After the Los Angeles Lakers started the season with two wins, LeBron James shared with reporters that it was time for the club’s leading offensive spearhead to be Anthony Davis.
“That’s the guy we’re going to talk about every game, the guy who can do a good job on offense and defense. That’s what we did to get two wins,” LeBron said.
But in Game 3, it seemed he went against his word.
Facing the Sacramento Kings at home, the Los Angeles Lakers started well and took a 15-point lead. But having to play the second game in two consecutive days made them somewhat out of breath, losing their advantage and letting the Kings lead by 7 points.
In this situation, LeBron James turned himself into the spearhead of the team’s attack. The 39-year-old star alone had about 4 minutes to deliver a perfect basketball performance, scoring 14 consecutive points and assisting 2 more successful shots.
This “run” helped the Los Angeles Lakers create a long 21-0 scoring streak, regain control of the game and from there win with a score of 131-127 to maintain their unbeaten streak.
Highlights of LeBron James’ triple-double of 32 points, 14 rebounds, 10 assists against the Sacramento Kings
LeBron James finished the game with 32 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists, bagging his first triple-double of the season. Half of James’ points came in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter, where he put the Lakers on his shoulders and came out strong.
“ All of a sudden I found the finishing touch, I hit some long shots and I attacked the basket well. Everything just clicked together to help the team get through this tough game ,” LeBron James said after beating the Sacramento Kings for the first time in 18 months.
Besides LeBron James, fans cannot ignore Anthony Davis.
Every time he faces the Kings or specifically Domantas Sabonis, the Lakers bigman is always “pocketed” by his colleague on the other side of the battle line and has lost in the last 10 head-to-head matches.
But this time, Anthony Davis could not repeat the old story. He scored 31 points in the whole game, including the winning 3-pointer for LA Lakers with 40 seconds left.
Anthony Davis’s series of points and 3-point shot sealed the victory for the Los Angeles Lakers
Pairing both LeBron and AD together, the Lakers’ superstar duo didn’t miss a shot in the fourth quarter, scoring a total of 30 points on 11-11 FG.
The other three starters in the Lakers lineup all scored well. Rui Hachimura had 18 points and 9 rebounds. Austin Reaves scored 16 points and 6 assists. D’Angelo Russell scored 16 points and 5 assists.
This series of quality points helped the LA team overcome 19 turnovers, a sign that the Lakers still have things to improve.
Highlights of the match Los Angeles Lakers vs Sacramento Kings
After three wins to open the season, the best performance since 2010 (the time of Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol…), the Los Angeles Lakers will enter the first test of fire.
They will play five consecutive away games over the next 12 days, starting with a rematch against the Phoenix Suns next Tuesday morning. Other stops include Cleveland, Toronto, Detroit and Memphis before the team returns to Los Angeles.
