Interim coach Doug Christie will lead the Sacramento Kings to Los Angeles to face the Lakers. The Kings hope a change of coach and scenery will bring them a much-needed victory after they fired former coach Mike Brown following a five-game losing streak. Leading the Detroit Pistons by 10 with under three minutes on the clock, the Kings conjured another last-minute collapse that forced owner Vivek Ranadive to fire Brown. The Kings face a Lakers side with four wins in five and are favorites to win the basketball game on Sunday morning.
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BASKETBALL: NBA Regular Season
Where to Watch: NBA TV
Venue: Staples Center, Los Angeles
Date: 29.12.2024 06:30
Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers (17-13) sit on number six place in the Western Conference standings and have won four of their last five games, including victories in a two-game set over the Kings in Sacramento. Having brushed aside the Kings 113-100 in the first game, the second one on December 22 was a closely fought 103-99 game that had LeBron James lead with 32 points for the Lakers. The Lakers turned the ball over ten times in the first quarter, although the Kings recovered to limit the turnovers for the rest of the game. On Christmas day, the Lakers won another nail-biter with a breathless 115-113 victory over Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors. LeBron James scored 31 points on his 19th Christmas day game as he set an NBA record for the most games on Christmas. However, Austin Reaves stole the headlines with a winning layup to give the Lakers their 17th victory of the season. Reaves recorded 26 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists for a triple-double.
I'm not surprised that Mike Brown got fired because I got fired by the same person. And what really pissed me off about it was the fact that they lost [Thursday] night, the fifth game in a row, I believe. Tough loss.... They had practiced this morning. He does his postgame media, and he's in his car going to the airport to fly to L.A. they call him on the phone. No class, no balls. That's what I'll say about that.
Sacramento Kings
The Sacramento Kings (13-18) are 4-6 in their last ten games and have lost five straight games coming into this matchup. Five consecutive losses at home saw coach Mike Brown sacked by the owner, with former assistant coach and Kings player Doug Christie installed as interim coach. The Kings are 12th in the West and within reach of the play-in tournament, but quickly need to start closing out games. In their last game, the Kings collapsed again with seconds to go as the Detroit Pistons rallied to win 114-113 on Boxing Day. The Kings have made it a habit to not see out games, holding the NBA-worst record in games decided by five points or less, with Brown criticizing his players after the collapse to the Pistons. Mike Brown won the Coach of the Year award in his first season at Sacramento in 2022/2023 after helping the Kings make the playoffs for the first time in sixteen years.
Betting Odds
The Los Angeles Lakers are 1.64 favorites on Bet365, which prices the Sacramento Kings as 2.30 underdogs in the money line. Total Over 220 is 1.645 on 1xBet, which has the under at 2.2 odds. Betway has the Lakers at 1.76 odds to close the (-1.5) spread and the Sacramento Kings at 1.91 to win with a (+2.5) handicap. Read more here.
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