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 Thanks to guard Rajon Rondo, the Sacramento Kings wrote a different
script this time.
Rondo's running floater inside the key with 21 seconds left, and his
ensuing strip of Los Angeles guard Jordan Clarkson from the ball
helped the Kings beat the Lakers 118-115 and escape an embarrassing
loss Thursday at Sleep Train Arena.
Bryant, in his 34th and final regular-season appearance in
Sacramento, scored 28 points in 31 minutes, then played cheerleader
from the bench during the Lakers' furious fourth-quarter rally from
a 27-point third-quarter deficit. But unlike three separate playoff
series victories over the Kings earlier in his career, Bryant's team
came up short in the end.
Rondo's floater and his steal made the difference, as did Clarkson's
misfire on a 3-pointer from the wing as time expired.
"We took the foot off the gas, and let them back in the game," Kings
center DeMarcus Cousins said. "We talk about being a playoff team,
but we can't make the same mistakes, and we can't play that way."
Cousins finished with 29 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists as
the Kings (15-21) beat the Lakers (8-29) for the fifth consecutive
time. His effort led six players in double figures for Sacramento,
which has won three of four since the calendar turned to 2016. The
only loss was a 117-116 double-overtime decision at Dallas on
Tuesday.
"You might look at that as a good loss, and you can look at this as
a bad win," Kings coach George Karl said. "That's the NBA. We feel
like we're getting better, but it didn't look like it tonight."
The Kings led 90-63 after Rondo converted a layup with 6:13 to go in
the third quarter. However, the Lakers outscored Sacramento 39-16
over the next 12 minutes and cut the lead to 106-102 by the midway
point of the final quarter.
Cousins converted a shot from inside the key, but the Lakers scored
the next five points, with Clarkson's running jumper putting them
ahead 109-108.
After forward Rudy Gay knocked down a jumper for Sacramento, Russell
followed with a short jumper for a 111-110 Lakers lead. Gay and
Lakers forward Brandon Bass then exchanged buckets to make it
113-112. A Rondo free throw tied it 113-113, and Clarkson's jumper
made it 115-113 to set the stage for the wild finish.
Bryant simply watched the entire time.
"I wasn't worried about getting out there in the fourth quarter," he
said. "It's important for this team do learn how to (compete down
the stretch)."
Bryant knocked down 10 of 18 shots from the field and was 2-for-6
from 3-point range. He entered the game last in the league in
shooting from the field (34.1 percent) and last in 3-point shooting
(25.9 percent).
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He reached the 33,000-point plateau for his career with a jumper
late in the second quarter. He also contributed an alley-oop dunk in
the second quarter to his list of highlights.
Overall, Bryant finished his career with a 26.1-point scoring
average in Sacramento.
"To be out there in front of these fans was great," Bryant said of
the sellout crowd, at least of half of which appeared to be rooting
for his team. "It's a special place, not just for me but for this
city. ... The fans are right on top of you. It's going to be sad to
see it go."
Forward Quincy Acy scored a season-high 18 points over 22 minutes in
his third consecutive start for the Kings, who had six players in
double figures. Gay had 18, guard Ben McLemore added 16 points,
center Kosa Koufous had 14 and forward Marco Belinelli chipped in
11.
Rondo, the NBA's assist leader, had 12 assists to go with nine
points.
The Kings also recorded at least 20 assists for the 32nd straight
game, the fourth-longest streak in the Sacramento era.
NOTES: Lakers G Kobe Bryant is the overall leader in All-Star voting
in results announced by the NBA on Thursday. Bryant has appeared in
14 All-Star Games, starting all but one of them. ... ... Sacramento
F Omri Casspi (upper back soreness) missed his third consecutive
contest. Casspi played 32 of Sacramento's first 33 contests and is a
47.7 percent shooter from 3-point range, trailing only San Antonio
Spurs G Kawhi Leonard (50.0 percent) and Los Angeles Clippers G J.J.
Redick (48.8 percent). ... The Kings also played without F Willie
Cauley-Stein (cut right middle finger) for the second game in a row.
Cauley-Stein played only two games and 20 minutes before the injury
after returning from a 12-game absence caused by a dislocated right
index finger. ... The Los Angeles Times reported that the Lakers
guaranteed the contracts of F Metta World Peace, C Tarik Black and G
Marcelo Huertas until the end of the season.
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