The Los Angeles Lakers looked to seek another victory to make 2-in-a-row. The Lakers were 12-27 before their game against the Sacramento Kings on January 9. Although the Kings won during the last match-up, the Lakers were ready for vengeance. This game was a bit of a teeter-totter, but mostly swayed in favor of our home team. This lead to the Lakers winning their second straight game, the first time since mid-December since they’ve done so.

This game was good for the Lakers since the Kings are in the Lakers’ Pacific Division; a win means the Lakers’ win percentage goes up. During the first half, the Lakers and the Kings kept the game neck-and-neck with no team able to gain a solid, steady, lead. The Lakers’ offense started up quickly by their forward, Julius Randle, with 12 points in the first half. Brook Lopez also managed to get 10 points as well as Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who got 8 points. From the Kings’ side, Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 8 points in the first half along with De’Aaron Fox. The Half ended 51-52 in favor of the Lakers.

The second and final half of the game is where the Lakers took control. Their biggest lead of the game was by 21 points. This was mostly due to Lakers’ guard, Lonzo Ball, who made 11 assists to give the team an advantage. Lonzo Ball was coming back from missing the previous six games due to an ankle injury. He managed to clock in a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds, but he only scored 5 points. Many points were scored by Brook Lopez and Julius Randle, who finished with 18 and 22 points respectively. Caldwell-Pope also balled out himself to finished with 16 points. From the Kings’ team, De’Aaron Fox finished with 15 points, Buddy Hield with 13, and Bogdanovic with 19.

These efforts put forth by the the Kings were exciting to watch and rigorous for the players. This was caused by the amazing defense from Brandon Ingram and Kyle Kuzma,who together got 6 blocks. Caldwell-Pope was notorious for his lock-down defines and for preventing individuals from scoring. This, along with excellent leadership from Lonzo Ball,  made the Lakers victorious. The Sacramento Kings fought a tough one, but the final result ended with the Lakers winning 99-86 to make this game their second straight win.