Sacramento Kings Sweep Los Angeles Lakers for 1st Time in Franchise History
The Sacramento Kings completed a season-series sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers for the first time in franchise history Tuesday night, according to the team's official Twitter account.
The decisive showdown ended with the Kings emerging victorious, 106-98, behind 22 points apiece from DeMarcus Cousins and Darren Collison. The win also halted Sacramento's five-game losing streak.
The Kings positively ravaged the Lakers over the course of their four-game season-series sweep. Not only did Sacramento top 100 points in every showdown with the Purple and Gold, but its efficiency ratings were borderline elite in the intrastate clashes.
While the Kings wield an offensive rating of 103.0 and a defensive rating of 106.3 on the season, those marks were catapulted into esteemed territory whenever they took the floor against the rebuilding Lakers.
| Oct. 30 | Sacramento def. L.A., 132-114 |
| Jan. 7 | Sacramento def. L.A., 118-115 |
| Jan. 20 | Sacramento def. L.A., 112-93 |
| March 15 | Sacramento def. L.A., 106-98 |
In the small four-game sample, the Kings managed to post an offensive rating of 111.4 and a defensive rating of 99.6. To put those numbers in perspective, the Golden State Warriors lead the NBA with a 112.8 offensive rating and the San Antonio Spurs allow a league-best 95.5 points per 100 possessions on defense.
Given the turmoil—i.e. George Karl's apparently tenuous standing with the front office or Cousins' recent one-game suspension for conduct detrimental to the team—that's engulfed the Kings all season long, repeated drubbings backed by impressive metrics are reason for optimism moving forward.
And with less than a month left in the regular season, perhaps the Kings can use convincing wins over the Lakers as templates to galvanize some more success and enter the offseason on a high note.
Stats courtesy of NBA.com/Stats unless noted otherwise.
