The Sacramento Kings’ poor first quarter against the Los Angeles Lakers proved too much to overcome as they eventually suffered a 128-104 road loss to close out their five-game trip.
Being outscored 36-18 in the opening frame was largely due to turnover struggles and opposing points off those mistakes. Shooting just 6/26 from three compared to Los Angeles’s 18/39 certainly didn’t help their case either.
Luka Doncic (28 points, nine assists, and five rebounds) and LeBron James (24 points, five assists, one rebound) ended the night with a combined 52 points on 18/31 from the field.
But as the end of this disappointing 2025-26 Kings season centers on developing their young talent, their rookie pairing had solid showings.
First-round pick Nique Clifford ended the night with a team-high 26 points, seven rebounds, and four assists while converting 11 of his 18 attempts. Meanwhile, second-round selection Maxime Raynaud managed a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds on 8/10 from the field.
Sacramento Kings @ Los Angeles Lakers Game Notes
The Lakers played Saturday night in Golden State, giving the Kings a notable rest advantage, but Sacramento dug themself into a significant hole early Sunday night in Crypto.com Arena.
Committing turnovers left and right allowed Los Angeles to get out in transition. If you didn’t know, LeBron James is pretty effective in those moments. Catching a lob from Austin Reaves, James gave his side a 10-2 lead. Doug Christie called for a timeout as the Kings were 1/8 from the field, while the Lakers were 5/7 up to that point.
With five minutes to go in the first, the Kings were up to six turnovers (Westbrook: 3, DeRozan: 2), while James, Austin Reaves, and LeBron James capitalized on the other end.
The double-digit deficit ballooned to 20 (34-14) as Sacramento’s offensive struggles continued. Nique Clifford was active in the pick-and-roll, attempting to aid his side before the quarter ended, trailing 36-18. The rookie first-rounder had a team-high 8 points, four rebounds, and one assist while Doncic led the game with 12 points, five assists, and two rebounds.
the rookie connection 🪢 pic.twitter.com/303642qUZ0
— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) March 2, 2026
Falling behind like that after 12 minutes, they were going to have to outplay their opponents to get back within striking range. Starting in the second, the turnover issue became commonplace among both sides.
Sacramento’s offense drastically improved by taking advantage of those Lakers’ mishaps. Aggressively attacking the basket helped lead to free-throw opportunities, but they were conceding plenty on the other end as well.
Former Laker Malik Monk picked up a technical foul for barking at officials, clearly unhappy about the lack of a whistle, but he began adding to the scoring tally.
It was a similar situation for Westbrook, another former Laker, who seemed to express his unhappiness with Doncic being rewarded free throws and let officials hear it at the free-throw line.
Just as Monk did, the former MVP’s game picked up from that moment. After starting the game 1/5, Westbrook made his next three shots. But, as often is the case, the Kings’ long-distance shots weren’t falling.
Winning the second frame 31-28 was progress, but not nearly enough to overcome their slow opening as they still trailed 64-49 at the midway point. Maybe the start of the third is where their rest advantage could start to come into play?
That seemed to play into their favor as Sacramento converted four of their first six looks, assisting on all of them. Cutting it to 68-58 forced JJ Redick to call his first timeout of the second half after just three minutes.
Kings begin the second half with 9 quick points 💪 pic.twitter.com/eOFkLFu9Zc
— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) March 2, 2026
After a few fairly even minutes, Los Angeles responded with an 11-2 run that re-extended their advantage to 81-62 while the Kings’ shooting struggled to reappear. It didn’t stop there as Luka-magic made an appearance as he converted a circus shot from beyond the arc.
By the time exitied the third, Doncic had managed 13 points on 5/7 shooting in the frame. A luxury of the Lakers’ roster is that James was the one to replace him, while they already had a lead of more than 20.
The NBA’s all-time leading scorer lulled Achiuwa to sleep with his handle before walking into an off-the-dribble triple to give the Lakers a 96-76 lead with 12 minutes to play.
Entering now-or-never time, if they were going to recover, it became pretty clear that it was going to be never on Sunday night.
Consecutive triple from James, and a few more Sacramento turnovers, left the Crypto.com Arena scoreboard at 89-118 with 6:20 to play.
Christie elected to bring Patrick Baldwin Jr. and Killian Hayes, the two newest additions to the roster, into the action. It was Baldwin’s second appearance after logging less than five minutes in the first half.
The poor first quarter proved too much to overcome as they eventually suffered a 128-104 road loss to close out their five-game trip.
Being outscored 36-18 in the opening frame was largely due to turnover struggles and opposing points off those mistakes. Shooting just 6/26 from three compared to Los Angeles’s 18/39 certainly didn’t help their case either.
Doncic (28 points, nine assists, and five rebounds) and LeBron James (24 points, five assists, one rebound) ended the night with a combined 52 points on 18/31 from the field.
But as the end of this disappointing 2025-26 Kings season centers on developing their young talent, their rookie pairing had solid showings.
Clifford ended the night with a team-high 26 points, seven rebounds, and four assists while converting 11 of his 18 attempts. Meanwhile, Raynaud managed a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds on 8/10 from the field.
Sacramento will make the short trip home the same night, with a one-day break before hosting the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night.
More Sacramento Kings content from Sactown Sports
Upcoming Sacramento Kings schedule for the 2025-26 season
Tuesday, March 3rd vs. Phoenix Suns – 8:00 PM PT
Thursday, March 5th vs. New Orleans Pelicans – 7:00 PM PT
Sunday, March 8th vs. Chicago Bulls – 6:00 PM PT
Tuesday, March 10th vs. Indiana Pacers – 7:00 PM PT
Wednesday, March 11th vs. Charlotte Hornets – 7:00 PM PT
Thank you for readingSactownSports.com. Follow us onTwitterandGoogle News, and subscribe to ourYouTubechannel.