Lakers shooting woes end in a loss in Sacramento

The Lakers struggled mightily in the second half tonight and fell to the second-worst team in the Western Conference. Three-point shooting continues to be an area of struggle as Los Angeles shot 22% from deep.

Sacramento was on a heater all night from deep as they shot 65% as a team, led by DeMar DeRozan, who finished with 32 points, and Malik Monk went 7-9 from three-point range off the bench for 26 points.

Luka Doncic led the way for the Lakers, finishing with a game-high 42 points, and LeBron James contributed 22 points.

The Lakers just lost by 12 points to the 9-30 Kings 😶

It’s the Lakers 13th double-digit loss of the season… pic.twitter.com/FSFo0JHd6N

— Lakers All Day Everyday (@LADEig) January 13, 2026

Bench struggles

Los Angeles continues to not have any bench scoring consistency. Jaxson Hayes led the way off the bench with 12 points.

The bench is a major concern for this team, especially when Doncic, James, and Austin Reaves take a rest. The Lakers need to address this area because all of the great teams in the Western Conference have a bench unit that contributes night in and night out.

Defensive adjustments

As previously mentioned, Sacramento was unstoppable from behind the arc, and it seemed that even after timeouts were called by Los Angeles, there were no adjustments made. The Kings continued to get open looks again and again.

Although this may be an outlier for a Sacramento team that has been one of the worst teams in the league, this is the Lakers’ third straight loss, and defense has been a struggle all year.

Bounce back opportunity

Even though Rui Hachimura was active tonight, he did not touch the floor at all. His presence has been missed, and he will play tomorrow, as James is most likely sitting. LeBron has rarely played in back-to-backs this season.

Now, the Lakers will look to turn things around tomorrow night at home against the Atlanta Hawks.