The Los Angeles Lakers were dealt bad news prior to playing the Sacramento Kings on the road.
LeBron James entered the league’s health and safety protocol, and Anthony Davis confirmed James tested positive for COVID-19.
Los Angeles started sluggishly but picked it up in the second half, outscoring Sacramento, 67-33.
A major factor in the scoring outburst was Malik Monk, who dropped 22 points off the bench on 6-of-10 3-point shooting in the win.
After the game, Monk credited his teammates.
“Russ(ell Westbrook) making it a little easy for me. He’s drawing a lot of attention now when he goes to the basket, and Dwight (Howard) draws a lot of attention, too. AD (Anthony Davis) does, too,” Monk said. “I was just happy to make the right reads. They give me a lot of open shots. That’s what I do: knock open shots down.”
The Lakers needed the next-man-up mentality without LeBron, which the team has gotten accustomed to this season. James has played in 11 games this year, and Los Angeles has often struggled without his stabilizing presence.
However, Monk, Howard and Carmelo Anthony chipped in off the bench to help Davis and Russell Westbrook. Wayne Ellington, who started in place of Avery Bradley because of an injury, drilled 3-of-6 shots from deep to assist in the scoring department as well.
