Lakers 127, Kings 103: twenty threes bury Sacramento's preseason debut
Luka Dončić and a parade of Lakers shooters hit 20 three-pointers at Golden 1 Center, turning a 37-19 second quarter into a rout — while rookie Darius Acuff gave Kings fans the night's real silver lining.
The three-point line decided this one before halftime. The Lakers made 20 of 44 from deep and the Kings just 4 of 23, and that 48-point gap from the arc was the whole story of a 127-103 Los Angeles win in Sacramento's preseason opener, per Sofascore's recap.
How it unfolded
The Lakers led virtually wire to wire, but the knockout came in the second quarter: a 37-19 stretch that sent Los Angeles into the break up 73-47. The lead swelled past 30 before Sacramento won a garbage-time third quarter. Luka Dončić controlled the early tempo and finished with 21 points on 8-of-9 free-throw shooting, while Cameron Carr poured in 19 off the bench, Quentin Grimes added 16 on 5-of-7 shooting, and Jake LaRavia was a team-best plus-27 in just under 21 minutes.
Sacramento's starters struggled almost across the board. Domantas Sabonis picked up five fouls and played only about 10 minutes; Zach LaVine scored 9 points but was minus-25. The bright spots were young ones: Nique Clifford led all Kings with 23 points and nine rebounds, and seventh overall pick Darius Acuff scored 19 with four assists in his debut — SI's Kings site notes he made all eight of his first-half field goals, though he also committed five turnovers.
Why it matters
For the Lakers, it was exactly what a tune-up should be: Dončić orchestrating, role players knocking down open looks, nobody overextended. For the Kings, the shooting is the concern that won't wait. Sacramento ranked last in the NBA in made threes per game last season, per SI, and its starters went 1-of-5 from deep in the opener — with Acuff hitting the only one. One preseason night proves nothing, but it rhymed uncomfortably with last year.