento run to regain the lead.
Westbrook’s play really was the jumpstart that helped the Kings dig out of an early hole. Chasing down offensive boards, finding DeRozan for a triple in the corner, and crossing up former Sacramento forward Jake LaRavia in transition were just some of the things Westbrook had in his bag during the second period.
In the second quarter alone, Westbrook scored 11 points (four-of-six shooting from the field) while converting all three of his attempts from long distance, while also coralling five boards and handing out three assists over 11 minutes.
These back-to-back buckets by Russ 😤 pic.twitter.com/v8jydlJ4LM
— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) October 27, 2025
DeRozan was non-existent in Friday’s win over Utah (seven points), but the veteran made his presence known early on Sunday.
The six-time All-Star led all Kings scorers with 17 first-half points (seven-of-14 shooting) to complement a 13-point effort from Zach LaVine and Westbrook’s packed stat-line, but a 20-for-21 start from the free-throw line kept the Lakers right there with Sacramento entering the break.
These longtime rivals entered the second half deadlocked at 62-62, and once Los Angeles made its run to begin the third quarter, LaVine raised his hand to lead the charge on offense for the Kings.
LaVine, who scored 30+ points in Sacramento’s first two games, scored eight points in the quarter to help Sacramento keep pace with a Lakers team that was doing most of its damage at the foul stripe.
As well as LaVine, Malik Monk, and Dennis Schroder (six points in the third apiece) played in the quarter, Los Angeles benefited from the Kings’ defensive lapses by cashing in freebies at the charity stripe.
The Lakers’ offense, lacking the scoring punch of Doncic (92 points scored over his first two games), made a living at the foul line on Sunday–especially Austin Reaves, who had knocked down 17 of his 18 attempts at the foul line by the end of the third quarter.
Los Angeles had attempted nearly 40 free throw attempts by the start of the third (making 89% of those tries) to put a five-point cushion between themselves and a stagnant Sacramento offense that shot just 39 percent from the field in the pentulimate period.
As he did in the first half upon checking in, Westbrook did more of the same in the fourth as his contributions helped aid an 8-0 opening run by the Kings that put them back ahead with less than nine minutes to go.
Sacramento’s momentum evaporated in crunch time as Reaves’ torture of the Kings’ defense continued, scoring 15 of his career-high 51 points in the fourth to put the Lakers over the top and in position to secure a shorthanded win at Golden 1 Center.
AUSTIN REAVES FOR 42.
HE’S ON FIRE FOR THE LAKERS 🔥 pic.twitter.com/c99PM1YzHC
— NBA (@NBA) October 27, 2025
Reaves’ career night, paired with a nearly unbelievable performance from Los Angeles at the foul line, was too much to overcome for the Kings–especially when several core players navigated foul trouble down the final stretch.
Playing defense without fouling was the main issue for Sacramento, with four players finishing the night with four or more personal fouls.
“I think we just have to do a better job of not fouling the jump shooter,” Kings guard Dennis Schroder said of his team’s lack of clean defense against Los Angeles.
DeRozan had just one word to describe the 46 free throws: “That’s crazy… 46 free throws is crazy. It’s crazy.”
Head coach Doug Christie followed up DeRozan’s comments almost to a tee, adding that he doesn’t think it’s possible to win a game at any level when allowing an opponent to shoot 46 free throws.
“We gotta play defense without fouling, obviously,” Christie said. “It’s wild. It’s wild. It’s wild.”
Crazy indeed. On a night where the Sacramento offense shot nearly 45 percent from the field and went 18-of-43 (42%) from the three-point line, they still found a way to lose against a team that was missing two of the best players in the game.
Last season, the Kings went 20-6 (.769) when shooting 40 percent or better from deep. Call it officiating, call it poor defense, call it what you want–Sacramento needs to work on its approach defensively if it wants to avoid similar outcomes down the line.
Los Angeles kept attacking the paint again and again on Sunday, outscoring the Kings 54-46 in that category. If the Lakers didn’t score in the paint, they drew fouls and got to the line as Sacramento’s interior defense floundered, no matter who was inserted at the center spot.
Domantas Sabonis (five fouls) and Dylan Cardwell (four fouls) struggled to protect the rim and the paint, and the Lakers could smell blood in the water each time they attacked the basket.
Through three games, the Kings’ offense looks fine–or, pretty good, all things considered. Like most of–if not all of–the past 20-plus seasons, it’s going to come down to the defensive end in determining Sacramento’s potential in 2025-26.
The return of Keegan Murray next month will help, but it also won’t solve all of these issues. The Kings need a total buy-in on the defensive end across the board, and a brutal upcoming schedule will put them to the test in the very early stages of this regular season.
Stats & Notes
Zach LaVine posted his third-straight 30-point effort on Sunday, becoming the fourth Kings player in franchise history to begin a season with three-straight 30-point performances, joining Jack Twyman (1959-60), Oscar Robertson (161-62, 1965-66), and Tiny Archibald (1972-73).
The star guard also became the sixth player in the Sacramento era to score 30+ points in three of more consecutive games, including some noteworthy names from recent franchise history:
Kings players in the Sacramento era (1985-present) to score 30+ points in 3+ consecutive games:
Mitch Richmond (7x)
De’Aaron Fox (6x)
DeMarcus Cousins (5x)
Peja Stojakovic (2x)
Chris Webber
And now, Zach LaVine. pic.twitter.com/3lgOolkSJL
— Frankie Cartoscelli (@FCartoscelli3) October 27, 2025
Russell Westbrook added 18 points, six rebounds, and six assists while knocking down six of his 12 field goal attempts off the bench. Westbrook also went four-of-six from three-point range over 27 minutes.
Malik Monk had another strong showing off the bench, scoring 15 points on five-of-nine shooting from the field (three-of-six from deep) over 24 minutes.
Injury Report
Forward Keegan Murray (left thumb surgery recovery) is still three to five weeks from being re-evaluated.
Rookie wing Nique Clifford (right hamstring strain) will be re-evaluated in one week.
When is the next Sacramento Kings game?
Sacramento will embark on a four-game road trip that will begin with a tough test against the reigning NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday afternoon.
Oklahoma City will be playing on the second night of a back-to-back after facing the Mavericks in Dallas on Monday.
Be sure to catch all of the Kings vs. Thunder action right here on Sactown Sports 1140 AM, with pregame coverage beginning at 2:00 PM PT on The Drive Guys before a 5:00 pm PT tip-off from downtown Oklahoma City.
Upcoming Sacramento Kings schedule for the 2025-26 season
Tuesday, October 28th – @ Oklahoma City Thunder – 5 PM PT
Wednesday, October 29th – @ Chicago Bulls – 5 PM PT
Saturday, November 1st – @ Milwaukee Bucks – 2:00 PM PT
Monday, November 3rd – @ Denver Nuggets – 6:00 PM PT
Wednesday, November 5th – vs. Golden State Warriors – 7:00 PM PT
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