March 1, 2026, 10:34 p.m. PT

The Los Angeles Lakers ended a three-game losing streak on Saturday when they routed a short-handed Golden State Warriors team, 129-101. They looked to follow up that excellent performance with another one when they returned home on Sunday to host the Sacramento Kings.

As they did on Saturday, they got off to a good start and continued to build on it for most of the rest of the game. By just past the midway point of the first quarter, they had built a double-digit lead, and they doubled up the Kings at the end of the period. Sacramento came to within 10 points early in the third quarter, but the Lakers hit the accelerator afterward and greatly extended their lead, allowing them to come away with a 128-104 victory.

This was another outstanding offensive performance by Los Angeles. It shot 50% from the field and 46.2% from 3-point range, dished off 34 assists, turned the basketball over only nine times and had 20 fast-break points. While the team is still in sixth place in the Western Conference with a 36-24 record, it is two games ahead of the seventh-place Phoenix Suns and 1.5 games behind the third-place Houston Rockets.

Marcus Smart: B-plus

Smart’s jumper was on in this game, and he also played with lots of effort and energy while also diving on the floor multiple times to go after the basketball. He attempted five shots, all of which were 3-pointers, and made three of them, giving him nine points in 25 minutes. He also had three rebounds, three assists and five steals, and defensively, he helped hold DeMar DeRozan, Sacramento’s best player in uniform during this game, to nine points in 22 minutes.

Need a news break? Check out the all new PLAY hub with puzzles, games and more!Deandre Ayton: C-plus/B-minus

The Lakers made it a point to get Ayton involved offensively early in the game, and as a result, he scored 10 points on 5-of-5 shooting in the first half. He was very quiet afterward, however, and he ended up with 12 points while making all six of his shot attempts, four rebounds, two assists, two steals and one block in 18 minutes.

Austin Reaves: D

This was a definite off night for Reaves. He made three of his nine shot attempts, and he finished with 12 points, five assists, two blocks and no rebounds in 27 minutes.

He simply wasn’t as aggressive as he normally is, but in this kind of game, as lopsided as it was, it ultimately didn’t matter that much.

LeBron James: B

James had just seven points on 2-of-7 shooting in the first half. He got himself going a little bit offensively in the third quarter, and he then scored 10 points in the first four minutes of the fourth quarter to prevent the Kings from making things competitive.

He finished with 24 points on 8-of-15 overall shooting and 3-of-4 from 3-point range in 27 minutes. While he had five assists, two steals and one block, he came up with only one rebound, which is a rarity for him.

Luka Doncic: A

Once again, Doncic was very efficient throughout. He did most of his damage in the first and third quarters, and he got to rest during all of the fourth quarter because of how large a lead the Lakers built and maintained.

He scored 28 points on 10-of-16 overall shooting and 4-of-8 from downtown, and he also contributed nine assists, five rebounds, one steal and one block while turning the ball over only once in 29 minutes. His only blemish in this game was the three free throws he missed in seven attempts from the charity stripe.

Luke Kennard: A-minus

Kennard missed one or two chippies near the rim he should’ve converted, but other than that, he once again gave L.A. a definite lift off the bench. He made three of his five 3-point tries and scored 11 points in 26 minutes, and he also dished off five assists while chipping in one rebound, one steal and one block. He’s proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that he’s much more than a one-dimensional spot-up shooter.

Rui Hachimura: D-plus

After missing the Lakers’ last two games due to an illness, Hachimura wasn’t in a great rhythm on Sunday. While he made two of his four 3-point attempts, those were the only two shots he made in eight overall attempts. In 22 minutes, he also had two rebounds, one steal and one block.

Jaxson Hayes: B-plus

Hayes’ 12 minutes in this game were a bit low for him, but when he was on the floor, he provided five rebounds, four points, one assist and one block.

Maxi Kleber: A

Kleber has been played inconsistently this season by coach JJ Redick, but at times, when he has gotten meaningful playing time, he has made a definite impact. In 13 minutes and change, he grabbed six rebounds and blocked one shot, and he made all three of his field-goal attempts to score six points. A couple of his baskets came on thunderous dunks that resulted from him cutting to the basket.

Bronny James, Adou Thiero, Dalton Knecht, Kobe Bufkin: Incomplete

The younger James hit a crisp 3-pointer off the dribble for his only points, and he also had two assists in six minutes. Knecht scored a hoop and had one rebound and one steal, and Thiero got a bucket off an explosive drive to the hoop that resulted in a rim-rocking dunk and a foul. Bufkin went 1-of-5 from the field and had one rebound, while Thiero also added one rebound and one assist.