Lakers Outscore Kings For Another Win

And on Sunday, the defense rested. In their first 11 wins of the season, the Lakers won with defense. Sunday they proved they can win without it, beating the Kings in a 118-108 shootout. The win improved the Lakers to a league best 12-1 on the season. The Lakers scored almost at will against the Kings, shooting 51.7% for the game and 57% from three. Eight Lakers scored in double figures, led by Kobe Bryant’s 24. Andrew Bynum and Trevor Ariza had double-doubles for the Lakers, Bynum with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Ariza added 11 and 11 (plus three steals). All five Lakers starters were in double figures in scoring: Pau Gasol had 16 points, Lamar Odom had 14 and Vladimir Radmanovic added 12, all on three pointers. Radmanovic also made a fashion statement wearing new protective goggles that looked like something one would wear snowboarding. While the Lakers scored easily, so did the Kings. “Defensively we weren’t happy with our game,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. The Kings shot 53.4% for the game, much higher than the 41.9% the Lakers had given up to opponents through the first 11 games. Part of the reason the Kings shot so well was getting layups and easy shots in transition off the 17 Lakers turnovers. The Kings scored 30 points on fast breaks. John Salmons led Sacramento with 24 points, while former Cal State Fullerton star Bobby Brown added 21 off the bench, The Lakers took the lead for good in the second quarter, when they had runs of 14 to 4 and then 13 to 4. The second run included Kobe making an impressive dish to Bynum in traffic in a dunk, and a Lamar Odom steal of a King’s outlet pass led to a Radmanovic three from the corner. However, they never pulled away from the Kings in the first half, largely due to turnovers. The Lakers had nine first half turnovers — they had seven the entire game in the win over the Suns on Thursday night. The Lakers made it look like it was going to be a route in the third quarter, where a 12-0 run that started when Lamar Odom and Sasha Vujacic entered put the Lakers up by 18. However, a 21-6 run by the Kings in the fourth quarter — fueled by apathetic Lakers defense — cut the Lakers lead to four at 105-101. But one final 9-0 Laker run sealed the win. Next up for the Lakers is the New Jersey Nets on Tuesday night at Staples Center.