1-2 Punch of Lakers Dominates Kings

SACRAMENTO, CA– The tandem of Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom proved to be far too much for the Sacramento Kings at home on Thursday night.

Feeding off of a 13-4 run to open the third quarter, the Lakers were able to blow past the Kings with a second half surge. Capped off by a breakaway Lamar Odom dunk, the Lakers’ momentum weighed like a ton of bricks on the backs of Sacramento and they simply would pile it on more, leading by as many as 22 points en route to a 115-99 victory at Arco Arena.

As usual, Kobe Bryant delivered an amazing performance on the road, ending with a final line of 31 points, 12 assists, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks. Kobe also showed further signs of re-gaining his shooting touch, making 10/17 shots from the floor. From the start, Bryant simply tortured the Kings’ defense, penetrating at will, while both scoring and dishing it to his teammates. And his teammates made them pay.

The Lakers shot an incredible 55% from the field as a team, knocking down all their opportunities from the perimeter at an efficient rate. They also shot 12/26 from three-point land, shooting 46% from that range. The Lakers played brilliantly in most aspects of the game, but shined brightest with their outside shooting.

Sacramento was simply baffled as to how to contain Bryant, as were the fans at Arco.

Kobe’s playmaking also opened up the game for his sidekick, Lamar Odom. The Laker big man had possibly his best game as a Laker, scoring 22 points while pulling down 7 rebounds. Odom used his speed and athleticism to blow by Chris Webber and convert on easy baskets from his penetration. Odom’s contributions added a second threat on offense all night, something the Lakers have been needing from the beginning of this season. He constantly pushed the tempo and served as a match-up problem for Webber during this game.

Vlade Divac In concordance, Tierre Brown came off the Laker bench to deliver possibly his best Laker performance as well. In 22 minutes, Brown scored 15 points while handing out 4 assists. He was part of a Laker reserve unit that put the Lakers back ahead before the end of the second half. Brown’s penetration and outside shooting disrupted the Kings on defense, outrunning Sacramento point guard Mike Bibby in the 2nd half.

Also coming off the bench once again was Brian Cook. The Laker sharpshooter finished with 12 points, all off of three-point shots. Cook was 4/7 from beyond the arc and contributed to an already potent Laker offense. He also would pull down 7 boards in just 24 minutes, letting his presence be felt in the paint on defense.

Laker point guard Chucky Atkins added 11 points and 5 assists as well for his team. Atkins opened the first quarter with 9 points and kept the Lakers in the game through the early goings. He proved to be an extra facilitator on offense, helping Kobe Bryant move the ball and find teammates for easy buckets.

To cap off the starting line-up production, Caron Butler and Chris Mihm each added 8 points apiece.

Vlade Divac played for the first time in Sacramento since signing with the Lakers this offseason. He received a rousing ovation from the crowd at Arco Arena and saluted the fans that supported him for numerous years. Divac would only play three minutes, but the game served as an emotional homecoming for him.

The Lakers, now 13-9, fly back to STAPLES Center to take on the hot Washington Wizards (12-8) in L.A.. Tip-off is at 7:30 PM PST and as always, we will have live Gameday coverage on CL.com.

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