After the Lakers started its season with two consecutive victories for the first time since 2010, LeBron James stood in front of his locker and said the key to their season would be looking, more often than not, Anthony Davis to open the way.
“It’s very important that he’s the main focal point for us every night,” James said defiantly Friday. “We know what he’s going to do defensively, but offensively we have to find him in multiple spots on the floor throughout the game. And we did it in two games.
So about game 3…
Learn more: Dominant Anthony Davis helps Lakers erase 22-point deficit to defeat Suns
As the Lakers coughed up a 15-point lead and the Sacramento Kings did what they always seem to do to their rivals, James reminded everyone that he, too, could be a focal point.
In four minutes of near-perfect basketball from the 39-year-old Lakers star, he scored 14 points and assisted two more. That sequence, which came during a 21-0 run early in the fourth quarter, pushed the Lakers to another victory. 131-127 against the Kings.
“To get that performance to start the fourth from LeBron, what can you say? » said Lakers coach JJ Redick. “We’ve all been very fortunate to see his greatness for so long and the fact that he’s able to continue to do it, it’s just, it’s really insane. It’s really crazy.”
James finished with 32 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists, his play early in the fourth quarter putting the Lakers in position to beat the Kings for the first time since January 7, 2023.
“I found a rhythm, got my outside shot going and made a few in the paint as well,” James said. “I got a backdoor from (D’Angelo Russell) that worked well. So I’m just trying to see what I had that could help us overcome this consequential obstacle.
And the other focal point, Davis, closed out the match.
As Sacramento held off the James-led run, Davis returned to the game and continued his early season dominance. He attacked Domantas Sabonis at the rim and iced the game with a three-pointer and a split shot from the free-throw line, his only miss in the fourth quarter of a 31-point night.
Davis and James combined to make all 11 of their shots in the fourth quarter, combining to score 30 points in the quarter.
“Just when you think he’s slowing down, man, he keeps showing the world why he’s the best,” Davis said of James. “To continue this streak, he turned to the bench and was trying to get out of the game. We told him: “You will not come out”. He comes out and hits three more. He never ceases to amaze each of us because we know what he is capable of and what he is capable of doing.
All five starters finished in double figures with Rui Hachimura scoring 18 points and nine rebounds, Austin Reaves adding 16 points, seven rebounds and six assists, and D’Angelo Russell contributing 16 points and five assists.
Before the game, Redick acknowledged that early-season sample sizes weren’t close to reaching significant levels. Still, he had been encouraged by the Lakers’ low turnover rates.
Then the Lakers coughed it up 19 times, leading to 25 points in Sacramento.
But as they did in wins over Western Conference contenders Minnesota and Phoenix, the Lakers found other ways to tip the scales to their advantage.
Learn more: Anthony Davis dominates Game 1 as Lakers offense runs through him
They grabbed 13 more rebounds than the Kings and finished with four more shots despite having five more rebounds than Sacramento. And while Sabonis had a triple-double with 29 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists, and De’Aaron Fox had 28 and 10 assists, James and the Lakers’ stars were simply better.
“In general, when we act out of gratitude, we sometimes have a feeling of surrealism. And I’ve certainly had that multiple times in multiple days as head coach of the Lakers,” Redick said. “And tonight was a surreal moment to watch him (and) coach him.”
The Lakers now embark on a five-game road trip that begins Monday in Phoenix with stops in Cleveland, Toronto, Detroit and Memphis before returning to Los Angeles.
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This story was originally published in Los Angeles Times.
