SACRAMENTO, Calif. _ Facing one of the best big men in the game, the Los Angeles Lakers knew this one would be a fight.
But as they matched the Sacramento Kings and DeMarcus Cousins blow for blow, they showed themselves ready for the bout.
The Lakers defeated the Sacramento Kings, 101-91, for their second road win of the season.
They improved to 5-4.
Lou Williams led the Lakers with 21 points, scoring 13in the fourth quarter. D'Angelo Russell added 17, Nick Young 16, Julius Randle 15 and Timofey Mozgov 10. The Lakers are 5-1 when they have at least five players score in double figures.
They improved to 5-4.
The Lakers began their second trip in a once-hostile city, facing a Kings team trying to get its winning percentage to .500.
The energized Kings raced to an early lead on the back of Cousins. By the end of the first quarter, Cousins already had scored 10 points while no Laker had scored more than five.
A constant specter throughout the early part of the season continued to torment the Lakers early.
They turned the ball over 12 times in the first half, leading to 20 Kings points.
For a time, that was the difference in the game.
The Lakers trailed by 19 points during the first half before riding a 9-2 run to cut the Kings' lead to 10 at halftime.
"We weren't ready to play, honestly," L.A. Coach Luke Walton said. "We've had a bad habit of starting games slow."
The Kings' lead remained solid for much of the third quarter, until a 7-2 run cut it to three.
Larry Nance Jr., who sat out the Lakers' last game because of a concussion, fought hard to get the Lakers back into the game.
In the final five minutes of the third quarter, Nance had three rebounds, two steals and a cutting dunk on an assist from Jordan Clarkson.
Late in games, stars have hurt the Lakers. Paul George did so in Indianapolis. Russell Westbrook did so throughout the Lakers' loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Cousins threatened to do so in the fourth quarter Thursday.
He hit a three-point shot to tie the score at 80-80, then followed with a layup to tie it again at 82.
The Lakers responded with a 10-0 run punctuated by a banked-in three from Young, which led to a Kings timeout and excited a sizable group of Lakers fans at Golden 1 Center.
Walton closed out the game with a lineup of Brandon Ingram, Young, Mozgov, Williams and Randle.
"Just playing hard," Randle said of the comeback.
"There's really no formula to it, playing hard and trying to make plays. Be aggressive."
Cousins, who finished with 28 points and nine rebounds, plucked away Williams' inbounds pass as the fourth quarter closed, but the Kings couldn't score off the turnover.
The Kings had won seven in a row against the Lakers, but they wouldn't make it eight.
The Lakers have won four games in a five-game stretch for the first time since November 2013.
