Lakers forward LeBron James, who overwhelmed Kings forward DeMar DeRozan during the first half, finished with 32 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists in Saturday night’s win at Crypto.com Arena. (William Liang / Associated Press)
After the Lakers started their season with two straight wins for the first time since 2010, LeBron James stood in front of his locker and said the key to their season is looking, more often than not, to Anthony Davis to lead the way.
“It’s very important that he’s the main focus for us every night,” James said defiantly on Friday. “We know what he’s going to do defensively, but offensively we have to find him in multiple spots on the floor throughout the entire game. And we did that over two games.”
So regarding game 3…
READ MORE: Dominant Anthony Davis helps Lakers erase 22-point deficit to beat Suns
With the Lakers leading by 15 points and the Sacramento Kings doing what they always seem to do to their rivals, James reminded everyone that he, too, can be a focal point.
In four minutes of nearly perfect basketball from the 39-year-old Lakers star, he scored 14 points and made two more assists. That stretch, which came during a 21-0 run early in the fourth quarter, propelled the Lakers to another win, 131-127 over the Kings.
“Just to get that performance to start the fourth period from LeBron, what can you say?” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “We’ve all been so fortunate to witness his greatness for so long, and the fact that he’s able to continue to do this, it’s really crazy. It’s actually crazy.”
James finished the game scoring 32 points, grabbing 14 rebounds, and passing 10 assists, to put his team at the beginning of the fourth quarter, putting the Lakers in a position to win over the Kings for the first time since January 7, 2023.
“I was able to get into the rhythm, hit my outside shot, and get a few shots in the paint as well,” James said. “I got the back door from [D’Angelo Russell] That worked well. So just trying to see what I had to do to help us get through this cascading problem.
The other focal point, Davis, finished the game.
With Sacramento pushing back led by James, Davis got back into the game and continued his early season dominance. Domantas Sabonis blitzed from the rim and completed the game with a 3-pointer and a breakaway trip to the free throw line, his only miss of the fourth quarter of a 31-point night.
Davis and James combined to make all 11 of their shots in the fourth quarter, scoring 30 points in the quarter.
“Just when you think he’s slowing down, he keeps showing the world why he’s the greatest,” Davis said of James. “To go down that stretch, he actually looked at the bench and was trying to get out of the game. So we told him, ‘You’re not going out.’ He goes out and hits another three. He never ceases to amaze any of us because we just know what he’s capable of and what he’s capable of doing.”
All five starters finished in double figures, with Rui Hachimura scoring 18 points to go with nine rebounds, Austin Reeves adding 16 points, seven rebounds and six assists, and D’Angelo Russell contributing 16 points and five assists.
Before the game, Redick admitted that sample sizes at the start of the season were nowhere close to reaching meaningful levels. However, he was encouraged by the Lakers’ low turnover rates.
The Lakers then coughed up 19 times, leading to 25 points for Sacramento.
But just as they did in wins over Western Conference contenders Minnesota and Phoenix, the Lakers found other ways to tip things in their favor.
Read more: Anthony Davis dominates opener as Lakers offense runs through him
They grabbed 13 more rebounds than the Kings and ended up taking four more shots despite converting five more times than Sacramento. While Sabonis had a triple-double with 29 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists, and De’Aaron Fox had 28 and 10 assists, James and the Lakers’ stars were better.
“In general, when you operate out of gratitude, sometimes you get a sense of surrealism. That has certainly happened many times in as many days as the head coach of the Lakers,” Redick said. “And tonight was a surreal moment to watch.” [and] “His coach.”
The Lakers now head out on a five-game trip starting Monday in Phoenix with stops in Cleveland, Toronto, Detroit and Memphis before returning to Los Angeles.
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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.