LOS ANGELES Jan. 5 (U.S.): LeBron James scored 14 of 31 points in the fourth quarter, Malik Monk added 11 of 24 in the last seven minutes, and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Sacramento Kings 122-114 on Tuesday night for their fourth win in the Five games.
Tallinn Horton Tucker scored 19 points for the Lakers, who recovered from a seven-point deficit with one big basket after another from Monk and James. Monk hit six three-pointers in another impressive offensive game, and Russell Westbrook added 19 points and directed a key late attack as the Lakers rose again above 0.500, the Associated Press reported.
Westbrook played 34 minutes in their first spin-free game since March 14, 2016. The Lakers committed just five total turnovers, allowing them to take 16 more shots than Sacramento.
“That’s why we won the match,” James said. “We didn’t turn the ball tonight. When we hit the goal, we can be very dangerous. We didn’t hit the ball well at all, (but) because we didn’t turn the ball, it burst into flames.”
Diaron Fox scored 30 points and Buddy Heald added 26 points with seven three-pointers in favor of the Kings, who scored 11 consecutive points at the beginning of the fourth quarter before falling back. Harrison Barnes scored 14 points for Sacramento, who won three consecutive points over the Lakers in Los Angeles.
Jumper Therese Halliburton put the Kings in front of three minutes to play, but Monk’s hat-trick and James’ throw put the Lakers back 114-110. Westbrook and James added a layup while Los Angeles maintained their lead, scoring nine goals in a row along the field.
“You should give (James) the credit,” Barnes said. “He did a few shots, but as a group we could have done a better job making him work for some of those shots. In this league, it’s hard to protect one-on-one, especially the top players.”
Dwight Howard had 14 points and 14 rebounds for a season-high for the Lakers, who beat a Pacific League opponent on home soil for the first time in six attempts this season.
Despite his mediocre start, James spanned a long spell that started before the holiday and included seven straight 30-point games before producing on Sunday only 26th against Minnesota. Los Angeles also got another boost from Monk, who scored at least 15 points in six straight games.
“I always think I can do that for any team I work for, and I am prepared for whatever happens,” Monk said. “We’re short on a few people, but even when they come back, I’m still ready and going to produce.”
Hint
Kings: USC Producer Chimezie Metu entered into the NBA’s health and safety protocols earlier today, joining Richaun Holmes. Mito was one of the few Kings who didn’t enter protocols when Sacramento was most choked last month, hitting a pointer at the last second to win over Dallas last week. …Terrence Davis missed his fourth game in a row with an ankle injury. … Holmes missed his second game in a row.
Lakers: Kendrick Noone has yet to make his Los Angeles debut with a pre-season bone bruise, but coach Frank Vogel said signing a mid-level exception is working with the Lakers’ coaches and is close to a comeback. Although Nunn will miss at least half of the regular season unless he returns this week, Vogel said the NBA Year 3 professional will play “a lot of minutes” when he’s healthy.
tough call
Kings interim coach Alvin Gentry was furious when the referees were forced to call the jump ball after Monk missed a free throw 24.8 seconds before play and the match clock started to run before Fox touched the rebound. Sacramento is still five times behind at the time, but the Kings lost the jump ball and any chance of a comeback.
Gentry was defiled in his criticism of the rule, but stressed that he did not blame the officials for enforcing it: “The rulers did what they were supposed to do. If anything needed to be changed, this is the rule to change. We didn’t start the clock. It wasn’t Our fault. We were punished for a (stupid) rule.”
AB . decision
Avery Bradley scored seven points in his last game with the Lakers before they decided whether to allow the goalkeeper’s contract to be secured for the rest of the season. The Lakers claimed Bradley was out of concessions while they were short-lived in October, and surprisingly, he was regularly rotating 26 starts.
next one
Kings: Host Atlanta on Wednesday.
Lakers: Hosts Atlanta on Friday.