LOS ANGELES – LeBron James came alive in the fourth quarter. He carried Los Angeles Lakers past Sacramento Kings, 122-114, in the 2021-2022 NBA Season on Tuesday night (Wednesday in the Philippines) at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California.
Facing an 89-96 deficit, James spearheaded Lakers’ rampage with consecutive inside hits before following it up with back-to-back three-pointers to surge his team ahead, 104-102.
Following several lead changes among the two teams, the Lakers took control of the game on five straight points by Malik Monk and back-to-back layups by Talen Horton-Tucker and James for a 118-112 lead with 52 seconds left.
James finished the match with 31 points, five rebounds and five assists. Monk chipped in 24 markers as the Lakers recorded its third straight win for a 20-19 win-loss slate.
Horton-Tucker and Russell Westbrook added 19 markers apiece. Dwight Howard contributed double-double 14 points and 14 rebounds for Los Angeles.
De’Aarox Fox top-scored with 30 points, Buddy Hield added 26 markers, while Harrison Barnes and Damian Jones chipped in 14 and 11, respectively, as the Kings dropped to 16-23.
Meanwhile, Ja Morant came up with clutch hits in the endgame as Memphis Grizzlies (25-14) prevailed over Cleveland Cavaliers (21-17), 110-106, at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio.
With the score tied at 104-all, Morant surged the Grizzlies on top, 106-104, with 29 seconds left. He followed it up with a steal and a fastbreak layup for a 108-104 advantage with 21 ticks left.
The Cavaliers chopped the deficit to 104-106 on a basket by Lauri Markannen with 19 seconds remaining before Morant iced the win for the Grizzlies with two free throws.
Morant finished the match with 26 points, six assists and five rebounds, while Jaren Jackson Jr. added 22 markers as the Grizzlies notched its sixth consecutive win.
BOX SCORE:
LOS ANGELES 122 — James 31, Monk 26, Horton-Tucker 19, Westbrook 19, Howard 14, Anthony 8, Ariza 0, Reaves 0.
SACRAMENTO 114 — Fox 30, Hield 26, Barnes 14, Jones 11, Len 9, Mitchell 8, Haliburton 7, Harkless 5, Bagley 4.
Quarterscores: 26-31, 57-59, 85-83, 122-114./PN
