FINAL
Lakers 98, Kings 95
Tyreke Evans left the game in the fourth quarter after turning his left ankle and did not return. He left with 14 points (4 of 14) with six rebounds and eight assists.
No word on his status. The Kings won't practice tomorrow so there should be some time for Evans and the rest of the banged up players to heal.
Darnell Jackson returned after hurting his right ankle in the first half, but ended up watching the fourth quarter with ice on his ankle.
As for the game, the Kings managed to rally in the fourth, primarily againt Pau Gasol and Laker reserves.
The Kings cut the lead down to 98-95 with13.3 seconds left and narrowly missed a steal to give themselves a chance to get the ball back.
Derrick Caracter missed two free throws to give the Kings the ball back with 5.5 seconds left.
A late three by DeMarcus Cousins was off and Luther Head was called for traveling on his final three attempt.
Carl Landry led the Kings with 23 points. Ron Artest had 18 points for the Lakers.
THIRD QUARTER
Lakers 74, Kings 59
The Kings have a 2-to-1 ratio working in the wrong way. They have 16 turnovers and just eight assists. Meanwhile the Lakers have 19 assists and nine turnovers.
The Lakers have the rebounding edge, barely, at 38-37. But the Kings are shooting 34 percent. That coupled with the turnovers have made it tough for the Kings to do much on offense.
Tyreke Evans is 4 of 14 from the floor. DeMarcus Cousins has taken just four shots, making one. Carl Landry is 3 of 8.
SECOND QUARTER
Kings 47, Lakers 46
Even though the Kings have a lead, they still have issues on offense. They aren't taking care of the ball.
The Kings have 11 turnovers at halftime. But they managed to compete thanks largely to Tyreke Evans, who has 12 points.
The turnovers led to 15 points for the Lakers, who shot jsut 39.1 percent in the first half. The Lakers also have 12 second-chance points becasue they've taken advantage of the Kings smaller front line.
Center DeMarcus Cousins has played just seven minutes because he ahs three fouls. That's left Darnell Jackson and Jason Thompson doing a lot of the banging against Pau Gasol.
FIRST QUARTER
Lakers 23, Kings 20
Each team's marquee player has been anything but the star.
Tyreke Evans is 1-of-6 shooting. Kobe Bryant is 1-of-7. The Kings are shooting 27.8 percent and have had trouble scoring whenever they've gotten into the paint against the length of the Lakers.
The best player tonight has been Ron Artest. He's been a pest on defense and has a game-high 11 points.
Artest started the game defending Evans.
The Lakers chose to put Derek Fisher on Antoine Wright and dare him to make shots.
Wright ended up being the Kings leading scorer with six points, making both of his three pointers.
Kings forward Darnell Jackson went to the locker room to have his ankle re-taped. He'll see how it feels and try to return to the game.
In non-game related news, Mike Tyson is sitting across from the Kings bench with Jim Gray, George, Gavin and Joe Maloof.
--Jason Jones
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