The Los Angeles Lakers finally managed to achieve something they struggled to do all season: blow out a team.
After a slow first half without LeBron James in the lineup, the Lakers went on a 40-8 run against the Sacramento Kings, turning a double-digit deficit into a 25-point win.
The third quarter was the key moment of the game. Los Angeles has developed a reputation of struggling mightily in the third quarter, but the squad flipped the script in this game and won the quarter, 37-15.
Los Angeles then won the fourth quarter, 30-18, and put the end-of-bench reserves to close the game.
After the contest, head coach Frank Vogel revealed what he did at halftime to spark the Lakers in the second half.
“Every now and then, a coach has to light a fire under his team, and today was one of those games,” Vogel said. “We weren’t giving the necessary effort in transition defense and with our pick-and-roll coverages. We talked specifically about tightening the screws all day throughout our pregame, and it wasn’t there in the first half. So, sometimes, you have to let them hear about it, and it was the spirit at halftime and those guys responded.”
Vogel added how he hopes the team can learn from it and keep playing with the same intensity going forward.
“I challenged them, and it wasn’t there in the first half. That’s why the halftime talk was what it was,” Vogel said. “But it was terrific in the third quarter, and it shows that these guys that we have on the roster right now are capable of doing it at a super high level. Hopefully, it’s something that our group can draw a lot of confidence from.”
The Lakers have the talent on paper to be one of the elite teams in the league, but assembling all of that talent has proved challenging, given the team’s 12-11 record.
But if the Lakers can consistently put out a healthy lineup with all of the key players in the rotation, then the wins should come more seamlessly.
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