The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Sacramento Kings 125-101 on Sunday night behind an impressive defensive performance as head coach JJ Redick made a rotation tweak. The coach called out the defense after the Christmas Day loss. They had given up 122.5 points per game over their last six and were not playing like a team with serious title aspirations. Staggering Luka Doncic and LeBron James more certainly helped against the Kings.
Sacramento was down three starters and is one of the worst teams in the West, but LA needed a get-right game. The Lakers snapped a three-game losing streak and won just their third game in the last seven.