LeBron James and the Lakers could not manage to hold on to their perfect road record as they hosted the Sacramento Kings. Taking on their Californian rivals, the Lakers felt like they were out of gas. Right from the get-go, the Kings made sure to dictate the pace of the game, and it worked out perfectly for them.
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The major chink in the Lakers armor tonight were their turnovers. Despite shooting marginally better than the Kings, the 23 turnovers led to 13 fewer field goals attempted, which led to the 15-point loss. Right before the start of the 4th quarter, Skip Bayless went on his Twitter and praised De’Aaron Fox.
De’Aaron Fox owns the Lakers.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) November 16, 2023
After the game ended, Skip uncharacteristically had a few kind words for LeBron James. He put out a tweet saying, “LeBron played very well – triple doubled.” Obviously, it couldn’t have been all nice things. “Too many turnovers (six) and defensive breakdowns,” Skip pointed out. He went on to blame Anthony Davis for being inconsistent again and concluded the same by stating the obvious.
“Truth was, the Kings just toyed with the Lakers.”
LeBron played very well – triple doubled – but too many turnovers (six) and defensive breakdowns and very little AD made it impossible to make a serious run. Truth was, the Kings just toyed with the Lakers.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) November 16, 2023
So far, we’ve seen two games played between the two sides this season. The first was an OT thriller, and then tonight’s contest, both going the Kings’ way. We’ll have to see if the Lakers manage to salvage the remaining two games of their season series, or whether they’d lose to their contemporaries again.
LeBron James Becomes 2nd Oldest Player to Record a Triple-Double
Tonight, while Anthony Davis was having a rather inconsistent night, LeBron James stepped up again. He put forth an all-round game that frankly should have been awarded with a win. The 38-year-old put up 28 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists, 4 steals, and a block in 35 minutes.
With this performance, he became the 2nd oldest player to get a triple-double, trailing just Karl Malone. The Jazz legend is the oldest to do it, recording a triple-double at the age of 40.
LeBron James is the 2nd oldest player to record a triple-double in NBA history. pic.twitter.com/vI4hX09FRb
— Oh no he didn’t (@ohnohedidnt24) November 16, 2023
With how Bron’s playing, it won’t be a surprise if he goes ahead and breaks Malone’s record next season.
Anthony Davis Gives Update on Hip Injury
While LeBron is out there setting records, Anthony Davis has Lakers fans concerned. He injured his hip a few games ago while playing the Heat in Miami. It seems like he reaggravated the injury tonight. Talking to Mike Trudell, Davis shared how he was bothered by the same injury tonight.
Anthony Davis on his hip, which he’s been treating daily: “It is what it is … obviously it was bothering me a little bit.”
He played 41 minutes on Sunday and 27 last night (Tuesday), and didn’t look to have his typical movement and burst tonight in 35 minutes.
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) November 16, 2023
Seeing how Davis could put just 9 points in 35 minutes, many Lakers fans felt that he should have been rested instead of playing like that and having a chance to injure himself further. The Lakers medical staff would closely monitor the situation and hopefully, the 30-year-old wouldn’t miss time. We’ll have to wait to see what the status would be.
