Twenty three-pointers and a dominant second quarter decide the opener
The Los Angeles Lakers opened their preseason with a 127–103 victory over the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center on October 5 US time, October 6 in the Philippines. Luka Dončić scored 21 points in fewer than 16 minutes, while Cameron Carr added 19 off the bench as Los Angeles converted 20 three-pointers.
The decisive separation came before halftime. The Lakers led 36–28 after the opening quarter, then outscored Sacramento 37–19 in the second to take a 73–47 lead into the break. That 26-point cushion allowed Los Angeles to spread minutes across its roster without surrendering control of the result.
Sacramento won the third quarter 30–26, reducing the deficit to 99–77, but Los Angeles finished the fourth ahead 28–26. The Lakers’ largest lead was 33 points. The game featured six lead changes and three ties before the visitors established their advantage, and the announced attendance was 15,130.
Dončić finished with 21 points, two rebounds, three assists and two steals in 15 minutes and 58 seconds. He made five of 12 field-goal attempts, including three of nine from beyond the arc, and converted eight of nine free throws. The five turnovers on his line were a counterpoint to the scoring, giving Los Angeles a ball-security issue to review even in a comfortable victory.
Carr supplied the Lakers’ next-largest scoring total in 22 minutes and 32 seconds. He shot seven for 13 overall and three for seven from three-point range, adding three rebounds, two assists and two steals without a turnover. His 19 points were the largest contribution to a Los Angeles bench that produced 69 points.
Quentin Grimes scored 16 points on five-of-seven shooting and made all four of his free throws. Ziaire Williams added 13 points, making each of his three attempts from long range. Jake LaRavia had 12 points, three rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks, while Chris Mañon also scored 12, with eight coming at the foul line.
The Lakers started Dončić, Grimes, Matisse Thybulle, Williams and Kevon Looney. Thybulle scored six points and collected two steals. Looney contributed two points, nine rebounds and three assists, including four offensive rebounds, in 17 minutes and 36 seconds.
Austin Reaves, Walker Kessler, Collin Sexton and Arthur Kaluma did not play. Before tip-off, coach JJ Redick confirmed those absences, according to Silver Screen and Roll. That report did not establish specific injury diagnoses or return dates for the group. The opening lineup therefore should not be treated as a confirmed regular-season starting five.
Fifteen Lakers appeared in total. Sandro Mamukelashvili supplied eight points and a team-high five assists; Jaden Hardy also scored eight. Jarred Vanderbilt added four points, while Adou Thiero and Bronny James scored three apiece. Thiero contributed four assists, and James had five rebounds, two assists and a block. Dalton Knecht and William Kyle also played but did not score.
Sacramento’s strongest individual scoring performance came from reserve Nique Clifford, who finished with 23 points and nine rebounds in 28 minutes and 24 seconds. He made eight of 13 shots, although six-of-10 free-throw shooting left additional points available. Starting guard Darius Acuff Jr. scored 19 points with four assists, shooting eight for 17 and committing five turnovers.
Maxime Raynaud contributed 12 points and eight rebounds for the Kings, and Daeqwon Plowden added 12 points and five boards. Dylan Cardwell finished with nine points, 10 rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block. Those reserve performances gave Sacramento useful production despite the one-sided team result.
The Kings started Acuff alongside Zach LaVine, De’Andre Hunter, Precious Achiuwa and Domantas Sabonis. LaVine scored nine points in 15 minutes and 27 seconds. Sabonis had four points, three rebounds and three assists in 10 minutes and eight seconds, and was charged with five personal fouls. Hunter scored three and Achiuwa two. Emanuel Sharp and Alex Karaban added seven and three points from the bench; Elfrid Payton and Adam Flagler also appeared without scoring. Malik Monk, Keegan Murray and Ben Simmons did not play.
The perimeter gap was the clearest statistical explanation for the margin. Los Angeles made 20 of 44 three-pointers, or 45.5 percent, while Sacramento went four for 23, or 17.4 percent. That produced 60 points from threes for the Lakers and 12 for the Kings, a 48-point difference. Sacramento had 24 more points from two-point baskets, and both teams made 25 free throws, leaving the final 24-point gap.
Los Angeles also recorded 29 assists to Sacramento’s 20, 15 steals to 10, and 32 points off turnovers to 19. The Kings scored more in the paint, 52–40, but could not make up the outside-shooting deficit. Neither side played a clean possession game: the final individual turnover totals were 21 for the Lakers and 26 for Sacramento, with the Kings also charged with one team turnover.
The result gives Los Angeles a winning preseason start without affecting regular-season standings. Its next scheduled game is at Golden State’s Chase Center on October 6 at 7 p.m. Pacific time, which is October 7 at 10 a.m. in the Philippines. Player availability for that game remains a separate decision from the rotation used in Sacramento.