The Lakers handed the Sacramento Kings their second loss of the season, 131-127, after LeBron James took over in the fourth.

Anthony Davis scored 31 points with nine rebounds, three steals, two assists and two blocks. LeBron finished with 32 points, 14 rebounds, 10 assists and a block. Rui Hachimura added 18 points, nine rebounds and three assists.

D’Angelo Russell had 16 points with four rebounds, five assists and two steals. Dalton Knecht had 10 points. Austin Reaves grabbed seven rebounds with his sixteen points and six assists.

Kings center Domantas Sabonis started the scoring with an emphatic dunk. AD and D’Lo both followed that with en-1s, which they converted. The Lakers went up by six. The Kings missed most of their shots from behind the arc in the first, shooting 3-13 as a team.

Kevin Huerter’s pair of three-pointers helped jump-start the Kings’ offense, making it a one-point game. The Lakers immediately counterattacked and extended their lead to five.

Sacramento went on an 8-2 run to cut the deficit to two at the end of the first inning.

LeBron started things off in the second with a layup and a behind-the-back pass to Dalton for a three-pointer, giving LA a twelve lead. The Kings got hot in the second, making three of his four shot attempts, including a difficult fadeaway shot over Keegan Murray.

After the Lakers led by as many as fifteen, Sacramento slowly began to creep back and cut the deficit to ten.

Both teams traded baskets, allowing the Kings to stay close enough to mount an attack. Sacramento cut the deficit to two with a sudden 10-0 score. D’Lo hit a three to help stop the bleeding.

The Kings made a strong effort to end the half, but another three-pointer from D’Lo put the Lakers up four at halftime.

The second half started just like the first, with Sabonis striking first. Austin answered with a nice midrange shot. The Kings had shifted the momentum in their favor as they took the lead by three.

LA’s turnovers maxed out at 12 and they looked very sloppy with the ball. Sacramento still had the momentum, while the Lakers played with less energy and struggled to put points on the board.

LeBron hit a much-needed three-pointer to bring the score closer, but the Kings answered back and extended their lead to seven. Once Sacramento pushed the momentum even further, LA fought through its struggles and crept closer.

The Lakers had made it a one-point game, but DeAaron Fox knocked down two 3-pointers to extend Sacramento’s lead to seven at the end of the third.

The Lakers open the final frame with two three-pointers to make it a one-point game. LeBron knocked down another shot to put LA ahead by one. He continued his barrage, converting on an and-1. LeBron made another three and suddenly the Lakers had seized all the momentum.

Los Angeles’ run was extended to 21-0, with LeBron making basket after basket. Fox knocked down a three of his own to stop the bleeding for Sacramento.

The Lakers kept the momentum going while the Kings desperately tried to score any way they could.

DeMar DeRozan started hitting his usual mid-range shots and knocking down three-pointers. With 4:35 to go, LeBron was put back in with the Lakers leading by ten. AD made two shots in a row, but the Kings responded and the lead shrank to four.

A 3-pointer from AD and a dunk from Rui struck the final blow, as the Kings couldn’t muster enough points to eventually come back.

Key Takeaways:

In these three opening games of the season, the Lakers have been all over the place with their turnovers. Tonight’s game was a bad turnover game – a lot of mishandling of the ball that they have to clear.

AD’s MVP case skyrocketed again with his performance tonight.

It’s remarkable to see that LeBron was able to take over a game for 22 seasons.

The Lakers’ next game is Monday against the Phoenix Suns at 7:00 PM PT.

You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.