by What we learned is foul trouble cost Kings in loss to Lakers originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
BOX score
SACRAMENTO – De’Aaron Fox had 26 points, five assists and three steals, but was benched for long periods of the second half because of foul trouble, and the Kings lost to the Los Angeles Lakers 113-100 at Golden on Thursday.
Domantas Sabonis contributed 18 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists as Lakers star LeBron James tied the regular-season scoring leader of his NBA career.
Malik Monk continued to shine as the starting player with 17 points. Keegan Murrary added 10 points and seven rebounds while DeMar DeRozan scored 10.
It’s the Kings’ first home loss to the Lakers in nearly two years and prevents Sacramento (13-15) from getting back to .500.
Here are the takeaways from Thursday’s game:
Monk provides a boost in second place
The Kings didn’t have much offense and were down 14 points until Monk got going in the second quarter.
Monk, who was runner-up for the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award last season, hit five of seven attempts from the field, including two clean 3-pointers that helped Sacramento get within 62-58 by halftime. He finished the game making 7 of 15 shots but was just 3 of 10 from behind the arc.
Hold it in the key
Sacramento responded to Mike Brown’s calls for better interior defense and limited Los Angeles to 44 points. That’s still too much for Brown’s liking, but it was infinitely better than the 76 points the Nuggets scored on Monday.
Fox foul trouble
Things were going well for the Kings in the third quarter before Fox picked up his fifth foul and then spent the final 6:47 minutes of the quarter on the bench. Without their starting point guard, Sacramento’s offense cooled down and the Lakers pulled away, taking a six-point lead in the fourth quarter.
The Kings made a semi-run to get closer, but it was crucial to sit Fox at a crucial time in the game.
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