With their first 2-0 start since the 2010-11 season, the Los Angeles Lakers are set to host the Sacramento Kings on Saturday for the second game of a weekend back-to-back.
On Friday, the Lakers came back from a 22-point deficit in the first half, thanks to 35 points from Anthony Davis, 26 points and eight assists from Austin Reaves, and LeBron James contributing 21 points and eight assists, leading to a 123-116 victory over Phoenix.
Davis became one of the few Lakers, along with Jerry West and Elgin Baylor, to score more than 35 points in each of the first two games of a season. He had 36 points and 16 rebounds in their season-opening win against Minnesota on Tuesday.
Davis attributed his strong performance partly to the new head coach JJ Redick’s offensive plan, which focuses on getting him the ball in the post.
“I know coach wants to get me the ball early to be able to help with the offense. I’m just trying to make my shot, make big-time plays,” Davis said in his postgame interview with ESPN. “I feel great, just want to keep carrying it over all season.”
Now, the Lakers aim to extend their strong start against a team that swept them last season. Sacramento won all four games against Los Angeles in the 2023-24 season, including two where they limited Davis to just nine and 14 points.
Sacramento is back in action on Saturday after losing a close game 117-115 to Minnesota in their season opener on Thursday. Malik Monk, who scored 17 points off the bench, gave the Kings a 115-114 lead with a three-point play in the final minute.
However, Minnesota made three free throws in the closing moments, including two after De’Aaron Fox missed a jumper that could have put Sacramento ahead.
Fox, who was the Kings’ leading scorer last season with an average of 26.6 points per game, finished with 15 points on 6-of-14 shooting in the loss. He was still an important part of the offense, recording 11 assists.
This game was the first for Sacramento with a new starting lineup after they added three-time All-NBA player DeMar DeRozan in the offseason.
DeRozan scored a team-high 26 points in his debut with the Kings, but he shot 7-of-18 from the floor and was 0-for-2 from three-point range. Sacramento attempted 29 three-pointers, which is 10 fewer than their average from last season.
“You have another guy that commands to touch the ball a little bit more. And you could see, DeMar had some pretty good looks, especially early on, that he turned down,” Kings coach Mike Brown said in his postgame press conference.
“His game is the mid-range,” Brown added. “He’s an elite mid-range guy.”
Domantas Sabonis scored 24 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Last season, Sabonis set a post-ABA merger league record with 61 consecutive double-doubles.
Keegan Murray also had a double-double, scoring 23 points and getting 11 rebounds in Thursday’s loss. He shot 5-of-10 from three-point range, making almost half of Sacramento’s total of 11 made three-pointers as a team.
