The modern media take-machines posed the only questions that made sense following the Lakers’ dominance over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday.

A Lakers victory in the West is possible. Had they reached a turning point? Is there any way they could be among the conference’s top four?

The Lakers dominated the Kings on Wednesday night, securing a victory that would have propelled them higher in the standings. You could just feel the segment producers getting ready. The Lakers’ replication of the high-octane offense they displayed on Monday had caused the Kings’ high-motor offense to stagnate. The ball found an open shooter, who made all of the big shots, and the Lakers offense went into overdrive.

By the end of the first quarter, they were up 19 points, and it was impossible to overlook their potential.

But then all the defects appeared.

A chance wasted fast due to poor body language, missed rebounds, inconsistent identity, and premature turnovers.

The Kings took control of the game on Wednesday and violently turned it around before halftime, going from a 19-point deficit to a 15-point lead and winning 130-120 at Crypto.com Arena.

And in a worst-case scenario, the Lakers (34–30) had LeBron James play the last minutes of the fourth quarter in the locker room after the team had called a timeout to take him out of the game.

With a few exceptions, the Lakers’ defense, which has been mostly gone since their return from the All-Star break, totally failed them. In the second quarter, the Kings (35-26) made 18 of their 23 shots, including 14 consecutive ones.

The Lakers’ reserves, who have struggled to score points since the team decided to start Rui Hachimura, D’Angelo Russell, and Austin Reaves, were outmatched by their bench, which was spearheaded by former Laker Malik Monk.

When Lakers coach Darvin Ham started to make substitutions toward the conclusion of the first quarter, Sacramento went on a 10-point run to erase more than half of the Lakers’ early lead.

Domantas Sabonis persecuted Anthony Davis in particular, forcing Davis to play through foul trouble. And with his presence at the rim somewhat nullified, Reaves, Russell, Taurean Prince, and anyone else attempting to move in front of De’Aaron Fox and Monk were ambushed by the King’s guards.

In the paint, Fox scored 44 points, Monk scored 26, and the Kings scored 76 points. Sabonis finished with 12 assists, 20 rebounds, and 16 points.

Davis only managed 14 points and 11 rebounds in the end.

James finished with 31 points to lead the Lakers.

The Lakers continue their run of games against some of the top NBA teams when they play the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday.