After defeating the Sacramento Kings nearly two weeks ago when DeMarcus Cousins was not playing, the Los Angeles Lakers lost this time out at the Sleep Train Arena, 108-101.

Kobe Bryant performed poorly once again, scoring 25 points on 8-of-30 shooting to go along with nine turnovers in 38 minutes. It seems like Bryant is forcing the issue too much and is tiring himself out late in games. After another poor shooting display, Byron Scott is likely to give Kobe a game off.

After the game, Kobe talked about his tired body. “I understand what the workload is and what I have to do for us to be successful. And, now it’s just trying to figure out a way to have my body respond to be able to do it. I take a lot of pride in trying to play all 82 (games). People come and spend their hard earned money to look us play and hope that I’m out there, so I try to take that into account every single night,” Bryant said. Kobe also gave his opinion about the possibility of being rested for a game or two. “There’s probably not much of an option…it might make sense.”

Nick Young added that he is more than happy to carry the load if Bryant does not play. “We need Kobe out there and he knows it. But he don’t need to kill himself. That’s what I’m here for,” Young said. “Just give me the ball. I’m always down to shoulder the load,” Young continued.

However, aside from getting a game off, Kobe should also get limited minutes every contest. The Lakers are, after all, playing fine with him on the bench, so there is no need for Kobe to play 38 minutes. In fact, Kobe was a minus-17 tonight, which was the worst plus and minus on the team. Additionally, the Lakers bench scored 43 points, meaning Kobe does not need to be on the floor too much.

In this game, the Lakers actually played well for the most part, but they crumbled late in the contest. Los Angeles led, 59-52, at the end of the first half, as Nick Young was the catalyst, scoring 12 points in just 11 minutes.

The Lakers expanded on their lead midway through the third, as they led by 13 points. Afterward, the Kings went on a 15-1 run to end the period, grabbing a one point lead. With Kobe on the bench to start the fourth, Young and his bench crew put the team up by six after Young converted on a four-point play.

Right after that play, things started to fall apart for the Lakers, as the Kings capped off a 25-12 run to finish out the game and win by seven points.

Nick Young led the Lakers in scoring with 26 points on 50 percent shooting. Aside from Young and Kobe, the only other Laker in double figures was Ed Davis with 10.

The Kings had three players score more than 20 points. DeMarcus Cousins finished with a game-high 29 points, 14 rebounds, and three blocks. Rudy Gay followed with 24 of his own to go along with six assists, and Ben McLemore poured in 23 points and snatched eight boards. Meanwhile, Darren Collison fnished the night with 19 points and three assists. The Kings bench was extremely quiet, though, scoring just 11 points.

Bench play made a difference in this game, but Lakers’ poor shooting and costly turnovers allowed the Kings to take this one. Furthermore, the Kings had 23 fast break points compared to Los Angeles’ nine. Last time these two teams met, it was the Kings who turned the ball over too much. In this game, it was the Lakers who had plenty of miscues.

The Lakers won’t win many games shooting poorly and not sharing the ball. They only had 14 assists as a team, which was not impressive at all.

The Lakers have now lost three straight games and drop to 8-19 on the season. The Kings snap their five game losing streak and improve to 12-15, as they are tied for 11th place in the West.

The next opponent for both teams is the Golden State Warriors. The Kings will play them tomorrow, December 22nd, at the Oracle Arena, while the Lakers play them on Tuesday, December 23rd, at the STAPLES Center.