SACRAMENTO -- Coming off a brutal buzzer beater loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday evening, the Sacramento Kings play host to the Los Angeles Lakers Saturday at Golden 1 Center.
Zach Randolph continues to turn back the clock. Against the Thunder, he bullied big man Steven Adams in the post, scoring 29 points and grabbing 12 rebounds in the loss. Buddy Hield added 19 points, nine rebounds and four assists in one of his most complete games of the season.
The Lakers are 13-7 over their last 20 games and climbed up in the Western Conference standings. They are young and exciting with plenty of building blocks for the future. A trade deadline deal added former King, Isaiah Thomas, which gives them one more scoring option.
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BETTING LINE
Lakers by 1.5
MATCHUP TO WATCH
Justin Jackson vs. Brandon Ingram -- Jackson is getting a long look at the small forward position for Sacramento. He’s had varying degrees of success over his 11 straight starts at the wing. He’ll get a tough test against a talented, young player in Ingram. He looks like a different player in his second year in the league.
NBA
WHERE THEY STAND
Kings: 18-40, fourth place in Pacific
Lakers: 24-34, third place in Pacific
INJURY REPORT
Kings: PG De’Aaron Fox (conjunctivitis) probable, C Kosta Koufos (illness) questionable, PF Harry Giles (bilateral knee rehab) out.
Lakers: C Channing Frye (appendectomy) out.
THREE THINGS TO WATCH
Defend the Rim -- The Lakers are one of the worst 3-point shooting teams in the league, but they love to attack the basket and get to the free throw line. Sacramento needs to tighten up their interior defense and try to avoid picking up lazy fouls.
Bounce Back for Bogdan -- Fresh off an MVP performance at the Rising Stars Game, Bogdan Bogdanovic struggled against OKC. It didn’t help that he was defending Russell Westbrook for stretches, but the Kings need their swiss army knife player to fill up the stat sheet each and every night if they hope to pick up a few more wins down the stretch.
Get Your Track Shoes On -- Los Angeles leads the league in pace. They have speed, athleticism and length at almost every position. Rookie Lonzo Ball loves to look up court at every opportunity.
SERIES HISTORY
The season series between these two teams is all tied up at 1-1, with each team winning on their home floor. Los Angeles owns a huge 271-154 lead in the all-time series and a 93-45 advantage during the Sacramento-era.