Sacramento Kings guard Dennis Schroder (17) takes the ball up the floor against the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Sat Oct 17, 2025 (Sacramento Kings X photo)

By Barbara Mason

The Sacramento Kings (1-3) have now finished their four-game pre-season beating the Los Angeles Lakers (1-5) 117-116 Friday night with some very promising play from starters and their bench also showed a lot of promise as well.

A lot of the starters sat this game out with assorted injury, most of them not serious and illness. The high for Sacramento in this game was Dennis Schroeder with 25 points. Every starter turned in double digits. Keon Ellis was terrific off the bench with 20 points hitting six of nine from downtown.

Game recap: The first quarter got underway with the noticeable absence of Keegan Murray who had surgery on Monday for a torn ulnar collateral ligament in this left thumb. He will be out for the start of the season and will be re-evaluated in four to six weeks.

Domantas Sabonis has been ruled out with a mild right hamstrong strain and Malik Monk out with illness will join him on the sideline. DeMar DeRozan will not play with right groin soreness. After the first twelve minutes of play the Kings had a slim 36-34 lead.

Dylan Cardwell had another nice quarter with four rebounds after coming away from last Wednesday’s game with seven rebounds and four points. Nique Clifford had seven points in the quarter.

As the second quarter came to an end the Los Angeles Lakers outscored the Kings 27-22 taking a 61-58 lead into the locker room. Zach LaVine had yet another nice game scoring 13 points with four rebounds in the half. Keon Ellis had a solid game off the bench scoring 12 points going four of five from downtown.

The Kings had a lot of turnovers in the first half with 11. Both teams were shooting 45% from beyond the arc and Sacramento was 90% from the line. The Kings out-rebounded the Lakers 16-13 doing a nice job on defense.

In the third quarter, the Lakers began to establish a sizable lead 76-65 with 6:34 left on the clock. Sacramento cut the Lakers lead to 76-71 but Los Angeles pushed back taking an 81-71 lead. After three quarters the Lakers held a 90-86 lead. The Kings had five players in double figures but they were still struggling with turnovers committing 16 to the Lakers eight.

This game went into the fourth quarter, the last chance for some of these guys to make a statement, to impress. Keon Ellis was killing it hitting six of seven from beyond the arc mid-way through the quarter; he was on a roll Friday night and finished with six of nine for 20 points. The high for the Kings was Dennis Schroeder with 25 points and every starter in the game had double digits.

Game notes: Friday night the Kings played their fourth pre-season game taking on the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena. Last Wednesday against the Los Angeles Clippers in Sacramento as expected both teams played the bench for extended minutes with the Kings Nique Clifford coming away with the high of the night for Sacramento with 19 points in 20 minutes.

Domantas Sabonis showed some signs of coming around with a double double 14 rebounds and 15 points. The best news of all for the Kings this week was the signing of Russell Westbrook to a non-guaranteed one-year deal.

The former MVP and nine-time All-Star led the league in career triple-doubles and was named to the 75th Anniversary Team. Now the Kings will get to see Westbrook and Malik Monk off the bench creating all kinds of havoc. This will be a great way for the Kings to go into the 2025-26 season. This will also create an added dynamic on the bench for Keon Ellis and Devin Carter to have to deal with.

The Kings will now make a lot of decisions as they determine their starting lineup as well as their bench. Wednesday night October 22nd the Kings will kick off their season at Mortgage Matchup Center taking on the Phoenix Suns. Tipoff for that game is scheduled for 7:00 PM.

Whether you’re pre-gaming with the Kings or celebrating an A’s win, Cyprus Grille at the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena is your downtown go-to.

⚡Craft cocktails? Check.
🔥Game-day bites? Oh yeah.
🏟️Steps from Golden 1 Center? You bet.

Open daily, Cyprus Grille is serving up local flavor with a front-row seat to the action. Stop by before or after the game—or make it your new downtown hangout.

Cyprus Grille—where fans fuel up.

📍Located inside the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena @ 300 J Street

Happy Hour – 4pm-6pm

Show your ticket for additional discounts when dining in.