Pre-season game #5: Kings vs. Lakers

Starting line-ups:

Kings:

• Tyreke Evans
• Antoine Wright
• Donté Greene
• Carl Landry
• DeMarcus Cousins

Injuries: Beno Udrih (shoulder), Samuel Dalembert (adductor), Hassan Whiteside (patella tendon), Francisco Garcia (ankle).

Lakers:

• Derek Fisher
• Kobe Bryant
• Ron Artest
• Lamar Odom
• Pau Gasol

Injuries: Andrew Bynum (knee), Luke Walton (hamstring).

Coaches news and quotes (from Kings.com post game interview):

• Coach Westphal with a Beno Udrih update: “Beno’s going to practice but, we don’t know how back he’s going to be.” Udrih has missed close to a week with a sprained right shoulder. This is the first update on his condition since the injury.
• Coach Westphal on the small forward spot: “I think I have a pretty good idea. I’ll tell the players what we’re going to do before I make an announcement to the press but it shouldn’t be too hard to figure out.”
• Tyreke Evans on his ankle injury tonight (again, thanks to Kings.com): “I had it in summer at the USA thing, but the way I play, I go in there and came down on a guy’s foot.”

First quarter recap:

The Kings looked good defensively to start the game, but at the 8 minute mark DeMarcus Cousins picked up his 2nd foul and had to be replaced by Jason Thompson. Loose play by the Kings allowed a 10-0 run by the Lakers, six of those points coming on 2 three pointers from Ron Artest. The Kings leveled things out as the quarter continued by getting the Lakers in foul trouble and going to the line.

Kings 20  Lakers 23

Leaders:

Kings: Wright (6) points; Thompson/Landry (4) rebounds; Landry/Evans (1) assist

Lakers:  Artest (11) points; Odom/Gasol (4) rebounds; three players  (2) assists

Fg%- Kings 27.8%  Lakers 37.5%

Rebounds- Kings 16  Lakers 13

Assists/Turnover- Kings 5/4  Lakers  7/2

Second quarter recap:

Jason Thompson really worked the boards hard, putting up 7 rebounds to go with 7 points in the first half. Unfortunately, JT didn’t value the ball and gave away a couple of easy baskets on poor decisions. Evans looked very determined, but again, almost too determined. He needs to move the ball and find open teammates on the break. Neither Casspi nor Greene had done anything thus far. The battle for the small forward spot appeared to be dead after last night’s win, but Greene continues to show inconsistent play. The stat of the half is clearly 22 free throws for the Kings, 12 for the Lakers. The Kings finished the half on a 14-6 run to take a lead into the half.

Kings 47  Lakers 46

Leaders:

Kings: Evans (12) points; Thompson (7) rebounds; Evans (3) assists

Lakers:  Artest (11) points; Gasol (6) rebounds; Odom (4) assists

Fg%- Kings 44.1%  Lakers 39.1%

Rebounds- Kings 25  Lakers 22

Assists/Turnover- Kings 7/11  Lakers  12/7

3rd quarter recap:

The third quarter started slowly for both teams. At the midway point, the Kings had only put 6 on the boards, only slightly worse than the Lakers’ 7. Cousins struggled in the second half of the back to back. If the Kings are going to have a chance, they need to get their big man rolling. The Lakers went on a mini run to take a lead, but the Kings continued to stick around. Evans shot the team out of contention in the third, and Omri Casspi picked up a technical for punching the air- part of the new NBA crack down. The Kings unraveled completely in the 3rd. The Lakers finished the third on a 12-1 run.

Kings 59 Lakers 74

Leaders:

Kings: Evans (11) points; Thompson (8) rebounds; Evans (4) assist

Lakers:  Artest (14) points; Gasol (11) rebounds; Odom (6) assists

Fg%- Kings 34.0%  Lakers 41.2%

Rebounds- Kings 37  Lakers 37

Assists/Turnover- Kings 8/16  Lakers  19/9

4th quarter recap:

The game digressed into a poorly played scrum in the fourth. Landry and Barnes got tangled up on the sidelines and Barnes pulled Landry to the floor injuring a cheerleader. The Kings consistently drove the ball into traffic and came away the loser throughout the game. Even with the rough feel to the game, the Kings continued to fight until the last ticks of the clock.  Carl Landry was the best player on the floor for much of the night. Donté Greene also came to play in the second half, tossing in 11 (2-3 3pt). For the second game in a row, DeMarcus Cousins got into foul trouble early. He is showing a remarkable ability to play well with 4 and 5 fouls. That may change once he is playing against starters in the fourth quarter.

Kings 95  Lakers 97

Leaders:

Kings: Landry (23) points; Cousins (10) rebounds; Evans (8) assists

Lakers:  Artest/Gasol (18) points; Gasol (12); Odom (6) assists

Fg%- Kings 39.2%  Lakers 44.0%

Rebounds- Kings 47  Lakers 47

Assists/Turnover- Kings 15/17  Lakers  26/19

Players of the Game:

Kings: Carl Landry- 23 points and 8 rebounds to go with 2 blocks.

Lakers: Ron Artest- 18 points (4-5 from 3pt), 3 assists and 4 rebounds.