In an absolutely stunning result, the Sacramento Kings dominated the fourth quarter and rallied for a 122-116 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, the Kings’ fourth win in a row.
Oscar Robertson scored a season-high 34 points for the Kings. Twenty of them came in the fourth quarter as the Kings outscored the Lakers 44-24. The Kings overcame a 20-point deficit in the third quarter and didn’t take their first lead of the game until the final four minutes.
Sacramento shot a season-best 54.3% from the field. Robertson was one of seven Kings to score in double-figures. The Kings improved to 8-6 on the season.
Three Lakers scored at least 20 points: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had a team-high 29, followed by Elgin Baylor and Kobe Bryant with 20 apiece. Magic Johnson almost joined them but he finished with 18 points and 10 assists. The Lakers shot 57.1% from the field, the season-high by a Sacramento opponent.
The first quarter saw one run after another. The Lakers jumped out to an 11-1 lead. The Kings came back with a 10-0 run to tie the contest at 11. The Lakers then went on a 14-1 run to go up 25-13. They led by 15 at 31-16, and 31-18 at the end of the quarter.
But, after shooting 7-for-16 (43.8%) from the field with seven turnovers in the first quarter, Sacramento shot 56.9% the rest of the way and made just six more turnovers.
Three different Kings hit three-pointers at the start of the second quarter to cut the deficit to six at 33-27. Los Angeles grew the lead back up to 11 at 40-29, but the Kings go it down to three at 46-43. The Lakers ended the half on a 14-2 run to build a 64-49 lead at the break.
Los Angeles took its largest lead of 20 points at 73-53 early in the third quarter. The lead stayed in double-digits for the entirety of the quarter, and it was 92-78 heading into the fourth.
The Lakers scored first in the fourth quarter to go up 94-78, but Domantas Sabonis had six points in a 12-0 run as the Kings pulled within four at 94-90. The teams traded points for a long while, but the Kings edged closer and finally took their first lead of the game at 109-107 with four minutes to go on a Peja Stojakovic three-pointer. That was part of a 9-0 Sacramento run that put the Kings up 113-107. The Kings couldn’t miss down the stretch, and got enough stops to win comfortably.
Next up: the Memphis Grizzlies.
ROGER SPORTS & GAMES 