The proof was obvious at the time the lakers obtained its schedule for the 2024-25 season.
They would make a trip to Sacramento to face the Kings twice, two games against a team whose pace and physicality have been the difference in multiple years of dominance over the Lakers.
If the Lakers were somehow able to beat the Kings in their first meeting at the Golden 1 Center, they would have to try again a day and a half later.
For the first few months of the schedule, the Lakers had seemingly exorcised the Kings’ demons. They beat them in the first week of the season, quieting the noise surrounding Domantas Sabonis’ dominance against Anthony Davis. On Thursday, in his first game against the Kings in Sacramento, Davis was fantastic in a game that Lakers coach JJ Redick called his “favorite” win of the season.
Read more: LeBron James sets another NBA record in Lakers’ victory over Kings
To do it again? That would require sustained attention, sustained effort, and sustained execution. It would take, as coach Doc Rivers used to tell Redick’s Clippers teams, the Lakers would need to hang on to the rope in the game of tug-of-war.
At the end of the match, there wasn’t much to hold on to. But there was enough.
Rui Hachimura’s offensive rebound after Davis missed a pair of free throws with 12.1 seconds left prevented the Kings from having a chance to tie the score or take the lead, and the Lakers held off a tough rally. 103-99 victory.
“It’s a small thing. But simply having the mentality and effort to try to get an offensive rebound on a free throw…. just an important piece of work,” Redick said.
LeBron James scored 32 points one game after setting the NBA’s all-time minutes record for regular season gamesintimidating the Kings on the offensive end while earning four steals on the defensive end. D’Angelo Russell scored 20 off the bench and Davis finished with 15 rebounds, five assists and three blocked shots on a difficult offensive night.
“I just wanted to take advantage of the opportunity,” James said. “We had the opportunity to get two quality wins away from home in a hostile environment against a really good team, a team we haven’t had much success with in recent years. And I just tried to take advantage of the opportunity and give energy to my teammates.”
The Lakers led by as many as 10 points at the end of the fourth quarter, before the game began to slip out of their hands. Wasted coverages on defense, poor offensive possessions and missed free throws put the Kings within two finals when the Lakers had a chance to put the game away. First, an out-of-bounds decision went well for them. Then Malik Monk, the former Laker, fouled Davis inbounds at the end of the shot clock, saving possession for the Lakers.
But Davis, as he did earlier this season in a loss against Orlando, missed the decisive free throws. Hachimura, whom Redick praised for his improved attention to detail, capitalized on the second miss for the Lakers. Austin Reaves was fouled, made both free throws and the Lakers got another stop for the win.
“I don’t want to say I’m frustrated because I liked both. Both inside and outside,” Davis said of his missed free throws. “I don’t feel like I could have shot it any other way. The ones I completely missed in the past, whether short left, right or long, but both in and out. But I know I definitely appreciate Rui for the information.
“And my wife even called me and said, ‘Rui saved you.’ So… that made me feel worse. —Whose side are you on? But at the end of the day, Rui took the lead, AR knocked down two and we were able to get the victory.”
The Kings entered the two-game series with the Lakers having the fifth-most efficient offense in the NBA. After eight quarters against the Lakers, the Kings could only muster 199 points.
As of December, the Lakers have the seventh-best defense in the NBA, and over the last four games, no team has been harder to score on.
“Everything we do defensively, we’ve been physical, we talk, we communicate, we cover each other,” Davis said. “We are recovering. Our coverage is punctual. “So we’re just flying around doing everything, being brave, playing desperate on the defensive end.”
The Lakers, who have won three straight, host Detroit on Monday in Los Angeles.
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This story originally appeared on Los Angeles Times.