With 3:46 remaining in the first half, the Los Angeles Lakers trailed by 19 points on the road against the Sacramento Kings. Improbably, LA came back to win the game by 10 points, 109-91, as the Lakers outscored the Kings by 20 points, 56-36, in the second half to snatch an impressive road victory.
LA managed to beat the Kings despite a strong showing from Team USA center DeMarcus Cousins. Sacramento's big man finished with 28 points, nine rebounds and four assists in the contest. Cousins and Lakers forward Julius Randle seemed to exchange words during the game and after the final buzzer, as Randle played a key role in the comeback down the stretch.
The 21-year-old also showed fight with his play, particularly in the helping the Lakers close the gap and enter the halftime break only trailing by 10 points.
"Julius showed up," Lakers coach Luke Walton told reporters and Spectrum SportsNet cameras after the game. "I didn't do anything. Julius did it. Julius started to bring the fight and it was a huge end of the first half. He put the team on his shoulders."
LA continued the fight back into the third quarter and cut the difference down to three points entering the final 12 minutes. Less than a minute into the fourth quarter, Lou William hit an 11-foot floater to give LA its first lead since the game was in its infancy.
Williams scored 13 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter, as LA seemingly responded to every Sacramento jab with an uppercut. Finally, Cousins and the Kings buckled and went down. LA went on a 10-0 run from an 82-82 scoreline with 5:55 to play to a 92-82 lead with 3:36 to play. From that point forward, Sacramento never got closer than five points.
Nick Young also continued his strong play with 13 of his 16 points coming in the stunning second half. While Williams and Young played down the stretch, meaning Jordan Clarkson and D'Angelo Russell watched the finish from the sidelines, rookie Brandon Ingram played all 12 minutes of the furious fourth quarter. As has become common this season, Ingram regularly brought the ball up and shifted into a point forward role.
Local
Get Los Angeles's latest local news on crime, entertainment, weather, schools, COVID, cost of living and more. Here's your go-to source for today's LA news.
Lakers center Timofey Mozgov also played a vital role by challenging Cousins defensively throughout the game. LA's big money summer acquisition hit a season-high with 33 minutes on the court in the state capital. Prior to Thursday, Mozgov's season high in minutes was 24 and he had watched six of the seven games he started from the bench during the fourth quarter.
Finally, LA benefited from having Larry Nance Jr. back on the team following a concussion that forced the second year forward to sit out in LA's loss to the Dallas Mavericks. While Nance's numbers didn't jump out of the box score, two points and seven rebounds in 22 minutes, the forward reset the balance of the second unit on both ends of the court.
"This one felt good. It was nice to fight back like that," Walton said.
The coach added, "It shows the character of our guys. It shows the growth of our guys, and it's a great win to start the road trip off."
Next, the 5-4 Lakers play the Pelicans in New Orleans on Saturday and the Timberwolves in Minneapolis on Sunday.
