SACRAMENTO, Calif. _ Lately in Sacramento, during games between the Lakers and the Kings, there tends to come a point when the visiting team's fans take over the crowd.
On Saturday evening, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope made it happen with just under six minutes left in the third quarter.
When Caldwell-Pope sank a three pointer, his seventh of the game, a "Lets go Lakers" chant rang out at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
Caldwell-Pope put the Lakers on his back and launched bombs at the Kings in an explosive quarter that momentarily pulled the Lakers out of a dogfight.
The Lakers beat the Kings 113-108 to improve to 25-34, while the Kings fell to 18-41.
Caldwell-Pope scored 34 points, 17 in the third quarter (including five three-pointers). His eight three-pointers overall set a new season high for Caldwell-Pope and tied a career high.
It also matched the most three-pointers ever made in the Golden 1 Center, which is in its second season. Portland's Damian Lillard also made eight three-pointers here on Feb. 9.
Had he made one more three-pointer, Caldwell-Pope would have joined elite company. The only player to ever make at least nine three-pointers in a game is Kobe Bryant.
Isaiah Thomas, whom the Kings drafted in 2011, scored 17 points, nine of them in the fourth quarter. Brandon Ingram, Julius Randle, Brook Lopez, Josh Hart and Kyle Kuzma all reached double figures for the Lakers.
The Kings were led by Skal Labissiere and Bogdan Bogdanovic, both of whom scored 21 points.
Sacramento was energetic early on and took a four-point lead into the second quarter. Caldwell-Pope gave taste of what was to come, making three three-pointers. He led the Lakers with nine points in the first quarter.
By halftime the Kings led 58-50 on the strength of their bench. Buddy Hield and Labissiere each had eight points and Labissiere had a plus/minus rating of 12, which was better than any other player on the court during the first half.
The Kings bench outscored the Lakers 30-16 in the first half.
Things changed for the Lakers in the second half, and that's when Caldwell-Pope took over.
With his help, the Lakers turned an eight-point deficit into a four-point lead. Lopez added nine points in the third quarter as the Lakers starters pulled them from their early struggles.
Although the Lakers took back control of the game in the third quarter, the Kings put up plenty of fight in the fourth. They immediately erased the four-point lead with which the Lakers entered the fourth, tying the score 87 -87 less than a minute into the fourth.
The Kings led 94-92 with 8:37 left in the game after a three-pointer by Hield. The teams seesawed within a point of each other until a layup by Caldwell-Pope gave the Lakers a three-point lead.
The Lakers led 107-100 after a pair of free throws by Ingram with 1:32 left in the game. But the Kings then mounted a furious comeback.
After all of his heroics, Caldwell-Pope gave the Kings some hope. He fouled kings Bogdanovic as he shot a three-pointer. Bogdanovic made the three-pointer with 12.7 seconds left and made the ensuing free throw to shrink the Lakers lead to 109-108.
But Sacramento wouldn't score again, allowing the Lakers to open their four-game road trip with a win.
