Kings squeak past Lakers to end slump
Sacramento forward Skal Labissiere, left, and Los Angeles Lakers center Ivica Zubac reach for a rebound during the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, April 1, 2018, in Los Angeles.
LOS ANGELES — Buddy Hield scored 19 points to help the Sacramento Kings snap their four-game losing streak with a 84-83 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night (Monday Manila time).
Bodgan Bodganovic had 15 points, while Willie Cauley-Stein added 11 points and seven rebounds for the Kings, who were on the second night of a back-to-back. They lost to the Golden State Warriors on Saturday.
Julius Randle scored 19 points, while Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 16 for Los Angeles, which has lost seven of nine.
Randle blocked JaKarr Simpson's layup and made a free throw at the other end to tie score at 80 with 1:08 left.
However, the Lakers committed turnovers on two consecutive possessions in the final 37 seconds, and Hield and De’Aaron Fox turned them into scores each time for an 84-80 lead.
Los Angeles' Brook Lopez made a 3-pointer with 2 seconds remaining for the final margin.
The Kings scored seven straight points to start the fourth quarter. Cauley-Stein gave Sacramento a 77-74 lead on a slam dunk with 3:31 remaining in the game.
Fox completed a three-point play for an 80-78 lead after the Lakers made four consecutive free throws to briefly regain the advantage.
Nigel Hayes' 3 capped a 10-2 run that gave Sacramento a 60-58 lead with 2:34 remaining in the third. Los Angeles answered with consecutive 3s from Josh Hart and Channing Frye before the end of the period.
Despite shooting only 39 percent from the field in the first half, the Kings went into halftime tied with the Lakers at 43.
Julius Randle's second dunk of the first quarter put the Lakers up 14-13 with 4:08 left in the period. Los Angeles went on an 8-0 run to take a 22-16 lead.
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