By Charlie O. Mallonee

Thursday night was an exciting night for NBA starved basketball fans in Sacramento. The Kings traveled to Los Angeles to take on King James and the Lakers in a preseason affair. The keyword in that sentence is “preseason.”

The number one goal in a preseason game is not to win. Now, these are professional athletes, and they hate to lose at anything, anytime. However, the preseason is about getting players working together, learning the playbook, seeing how different combinations play as a unit, and deciding who make the open spots on the roster.

Understanding those parameters explains the final score of 128-123 with the Lakers coming out on top. There were moments where defense came into play, but it certainly did not look like the type of defense you will see in the regular season. No one wants to go into the regular season battered and bruised.

Kings

• Marvin Bagley III led the Kings with 19 points and 10 rebounds in 31 minutes on the floor.
• De’Aaron Fox put on quite a show, scoring 18 points and dishing five assists in just 18 minutes of playing time.
• Buddy Hield recorded 16 points in just 20 minutes of PT. Hield hit 4-of-8 from 3-point range.
• Harry Giles III posted 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds in 24-plus minutes.
• Wenyen Gabriel was the Kings’ other double-digit scorer with 10 points.
• Sacramento shot 45.5-percent (45/99) from the field; 41.9-percent (13/31) from beyond the arc and hauled in 41 rebounds (9 offensive boards). The had 27 assists and turned the ball over 15 times.

Lakers

• Brandon Ingram led the Lakers scoring attack with 31 points and nine rebounds. After the game, King James praised Ingram for his performance and effort.
• Speaking of the King, he put in 18 points in just over 15 minutes on the court. James played some time at the five spot for the Lakers in the game.
• Kyle Kuzma and Josh Hart scored 17 points each.
• Los Angeles shot 52.6-percent (41/78) from the floor and 30-percent (6/30) from long-range. The pulled down 48 rebounds, had 19 assists and turned the ball over 18 times.

In typical preseason fashion, there were 24 lead changes in the contest and the game was tied 12 times.

Up Next

The Kings will be back on the floor Friday night in Seattle to take on the Golden State Warriors. The Seattle fans will be anxious to see Kevin Durant. They will also have a chance to see a Kings team that almost moved to Seattle.

The Lakers host the Clippers on Saturday night.