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FS1 analyst Skip Bayless offered up a rare compliment to LA Lakers superstar forward LeBron James following LA’s 132-127 overtime loss to Sacramento on Sunday. However, in typical Bayless fashion, it was a backhanded compliment, as he followed it up with a subtle dig at James.
Bayless’ comments came on X, formerly known as Twitter, where he tweeted about James’ productive night. However, in the second half of his tweet, Bayless couldn’t resist pointing out that James’ former Lakers teammate, Malik Monk, played better than him in overtime:
“LeBron played pretty well, but ex-Laker Malik Monk was better in OT with 11 points. Lakers lose by five,” Bayless tweeted.
James finished with a near triple-double with 27 points, 15 rebounds, eight assists and three 3-pointers on 57.9% shooting. This included making the game-tying basket to force OT. However, he also recorded eight turnovers and shot just 2-for-6 (33.3%) at the free-throw line.
Monk, on the other hand, finished with 22 points, three rebounds, three assists and four 3-pointers on 41.2% shooting off the bench. This included scoring 11 of the Kings’ 17 points in OT.
However, it was Kings star point guard De’Aaron Fox who was the game’s strongest performer. Fox recorded a game-high 37 points, four rebounds, eight assists and three 3-pointers on 58.3% shooting, despite dealing with a fourth-quarter ankle injury.
LeBron James was happy with the Lakers’ late-game execution against Sacramento
Following the LA Lakers’ tough overtime loss to the Sacramento Kings, LeBron James was asked about his team’s late-game execution.
Despite the loss, James said that he was happy with how his team executed. However, he added that the Kings just executed a little bit better and made more of their clutch shots:
“We did execute,” James said.
“I mean, obviously, I had a turnover to start overtime, but we did execute. We got some great looks. The timely shots that we weren’t able to knock down, they were able to knock down. So, we did execute.”
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Through three games, James is averaging 23.0 points, 10.3 rebounds, 7.3 assists, 1.0 steals, 0.7 blocks and 1.7 3-pointers per game on 57.1% shooting.
James and the Lakers (1-2) will now look to bounce back against the Orlando Magic (2-0) at home on Monday.
Meanwhile, the Kings (2-1) next play the Golden State Warriors (2-1) on the road on Wednesday.
