Late-game rally by Kings sends Lakers home with loss

Los Angeles thought they had it in the bag, leading big late in the fourth quarter over the Sacramento Kings. However, a huge 17-3 run to end the game, capped off with a Ray McCallum tip-in at the buzzer, stunned the Lakers and sent them back to L.A. with a loss to end the preseason.

Holding an 89-76 lead with 4:29 remaining, the Lakers could manage just three more points on the night, missing the front-end of a pair of free throws with 10 seconds remaining that would have pushed the Lakers lead to 2, instead settling for a 92-91 lead.

After forcing McCallum into a mid-range jumper, the Lakers failed to secure a rebound, with a follow put up by Reggie Evans. His shot missed, but McCallum flew in for the putback with no time to spare and giving the Kings a big come-from-behind win.

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The Lakers jumped out to the lead in the first quarter on the back of solid play from Jeremy Lin, who will likely take over the starting point guard role following the loss of Steve Nash for the season. Julius Randle continued his hot streak in the first half, drawing and-ones and getting to the rim consistently.

Even better for Lakers fans, he continued to knock down the mid-range jumper, which will help open his game up. Despite the hot start, the Lakers could not keep the lead going into halftime, trailing by one at the second quarter buzzer.

The big scare of the half, though, came when Ronnie Price banged knees with Darren Collison. While initially able to play through the pain, Price would be subbed out and was in noticeable pain on the bench. The early word is a sore knee, with further evaluation scheduled for the weekend.

The third quarter, however, saw the Lakers sprint to the lead, fueled by Jordan Clarkson and a host of young Lakers. Clarkson, Randle, and even Roscoe Smith all hand their hand in big plays for the Lakers in the third.

The lead held into the fourth quarter until a 15-2 run by the Kings tied the game up at 91, setting up the finish. Lin was the man on the night for the Lakers, finishing with 19 points and 7 assists. Ed Davis put up another great game, this time as a starter, finishing with 15 points and 13 rebounds. His typical benchmate Randle nearly had a double-double of his own with 12 points and 9 rebounds.

The loss put the Lakers at 3-5 to finish the preseason. They’ll kick off the regular season against Houston on Tuesday.