Sacramento Kings vs. Los Angeles Lakers Pick & Prediction MARCH 13th 2024

One week after the Kings put on an offensive show against the Los Angeles Lakers, they will seek to try it again when the teams meet Wednesday night, this time at Sacramento.

The Lakers strutted out to an early 19-point lead last week before the Kings roared back in a dominating second quarter and scored 72 points by halftime.

De’Aaron Fox ended up matching his career high with 44 points, and Domantas Sabonis added another triple-double with 16 points, 20 rebounds and 12 assists in the 130-120 victory over Los Angeles.

The Kings have gone 2-1 since then, including an impressive 129-94 victory at home over the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday, when Fox scored 29 points and Sabonis added 22 points with 11 rebounds.

The Kings’ most recent loss came Sunday against the Houston Rockets.

“We knew how we went down against Houston … they took the fight to us and we laid down a little bit,” said Malik Monk, who scored 20 points versus the Rockets and 25 against the Bucks. “We knew we could not lay down against this great (Bucks) team, especially with the weapons they have.”

It was Sabonis’ 60th double-double of the season and his 47th straight to set a Kings’ franchise record, passing Jerry Lucas’ consecutive mark from the 1967-68 season.

“You know I’m the center for the team, the starting center, and that’s my job to get rebounds and help the team to start transition baskets,” Sabonis said on the NBC Sports California broadcast. “Get offensive boards and just be aggressive all night.”

Sacramento led 38-30 after one quarter against Milwaukee, went up 75-56 at halftime, and rolled to the victory while holding Damian Lillard to 10 points on 2-of-12 shooting.

Now the Kings will head into the finale of the season series against the Lakers having won the three previous games. Sacramento also has won seven of the last eight against Los Angeles, going back to the 2021-22 season.

The last time the Kings swept a season series against the Lakers was in 2015-16, when Los Angeles finished with a Western Conference-worst 17 wins.

Despite the loss to the Kings last week, the Lakers are playing some of their best basketball since their run to the in-season tournament title.

Los Angeles has won five of its last seven games, including victories over the Bucks and Minnesota Timberwolves over the weekend.

In a 120-109 victory over the Timberwolves on Sunday, Anthony Davis had a monster overall game for Los Angeles with 27 points and a season-high 25 rebounds. LeBron James had 29 points after missing the victory over the Bucks with left ankle soreness.

Davis took advantage of a soft middle of the Wolves’ defense with Karl-Anthony Towns out because of a knee injury and Rudy Gobert missing the game with an ailing hamstring. There won’t be as much freedom with Sabonis inside Wednesday.

“Everything they do is systematic. That’s a credit to their coaching, their players, their style of play,” the Lakers’ D’Angelo Russell said of the Kings, according to The Orange County Register. “When you look at Denver and compare them, it’s a great comparison.”

The Lakers also have struggled against the Nuggets this season, going 0-3.

–Field Level Media