LeBron James is a winner for the first time as a Laker.
James scored 18 points in a back-and-forth first half before resting in the second half, watching his teammates pull out a 128-123 preseason victory over the Sacramento Kings on Thursday night.
Brandon Ingram missed two free throws with 10 seconds left, but Kyle Kuzma tipped in the second miss to give the Lakers a 126-123 lead. Wenyen Gabriel had a good look at a tying 3-pointer but it hit the front of the rim.
Ingram finished with 31 points, 11 from the free throw line.
De’Aaron Fox scored all of his 18 points in the first half, going 4 of 6 from 3-point range for Sacramento. Second overall pick Marvin Bagley III had 19 points and 10 rebounds.
KINGS: Buddy Hield added 16 points with four of Sacramento’s 13 3-pointers.
LAKERS: Lonzo Ball missed his third straight game and Rajon Rondo also didn’t play, leaving a starting backcourt of Ingram and Josh Hart. … Michael Beasley left the game after 20 scoreless minutes with a right rib contusion. … The Lakers held their first LGBT Pride Night, presenting the ”Laces of Unity” award before the game to former NBA player Jason Collins. Jeanie Buss, the Lakers’ controlling owner and president, dyed her hair multiple colors in support of the occasion.
UP NEXT: Sacramento (1-1) plays Golden State on Friday at Key Arena for the first game played in Seattle in a decade. The Lakers (1-2) take on the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
PACERS 110, ROCKETS 100
Victor Oladipo made four 3-pointers and scored 24 points, Domantas Sabonis had 15 points and 12 rebounds, and Indiana beat Houston in its preseason opener.
TJ Leaf, starting in place of Thaddeus Young, had 13 points and 12 rebounds.
Reigning NBA MVP James Harden had 17 points and 10 assists in Houston’s first home game. Carmelo Anthony added 16 points.
Indiana went into halftime with some momentum after Leaf blocked Chris Paul’s 3-pointer and Oladipo banked in a 3-pointer just before the buzzer for a 54-48 lead. The Pacers also beat the third-quarter buzzer when Bojan Bogdanovic took an inbounds pass with 0.7 seconds left and sank a 3-pointer for an 83-82 lead.
PACERS: Young (11.8 points, 6.3 rebounds) is one of five returning starters from a 48-win team that took the eventual Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers to seven games in the first round of the playoffs. … Newcomer Doug McDermott scored two points in a team-high 36 minutes and second-year guard Edmond Sumner had 13 points in 19 minutes. … All four of Indiana’s preseason games, played every other day, will be on the road.
ROCKETS: Michael Carter-Williams scored 15 points, with several dunks, and pulled Houston to 106-100 with 1:11 left but Indiana made four straight free throws to seal it. … Paul had six points, four rebounds and five assists in 29 minutes. … Houston was 15 of 40 from 3-point range, led by Anthony’s four makes.
UP NEXT: Indiana (1-0) plays at Memphis on Saturday. Houston (1-1) plays at San Antonio on Sunday.
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