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A Bench Eruption Covers for Doncic's Short, Shaky Night

Five turnovers in 16 minutes, then Cameron Carr and company ran Sacramento off the floor.

Luka Doncic21 pts, 5-12 FG, 3-9 3P, 5 tov in 16 minutes
By the Lakers Nightly Desk · Tuesday, October 6

Luka Doncic's preseason debut lasted only 16 minutes, long enough for 21 points and five turnovers before Sacramento never saw him again. By the time the Lakers closed out a 127-103 win, the names carrying the scoreboard belonged to the bench.

Luka Doncic of the Lakers
Luka Doncic. Photo: Erik Drost, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Reserves Carry the Night

Cameron Carr scored 19 off the bench in 23 minutes, Quentin Grimes added 16 in his own debut, and Jake LaRavia went plus-27 in 21 minutes. Together the reserves put up 69 points, eleven more than the starting five managed, and a 22-0 run early in the second quarter turned a tight game into a laugher.

Four Names on the List

Arthur Kaluma, Collin Sexton, Austin Reaves and Walker Kessler are all day-to-day, each given a return target of today, October 6, the date the Lakers face Golden State. Reaves is nursing his ankle and leg, Kessler his finger and arm, and neither appeared in the opener against the Kings.

Golden State Without Butler

Jimmy Butler III and Moses Moody are both out for the Warriors with knee injuries, leaving Stephen Curry and Draymond Green as the headline names for Steve Kerr's group, which finished 37-45 and posted a net rating of -0.5 last season. Golden State is 0-0 too, with its next game three days off, while the Lakers return home to face Sacramento again on Thursday.

Did the Lakers win their preseason opener against the Kings?

Yes, Los Angeles routed Sacramento 127-103, with Luka Doncic scoring 21 points in a 16-minute debut before the bench took over and finished the game.

Are Austin Reaves and Walker Kessler playing against the Warriors tonight?

Both are listed day-to-day, with Reaves nursing his ankle and Kessler his finger, and each carries a return target of October 6, the date of tonight's game.

By the Lakers Nightly Desk, written from the club's data and the reports on file, with every name and number checked against them. How the desks work.

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