The Los Angeles Lakers lost to the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night, despite a promising start.
After leading by as many as 19 points in the first quarter, the Lakers appeared to be on their way to a victory over the Kings, but they quickly broke apart on both sides.
De’Aaron Fox tied his career high of 44 points, and Malik Monk lit up his former team with 26 points off the bench.
Anthony Davis had a bad game due to foul issues, and head coach Darvin Ham admitted it hampered his ability to defend Domantas Sabonis, believing he should have challenged his fourth foul in the third quarter, which sent the center to the bench.
“Absolutely,” Ham replied. “A ton. That’s also on me; I probably should’ve challenged when they called his fourth foul. Everyone, look at the bench; they’re looking at the replay, and it could be 50-50. But the next time, I’ll just go for it. That’s entirely on me.
“Having said that, Sabonis is going to fling his body around, and you will feel him on both sides of the ball. He’s a strong, athletic, quick, and outstanding player. He is an All-Star for a reason. Just the way he plays, creates screens, gets in and out of screens so quickly, and you have those two guys running around with shooters on the floor with him, they’re a handful. Again, no.In terms of passes per possession, I’m second in the league. So it’s tough. But no one is going to feel sorry for you; we need to work this out, as well as them. They’ve already won three times, so forget about the season series. However, when we see these types of teams, these quick and speedy teams, we must figure it out. A lot of times it’s us being physical defensively, being physical off the ball, accepting the challenge, and also being physical offensively and trusting what we’re trying to do in terms of playing with pace, running habits, setting screens, taking care of the ball, passing on time and on target, making simple plays, and guys being shot aggressive.”
Davis was He was dissatisfied with the way he was officiated since he believed some of the calls were exaggerated. “Yeah, it was questionable foul calls,” Davis explained. ” It’s difficult to play in foul trouble, and you don’t want to pick up any cheap ones. But, when I’m not on the court, our defense is a different team.”
Davis wasn’t sure whether Ham’s fourth foul challenge would have resulted in anything. “I do not know. I do not know.”
The league’s officiating has been subpar for much of the 2023-24 season, but the Lakers have only themselves to blame for their humbling loss.
