I Sacramento Kings they had only scored 88 points in their recent defeat to the not-so-irresistible Trail Blazers, but contro i Los Angeles Lakers they mark 40 in the third quarter alone, and withstand LeBron James‘ final comeback to beat the Los Angeles Lakers for 125-116 al Golden 1 Center.
40-23 the partial of the third period for the Kings, with De’Aaron Fox, Marvin Bagley and Chimezie Metu in evidence, while on the other side LeBron James find the support of the suns Malik Monk e Austin Reaves, with a Russell Westbrook very cold at shooting and author of an anonymous game to say the least.
2 his 14 to the shot with 12 rebounds and 6 assists per Russell Westbrook, e 0 out of 5 on three-point shooting. The Lakers lack Anthony Davis and Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James plays 39 minutes and it is the only reason why the yellow and purple are still in the game with 1:30 from the end: LBJ closes with 34 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists with 13 his 29 shot and 3 out of 12 from behind the arch. His semi-impossible basket falling backwards from 4 meters brings LA back to 111-105 Kings with 6 minutes left to play, a blaze which Fox and Harrison Barnes replicate.
At 3:20 from the end, Austin Reaves fa 118-110 Sacramento, then LeBron e Monk with 6 points in a row they put the Lakers back to just one possession away (118-116). Sacramento trembles but does not give up, still Fox and Chimezie Metu they score the safety baskets (123-116) with 46 seconds to go.
For the Lakers it is the second consecutive defeat, after the one against the Grizzlies, and the record still languishes on 50% of victories. After the game against the Kings, in the dock he puts himself in autonomy Russell Westbrook, disappointed with his performance. “I can’t score a shot … I’ll have to fix this too and I’ll succeed, but at the moment I can’t score a f ** k shot“.
Per Westbrook is the third race in a row in which the former Wizards and Thunder misses at least 10 of the attempted conclusions, a full blown “shooting slump” for a player not known for his shooting skills. The summer bet to add a third star to the LeBron James-Anthony Davis duo, sacrificing depth on the roster, has so far not paid for the Lakers, Davis’s “usual” injury has complicated things but the reality is that Russell Westbrook, at 33 years, apparently in sharp decline, especially physical, even compared to last season played in Washington.
Russ has clearly cut the number of turnovers in the last few games, but the shooting crisis has progress undermined generals in attack, while in defence i Lakers they begin to take on water in a worrying way. Sacramento closed with the 55% per shot e 70 points in the area, a penalty to be paid for fielding a 37-year-old LeBron James from the center, and who in attack must score and create play for the others.
Malik Monk finished with 22 points and 6 out of 9 out of three, Austin Reaves added 19 points off the bench. There was little or no contribution from veterans Avery Bradley, Trevor Ariza and Dwight Howard.
“Shooting slump? Not an expression I like to use“Westbrook again”I remain focused on the work to be done, I have to find the best way to make myself useful now on the pitch“. Russ also had to endure the irony of the DJ of the Golden 1 Center, what an error after a shooting error sounds “Cold as ice“(” Cold as ice “), an old Foreigner song picked up by MOP.
“A nice song. They should have always played it for the last 14 years …“.
LeBron James defends Once again Russell Westbrook and his performance on the pitch: “It’s about continuing to work together, Russ is putting in a lot of work and we trust him. His shots are good, right now they’re not going in, a little frustration is normal. Now? There are still 40 games to play this season, we want to see what we’re made of. This season so far has been a roller coaster ride, definitely. I’m not worried about my workloads, I haven’t been doing anything else for 20 years now“.
