Lakers fall to Kings in tough road loss.
Following an eight-point loss to the Grizzlies, the Lakers' chances of falling back to .500 were all but sealed in another out-of-synch night in which LeBron provided the only production in tonight's matchup against the California rival Sacramento Kings, falling 125–116 to drop their season record to 21–21.
The Lakers' problems stemmed from their defense, allowing the Kings to score 70 points in the paint while shooting 55% overall from the field.
In another disappointing Laker loss that only had LeBron account for most of their production, James finished with another 30 plus outing, ending the night with a game-high 34 points on 45% (13-for-29) shooting overall, adding 7 rebounds and 6 assists in 38 minutes played.
After the loss, James spoke on the adversity the Lakers have had all season, speaking "on the Lakers depth, saying: "Our team is built on depth and for the majority of the season, we haven't had that."
After scoring a career-high 16 points in Sunday's defeat to the Grizzlies, Austin Reaves followed up with another career-high performance, scoring 19 points on 70% (7-for-10) shooting from the field while hitting four threes on a 4-for-7 shooting night from outside.
LeBron spoke on the back-to-back career nights from Reaves, saying: "He doesn't make mistakes. We don't look for him to score much, but he's capable of doing it."
Russell Westbrook's shooting slump continued in tonight's tough loss to Sacramento, shooting 14% on 2-for-14 from the field and 0-for-5 from three, as he finished with just 8 points in 37 minutes.
Westbrook knew his performance was subpar, saying after the game: "I got no excuses. I don't point fingers." saying he's only looking at himself to improve, but he's not panicking.
LeBron gave his analysis on Westbrooks shooting slump, saying he has to "Just keep working. He's getting some really good looks, but they're just not going down for him."
The Lakers' next matchup comes on the road for the second game in a row against the 20–19 Denver Nuggets, as both teams look to get back on the win column and avoid falling below .500 in a close Western Conference standing.