Los Angeles Lakers 116, Sacramento Kings 103

The Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings made the same number of field goals on Wednesday night, 35 each. They made the same number of threes, 12 each, on the same 38 attempts. The 13-point margin came almost entirely from the free-throw line, where the Lakers went 34 of 38 and the Kings went 21 of 28.

Luka Doncic was at the center of it. He scored 40 with 9 rebounds and 7 assists, and hit 6 of 13 from three. The Lakers won 116-103 at Golden 1 Center, their third straight win, and moved to 7-2. Sacramento fell to 1-7.

How it was won

The first quarter ended 28-28. The game turned in the second, when the Lakers scored 33 to the Kings' 26 and went to halftime up 61-54.

The third quarter put it away. Los Angeles held Sacramento to 20 points, won the period 26-20 and led 87-74 going into the fourth. The Kings matched the Lakers 29-29 in the final quarter, which was never enough to get back into it. Sacramento's largest lead all night was 8; the Lakers' was 18.

The Kings did several things well. They out-rebounded the Lakers 46-38 and won points in the paint 40-34. Domantas Sabonis had 16 points and 17 rebounds. Darius Acuff Jr. led them with 22 points and 12 assists, and Zach LaVine added 21 on 3-of-7 shooting from three.

But Sacramento shot 39 percent from the field on 90 attempts, against 45 percent on 78 for the Lakers, and turned it over 18 times to the Lakers' 12. Acuff needed 11 three-point attempts to make 3. Those extra possessions did not turn into extra points.

Outside of Doncic, the Lakers were 6 of 25 from three. Austin Reaves scored 21 with 4 assists but went 1 of 4 from deep. Walker Kessler added 15 points and 8 rebounds. The team had 20 assists to Sacramento's 23. The difference was that the Lakers kept getting to the line and kept converting once there.

Against the number

The Lakers closed as 12.5-point favorites and won by 13, so they covered by half a point. The cover was not settled until the final margin was in. With a 29-29 fourth quarter, the 13-point lead the Lakers took into the period is exactly what they finished with.

The total closed at 233.5 and the teams combined for 219, an under by 14.5. Both offenses went 12 of 38 from three. That is a 32 percent rate for each side, and it kept the scoring well short of the number.

On the moneyline, the Lakers closed at -650 and the Kings at +470. The price reflected the gap between a 6-2 team and a 1-6 team. Sacramento kept it level for a quarter and was not close after halftime.

The full closing board is on the game page.

What's next

The Lakers are home on Friday, November 6, against the Portland Trail Blazers. The game is on Prime Video, Spectrum Sports Net and Spectrum Sports Net +. Portland handed the Lakers one of their two losses this season, 136-129 at home. The Lakers have since won five of six, including 138-117 over Miami and 131-125 over Toronto before this one.

Sacramento, now 1-7, will be looking for something beyond Sabonis on the glass and Acuff's playmaking. The free-throw gap and 18 turnovers are the first places to look. Their next game is listed on the Kings team page.