Super Vezenkov and hot Sacramento “tanned” LeBron James’ 20th birthday.

The night was historic. It was the 20th anniversary of LeBron James’ NBA debut. It was all the more historic as it was the king’s first appearance in Sacramento. The league didn’t accidentally move the Kings vs. Lakers game to that day and didn’t use Derek Richardson as the referee (he also officiated at ARCO Arena on October 30, 2003), but rather it was the team’s fans who were celebrating. of Sacramento, who won (132-127) in a crazy game with tension until the final.

Sasha Vezhenkov was very good in the 18 minutes he was on the court (11 points, 4 rebounds), DeAaron Fox finished the game with a twisted ankle but was also a leader and clutch, Keegan Murray and Domantas Sabonis followed and Malik Monk with Kevin Herter cleaned up the laundry in the additional five minutes. The Kings got a game they desperately needed, especially for psychological reasons after the loss to the Golden State Warriors, and the fact that they got it in overtime without the Lithuanian center, who was suspended for six fouls, lends it the result is even more valuable.

With the Kings 2-1, the Lakers 1-2, who saw LeBron James magically fill his stats (27 points, 15 rebounds, 8 assists in just under 39 minutes), they are doing everything to emerge victorious, but bow to the place where it all began exactly two decades ago. Anthony Davis (30 points, 16 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 3 blocks) was impressive at times, but in the end his team lacked great shooting, strong defense and the Lakers fell behind in points. In a really satisfying, really great match.

56-44 racket points, 7-22 surprise points, 46-28 replacement points, 10-15 opponent errors, 20-16 second chance points.

Sasha Vezenkov’s report

He made his first basket 11 seconds into the game, shortly after taking the screen and making his first three-pointer, he attempted the second, which would have lifted the court at the leg, but found iron. With an open shot from the corner, he found the iron again after a nice move that left him unmarked.

Brown picked him off early in the third period because he was frustrated by Keegan Murray’s hesitation, but the Kings youngster immediately took a shot, fired it in and Sasha returned to the bench smiling. He scored from the top to make it 82-75 as the Lakers became a threat, fought tenaciously on defense, converted a foul shot early in the fourth quarter to make it 90-86 when he read the moment correctly, and hit to the basket to support Monk. And he waved goodbye, but returned in the final when Sabonis was sent off with six fouls.

His movements in the penalty area were very good, his finishes were correct (except for one), he tried harder in defense. His teammates are starting to trust him, even guys like Mitchell and Monk who don’t have the pass button on their “remote control.” Sasha doesn’t play as much as we’d like, but he’s having a better day day after day and game after game.

• 11 points
• 2/4 two points
• 2/6 threesomes
• 1/1 shot
• 4 rebounds
• 1 assist
• 1 block
• no mistake
• no foul
• -1 to +/-
• at 6:21 p.m

How did the game go in overtime? Keegan Murray had the free shot, Fox set it up to be exact, but it was 5-7 cm behind where he wanted it, so his three-pointer was “short” and hit the front of the basket. And yet, with Fox-Sabonis out, “King Monk” (Malik means “king” in Arabic) stepped up to the plate and outscored the competition with 11 points in the extra five minutes.

The Kings’ next game is early Thursday (November 2nd, 4:00 a.m.) in San Francisco against the Golden State Warriors.

THE DODECALEPTA: 41-28, 66-55, 87-83, 115-115 (qa), 132-127

SACRAMENTO KINGS (Mike Brown): Barnes 8 (3/9 shots), Murray 17 (3/9 threes, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals), Sabonis 12 (5/8 shots, 15 rebounds, 5 assists), Herter 12 ( 3/7 3-pointers, 7 rebounds, 4 assists), Fox 37 (11/16 2-pointers, 3/8 3-pointers, 6/8 shots, 4 rebounds, 8 assists), Monk 22 (4/9 3 -Pointer), Vezenkov 11 (2/4 2-pointers, 2/6 3-pointers, 1/1 shot, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block in 18:21), Mitchell 5 (1), McGee 4, Duarte 4, Edwards

LOS ANGELES LAKERS (Darwin Ham): Prince 20 (5/13 3-pointers), James 27 (8/11 2-pointers, 3/8 3-pointers, 2/6 shots, 15 rebounds, 8 assists, 8 turnovers in 39 minutes) , Davis 30 (10/20 2-pointers, 1/2 3-pointers, 7/8 shots, 16 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 3 blocks in 41:1), Reaves 5 (1/12 shots), Russell 17 (5/13 shots, 9 assists), Vincent 2, Hachimura 11 (2), Reddis, Hayes 4, Wood 11 (2)

Sacramento Kings team stats: 32/56 2-pointers, 17/48 3-pointers, 17/24 shots, 56 rebounds, 30 assists, 6 steals, 7 blocks, 10 turnovers, 28 fouls

Los Angeles Lakers team statistics: 28/53 2-pointers, 15/45 3-pointers, 26/34 shots, 69 rebounds, 27 assists, 4 steals, 4 blocks, 12 turnovers, 22 fouls