Three Losses in One Day! How Did Non-All-Star Little Sa Manage to Dominate Anthony Davis?！！！！”😮💨
"On March 6th, Pacific Time, the Lakers fell short at home, losing 120-130 to the Kings.
Let's start by discussing the impact of this game. Coming into the match, the Kings held a record of 34 wins and 26 losses, sitting at 7th place in the Western Conference, while the Lakers were at 34 wins and 29 losses, holding the 9th spot. With only a 1.5 game difference between the two teams, this game widened the gap to 2.5 games, making it increasingly difficult for the Lakers to catch up."
"Furthermore, on the same day, the Warriors defeated the Bucks, resulting in the Lakers (34 wins, 29 losses) being surpassed by the Warriors (33 wins, 28 losses) in the Western Conference standings. As a result, the Lakers dropped to the tenth spot. With their own loss, the Kings' victory, and the Warriors' win all occurring within a single day, the Lakers faced three setbacks in the Western Conference playoff race. Clearly, it's not good news for them."
"Moving on to the game itself, the Lakers' performance was quite bafflingly disappointing.
In the first quarter, the Lakers dominated the Kings, maintaining a commanding 37-18 lead with just a minute and a half remaining. However, to everyone's surprise, the Lakers collapsed in the second quarter, allowing the Kings to unleash a staggering 44-20 run.
By halftime, the Lakers found themselves trailing by 15 points. The third quarter began with the Lakers quickly falling behind by 20 points, trailing 57-77 in less than a minute of play. Within a span of just under 15 minutes, the Lakers were outscored by a whopping 59-20 margin."
"In the second half, the Lakers, not giving up, managed to narrow the gap to nearly 10 points on several occasions. However, every time the Lakers made a push, the Kings had a player step up to respond. With just 4 minutes remaining, LeBron James left the game due to injury, effectively sealing the fate of the match."
"Objectively speaking, LeBron James truly gave his all in this game. He played for 36 minutes, shooting 10 for 16 from the field, 4 for 1 from three-point range, and a perfect 10 for 10 from the free-throw line, resulting in 31 points, 5 rebounds, and 13 assists. This marks LeBron's third '30+ points, 10+ assists' performance of the season.
In the third quarter, when the Lakers were trailing by over 20 points, it was LeBron who played the entire 12 minutes and contributed 15 points and 6 assists, almost single-handedly leading the team's offense. It was his effort that kept the Lakers in contention for a comeback."
"However, basketball is never a one-man show, and in this game, the Lakers' other star player, Anthony Davis, had a rather lackluster performance.
Throughout the game, Davis played a total of 34 minutes, shooting 5 for 13 from the field and tallying 14 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 assists. If we focus on the first three quarters, Davis shot only 3 for 11 and scored just 10 points. Although he faced foul trouble, his offensive performance was undeniably disappointing.
Davis seems to struggle against strong interior teams, such as Embiid, Jokic, Nurkic, and even Zubac. This was evident in the game against the Kings as well. When it comes to battling in the paint, the Lakers were clearly outmatched by the Kings in this game. Furthermore, including this game, Davis has a career record of 0 wins and 9 losses against the Kings, having never won a game against them."
"Turning our attention to the Kings, their dynamic duo once again shone brightly in Los Angeles.
De'Aaron Fox played the entire game, logging 39 minutes on the court. He shot an impressive 19 for 32 from the field, including 6 for 2 from three-point range, and made 5 of 4 free throws, totaling 44 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists. This marked a season-high for Fox and also equaled his career-high scoring record (previously achieved twice).
In the second half, Fox scored 24 points, consistently responding with drives or mid-range shots whenever the Lakers attempted to narrow the gap. It's worth noting that this season, Fox has scored 40+ points in 7 games, trailing only Doncic (12 times), Embiid (9 times), and Antetokounmpo (8 times) in terms of explosive scoring performances."
With this game included, Hield has achieved a triple-double 22 times this season, leading the triple-double standings. Additionally, he has recorded double-doubles in 44 consecutive games, trailing only Jerry Lucas in Lakers history by just 2 games."
"The Kings, with De'Aaron Fox as the foundation, as the X-factor, are undoubtedly a playoff-caliber team. They have consistently held steady in the rankings, ranging from fifth to seventh in the Western Conference. Looking back, it's truly baffling that both Fox and Sabonis were snubbed from the previous All-Star selections. It just doesn't add up."
"As for the Lakers, despite LeBron James' valiant effort at age 39 and the team shooting well from three-point range (15 for 32), they still ended up losing. Anthony Davis needs to shoulder responsibility for this loss. He struggled to find his rhythm against Sabonis Hield and couldn't seem to score outside the paint (except for one jump shot in the final quarter), which was clearly unacceptable."
"The Kings have always been a thorn in the Lakers' side, winning all three encounters this season by margins of 5, 15, and 10 points respectively. Additionally, De'Aaron Fox and Sabonis Hield have consistently excelled in these matchups. Both teams currently have a chance to make it to the play-in tournament, and if they were to meet in the play-in tournament, the Lakers could indeed face a tough challenge."😂