Sacramento Kings vs. Los Angeles Lakers: Live Score, Results and Game Highlights

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The Los Angeles Lakers took care of business against a Sacramento Kings team missing two of its most important front-court players. Without DeMarcus Cousins and Thomas Robinson, both serving suspensions, the Kings couldn't match up with L.A. down low.

Los Angeles finished the game with a plus-11 margin on the boards. Besides that, the Lakers' superior size consistently had the Kings on their heels, which resulted in a plus-16 advantage in free-throw attempts.

The Lakers' two must vulnerable areas—the bench and their team defense—both looked much better in the second game since the firing of Mike Brown. L.A. held Sacramento to 40 percent shooting and the Laker bench scored a respectable 22 points.

Dwight Howard put up 23 points and 18 rebounds against the undersized Kings while Jimmer Fredette led the Kings in scoring, despite playing just 10 minutes. A hot streak in garbage time left him with 18 points on nine shots.

With two straight wins in the post-Brown era, the Lakers are looking stronger than they have all season. They improved their record to 3-4 and now await news on whether Phil Jackson will be their next head coach. They'll know that on Monday. But for now, they're satisfied with what turned out to be a pretty easy victory at home.

Final Score: Lakers 103, Kings 90

12:14 AM ET

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

Postgame Storylines

Lakers Defense: What Did We Really Learn?

Not much. The Lakers have now played two games without Mike Brown and their defensive statistics have been vastly improved in both of those contests. But they played a Golden State Warriors team on Friday that couldn't hit the broad side of a barn, despite plenty of open looks. And the Kings have a tendency to take bad shots regardless of defensive pressure.

So we really don't yet know whether the removal of Brown was all it took to get the Lakers to play respectable defense. If Phil Jackson does take the head coaching job on Monday, he'll do it without knowing whether this Laker team has really improved on its biggest weakness under Brown.

Dwight Dominates

The Kings didn't have much an answer for Howard when DeMarcus Cousins was available. Without him, it felt like Howard was playing against high school kids.

D12 piled up an easy 23 points and 18 rebounds against Jason Thompson and Chuck Hayes. His explosiveness seems to be gradually returning after offseason surgery on his back, which was bad news for the Kings tonight, but great news for the Lakers' future.

State of the Kings

The Kings are a team without a direction. Composed of one-dimensional shooters and redundant wing players, Sacramento simply isn't put together in a way that makes sense. Add in the fact that their best player, DeMarcus Cousins, can't seem to get his head on straight and you've got a real disaster on your hands.

Tyreke Evans is barely worthy of rotation minutes, Isaiah Thomas is an undersized chucker playing point guard and Thomas Robinson—once a promising rookie—seems to have already been poisoned by the Kings' toxic locker room.

This isn't a rebuilding team at all. It's more accurate to say they're a crumbling foundation with nothing built on top of it.

The Laker Bench

L.A. is starting to sort out its bench situation. Darius Morris is looking more and more like a legitimate backup point guard, which could mercifully end the Steve Blake era as soon as Steve Nash returns to the starting lineup.

None of the other Laker reserves had a game worth mentioning, but at least L.A. has an idea of who should be getting the bulk of the minutes behind a healthy Nash.

What About Phil?

Phil Jackson is really the only story that matters now. If he decides to take the Lakers' head coaching gig on Monday, it'll put a charge into the franchise.

Whether he can hide the Lakers' weaknesses (or possibly improve them) better than Mike Brown remains to be seen. This is still a team with two new superstars—one of whom is injured—and a cast of newcomers on the bench. If he takes the job, he'll have to deal with an aging roster with real defensive problems—not to mention the fact that Howard and Nash will have to learn the triangle.

There's no way to say Phil Jackson's return is a bad thing for the Lakers. It's probably the best thing that could possibly happen. But it's probably unrealistic to think it'll fix everything immediately.

Final Score: Lakers 103, Kings 90

11:58 PM ET

Final box score via NBA.com

Final Score: Lakers 103, Kings 90

11:50 PM ET

Lakers Leaders

Bryant: 20 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists

Gasol: 18 points, 4 assists, 5 rebounds

Howard: 23 points, 18 rebounds, 3 blocks

Kings Leaders

Thompson: 15 points, 10 rebounds, 6 fouls

Fredette:18 points, 1 assist, 10 minutes

Evans: 9 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds

Final Score: Lakers 103, Kings 90

11:46 PM ET

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

Dwight Howard finally exits the game. He finishes with 23 points and 18 rebounds. More importantly, he's looking healthier. That's got to entice Phil a little, right?

Lakers 99, Kings 82—1:24 remaining in 4th quarter

11:44 PM ET

You'd really like to think the Lakers have rounded into form, especially on defense. But this Kings team makes everyone look good. They're shooting 40 percent and have made just six of their 20 three-point attempts.

Lakers 99, Kings 82—1:38 remaining in 4th quarter

11:43 PM ET

If Phil comes back on a 2-year deal, then Kobe's comment about potentially retiring in 2 years suddenly seems a lot more real
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) November 12, 2012

Sorry, we've gone way too long without a Phil Jackson update. Just think, at this time tomorrow, he'll probably be the coach.

Lakers 97, Kings 80—2:15 remaining in 4th quarter

11:40 PM ET

Kelley L Cox-US PRESSWIRE

"There's a lot of heat checks going on without any heat." -Kings' TV announcer. I'd say that's the best summation of the Kings' offense I've ever heard.

Lakers 97, Kings 80—2:17 remaining in 4th quarter

11:38 PM ET

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

Kobe and Gasol inexplicably re-enter the game. Somewhere, Phil Jackson is shaking his head. Now we know why the Lakers aren't considering Bickerstaff for the full-time gig.

Lakers 95, Kings 75—3:55 remaining in 4th quarter

11:37 PM ET

Jimmer connects from deep again. Fredette now with 10pts on the game. #KingsAllDay
— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) November 12, 2012

You can always count on a team's official Twitter feed for a glass-half-full approach. If the Kings' arena suddenly imploded, they'd find a way to put a positive spin on it.

Lakers 92, Kings 71—5:03 remaining in 4th quarter

11:34 PM ET

Kyle Terada-US PRESSWIRE

Marcus Thornton sits after putting up a nice 1-for-10 performance. He's a perfect example of how clueless the Kings are about what it takes to build a winner.

Lakers 89, Kings 71—5:18 remaining in 4th quarter

11:32 PM ET

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

The Lakers need more games like this. Kobe and Gasol won't have to play a minute the rest of the way and Howard will come out after the next bucket. Keeping their stars fresh is key for the Lakers. Plus, it'll give the bench a chance to form an identity.

Lakers 88, Kings 66—6:30 remaining in 4th quarter

11:30 PM ET

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

Dwight Howard in with Meeks, Hill, Duhon and Jamison. With that supporting cast, he must feel like he's still in Orlando.

Lakers 86, Kings 66—7:45 remaining in 4th quarter

11:28 PM ET

Don't be surprised that Chris Duhon just hit a 3 ... he shot 42% from 3 in Orlando last season. LAL now up 84-66.
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) November 12, 2012

Too late, I'm already surprised. Also, don't tell me how to feel, Mike Trudell.

Lakers 84, Kings 66—8:45 remaining in 4th quarter

11:27 PM ET

Cary Edmondson-US PRESSWIRE

Chris Duhon scores. That feels like a slap in the face to the Kings, doesn't it?

Lakers 84, Kings 66—8:45 remaining in 4th quarter

11:24 PM ET

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

Jason Thompson picks up his sixth foul. He's obviously frustrated and it's hard to blame him. His last two violations were both on the offensive end.

Lakers 81, Kings 66—10:00 remaining in 4th quarter

11:23 PM ET

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

Lakers Leaders

Bryant: 20 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds

Howard: 16 points, 12 rebounds

Gasol: 16 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists

Kings Leaders

Thompson: 15 points, 10 rebounds

Thomas: 13 points, 1 assist

Evans: 9 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds

Lakers 79, Kings 66—start of 4th quarter

11:18 PM ET

As we get ready for the fourth quarter, please enjoy some delightful first-half highlights. Unless you're a Kings fan. Maybe go grab a snack instead.

Lakers 79, Kings 65—:30 remaining in 3rd quarter

11:16 PM ET

Kings are shooting just 25 percent in the third quarter. For the Lakers, who've struggled to defend all year, that's a good sign. Of course, this is also the Kings we're talking about, so take that for what it's worth.

Lakers 76, Kings 63—1:14 remaining in 3rd quarter

11:15 PM ET

The Lakers are down to their 3rd string point guard but pulling away, 70-57. Kings struggling on offense again. Thornton about to check in.
— JasonJones (@mr_jasonjones) November 12, 2012

Wonder if he'll get a few shots up...

Lakers 76, Kings 61—2:00 remaining in 3rd quarter

11:13 PM ET

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

The only thing that'll keep Dwight Howard from a 20-20 game is some garbage time rest. He's got 16 and 12 in just 28 minutes. Things aren't looking good for Sacramento.

Lakers 72, Kings 59—3:30 remaining in 3rd quarter

11:11 PM ET

Kelley L Cox-US PRESSWIRE

Keith Smart, by all accounts, is a really great guy. With that said, he obviously did something unspeakably awful in a past life. How else do you explain having to coach this Kings team?

Lakers 70, Kings 57—4:35 remaining in 3rd quarter

11:09 PM ET

Gasol missed a layup on O, but responded by swatting Garcia at the other end. The Spaniard has 14 pts, 4 rebs, 2 blks, LAL up 65-57.
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) November 12, 2012

Two good ones in a row without Mike Brown. Pau is enjoying the post-Brown era.

Lakers 70, Kings 57—5:09 remaining in 3rd quarter

11:07 PM ET

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

Kobe is turning in more typical volume-shooting performance: 15 points on 14 shots. He'd been playing with career-high efficiency so far this year.

Lakers 65, Kings 57—6:34 remaining in 3rd quarter

11:05 PM ET

Steve Blake (abdomen) sits 2 minutes into 3Q. Spurs are coming Tuesday night; Lakers can't afford to be w/o Nash + Blake.
— KEVIN DING (@KevinDing) November 12, 2012

I think anybody could afford to be without Steve Blake. The Nash part is accurate, though.

Lakers 65, Kings 57—7:00 remaining in 3rd quarter

11:02 PM ET