The Sacramento Kings did their best to take advantage of a great opportunity to dispatch their rivals from Southern California, and they controlled the majority of their contest with the Los Angeles Lakers, winning 100-91.
Sacramento relied on great, efficient guard play from Marcus Thornton (27 points on only 13 shots) and Tyreke Evans (20 points on 13 shots), as they made every shot they needed to make to get the win. John Salmons added another 13 points, DeMarcus Cousins put up a double-double of 12 points and 11 boards, and Chuck Hayes added seven points, nine rebounds and three blocks. Kobe Bryant had 29 points, five rebounds and six assists to lead the Lakers, and got support from Metta World Peace (19 points) and Pau Gasol (15 points).
The Lakers, still clearly missing Andrew Bynum, were forced to go small on way too many occasions to match up with the Kings wing players. That did not help their perimeter defense though, as Sacramento buried 50% of their threes; Los Angeles was a woeful1 of 16 from behind the arc. In most other categories, the Lakers held firm with the Kings, but the three point line was their doom in this contest.
To discuss the game with Kings fans, head on over to Sactown Royalty. To discuss the game with Lakers fans, check out Silver Screen and Roll.