Lakers enter their game against the Kings with momentum.

Lakers enter their game against the Kings with momentum.

Following victories over some of the best teams in the Western Conference recently, the Los Angeles Lakers and the visiting Sacramento Kings square battle on Wednesday with the possibility for both teams to advance farther in the playoff rankings.

The Oklahoma City Thunder, who led the West going into the week, were defeated 116-104 by the Lakers on Monday.

After playing a full slate of games on Monday, the Minnesota Timberwolves dropped into the top spot in the conference. The Kings defeated them 124-120 in overtime on Friday in Minneapolis. But Sacramento has dropped three of its last four games, including a 113-109 loss on Monday night against the Chicago Bulls, who were in town. The Kings let a 22-point second-half lead slip away.

On Saturday, the Lakers fell short of completing a victory over the Denver Nuggets, but they rallied to beat the Thunder behind some excellent shooting from their guards. Together, D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves scored a team-high 26 points and 16 points respectively, making nine 3-pointers.

With nine minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Russell helped Los Angeles overcome Oklahoma City by making three straight 3-pointers inside a one-minute span. The Lakers had taken a commanding 103-79 lead. When the Thunder took a timeout, the barrage of long-range shots sent the bench onto the court in celebration.

“Undoubtedly, we are aware that D-Lo has the ability to get going,” stated LeBron James of Los Angeles, who finished Monday with 19 points, 11 rebounds, and 8 assists. “He has the ability to make three or four consecutive threes and completely blow a game open, and he did it again and again.”

“The incredible talent that, as soon as he sees the ball go through the hoop, he can run off three or four of them, energizing the crowd and setting us up for success.”

As a club, the Lakers have gained momentum as they have gone 10-4 since the beginning of February, when the trade deadline was approaching. There were rumors that Russell could be traded by the Lakers. but they kept the veteran and are being rewarded for the decision.

In an interview with Spectrum SportsNet, Russell stated, “My teammates find me when I’m hot.” “I think that being able to stretch the floor in that way makes things easier for me.”

Prior to defeating the Timberwolves on Friday, the Kings had a players-only meeting after suffering a loss to the Nuggets the previous week. However, Sacramento was outscored 36–18 by Chicago in the fourth quarter of their Monday return home game.

It took the Kings until 3:28 of the third quarter to lose their 22-point lead. After missing two games due to a sore left knee, De’Aaron Fox of Sacramento scored 20 points and disheveled 10 assists.
With less than three minutes left, Domantas Sabonis fouled out after having 18 points and 21 rebounds. It was his 43rd double-double in a row.

“Anytime you lose one of your top two players down the stretch of a ballgame, it’s tough, but the reality of it is him fouling out at that point didn’t cost us the game,” Kings coach Mike Brown said. “We had a few self-inflicted wounds throughout the course of the game, and not just in the fourth quarter, not just in the last three minutes.”

One area of concern was 18 Kings turnovers that led to 24 Bulls points. Sacramento scored 12 points off Chicago’s 10 turnovers.

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