Lakers Blow Early Lead, Anthony Davis Disappears, LeBron Injured in 130-120 Loss to Kings.

Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers didn't just lose to Sacramento by 10 at home Wednesday night at the Crypt. They played almost the exact opposite game as the other night against Oklahoma City, getting up by as much as 19 in the first quarter before giving up the lead and much, much more.

It's the basketball embodiment of the "How it started, how it's going" meme.

By the time the game reached the half, the Lakers were down 15, and never put it back into single digits.

After, LeBron James pointed to Anthony Davis picking up his second foul, and that opened the floodgates. The disappointment in the locker room was palpable. Davis talked about the importance of this game, calling it a "must win," and to give up that kind of lead is unquestionably frustrating. But so was Davis's performance. We pointed to his matchup against Sacramento's Domantas Sabonis as the key one heading in, and in this case Sabonis got the best of him. Davis was 5-13. Sabonis, 7-13 with 20 rebounds and 12 assists.

Needless to say, the 26 points scored by Malik Monk off the bench were more than the Lakers reserves scored as a team.

Meanwhile, LeBron James had to leave the game early, struggling with the same ankle that he's been dealing with all year long. He didn't seem hyper concerned about it after the game, but it's hard to know until he wakes up on Thursday, and sees how things feel. It's go time, and the Lakers can't afford an extended absence from James, who was awesome on Wednesday, with 31 points, five rebounds and 13 assists.

So now, the Lakers have lost the tiebreaker against Sacramento, and lose a game to them in the standings. Realistically, they become a team that is going to be MUCH more difficult, if not impossible, to pass in the standings.

This one stung. A lot.

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 1: The Lakers collapse after a building a big lead.

SEGMENT 2: Anthony Davis outplayed by Sabonis... again.

SEGMENT 3: The bench just isn't good enough right now.

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