LOS ANGELES (AP) — Luka Doncic scored 34 points, LeBron James had 24, and the Los Angeles Lakers snapped their three-game losing streak with a 125-101 win over the Sacramento Kings on Sunday night.
Nick Smith Jr. had 21 off the bench for the Lakers, who had dropped four of six and all by at least 13 points, including a 23-point demolition at the hands of Houston on Christmas Day in their previous game.
DeMar DeRozan had 22 for the Kings, who have won consecutive games just once this season. Maxime Raynaud finished with 16, as Sacramento had six players in double figures.
After two-plus days of stewing over the no-show against the Rockets, including a team meeting on Saturday and a rare Sunday morning shootaround, the Lakers found themselves in the second quarter, with Doncic scoring 15 of his 24 first-half points in the period for a 68-53 halftime lead.
Smith’s production was just as important, with 10 points in eight minutes while making all four of his shots from the field in the first half. Coach JJ Redick had identified Smith, a third-year shooting guard from Arkansas, as the player with the most to gain while Austin Reaves misses the next month because of a strained left calf.
Determined to get back into the win column, Los Angeles kept the pressure up after the break. Doncic, Rui Hachimura and James each knocked down 3-pointers during a 13-2 run to start the third quarter that pushed the lead to 26.
The Kings couldn’t maintain the defensive improvement shown over their previous four games, allowing the Lakers to shoot 52.8% from the floor. James made 11 of his 13 shots from the field.
Up next
Kings: Visit the Clippers in Inglewood, California on Tuesday night.
Lakers: Host the Pistons on Tuesday night.
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