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Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham wasn't happy after his team lost 134-120 to the Sacramento Kings on Thursday, their sixth defeat in nine games.

"We have to be more competitive and give more effort," Ham told reporters. "We will figure it out. That's why we have put together a great staff like we have done."

Los Angeles led 26-25 after the first quarter but slowly unraveled and trailed by as many as 23 points before getting the score a little closer in the fourth quarter.

Los Angeles couldn't slow down Domantas Sabonis, who finished with 13 ponts, 21 rebounds and 12 assists. The Kings' other four starters all scored at least 20 points as well.

At 13-18, the Lakers are 13th in the Western Conference but just 2.5 games out of the final play-in tournament spot. The sixth-place Kings (17-13) widened their lead to 4.5 games over L.A.

Effort—or a lack thereof—might have played a level in Ham's squad committing 15 turnovers and allowing Sacramento to shoot 50.5 percent from the floor. Working harder on the floor probably won't remedy the Lakers' biggest issue, though.

Prior to his foot injury, Anthony Davis was elevating himself into the MVP conversation. He's averaging 27.4 points and on pace to set career highs in field-goal percentage (59.4) and rebounds (12.1 per game).

This is the version of Davis that's required to make Los Angeles a serious title contender.

But now the eight-time All-Star is out for at least a month. Ham is without one of his best players, and there isn't a lot the front office can do to strengthen the squad in the interim.

That leaves the coaching staff and the Lakers players having to look for solutions from within.

Steve Kerr hopes to coach Kevin Durant once again during the 2024 Olympic cycle.

Speaking to reporters before the Brooklyn Nets defeated the Golden State Warriors 143-113 on Wednesday night, Kerr was asked about Durant possibly playing for Team USA during the Paris Games.

"That would be nice," the Warriors head coach said. "I mean, he's been so dominant with Team USA and like I said, he's a guy who just, he loves to play. So we're hoping he decides to keep going.

Kerr also joked he would "most likely" pull Durant aside to pitch him on the idea.

Kerr was named USA Basketball head coach in December. He is taking over for Gregg Popovich, who led the Americans to an Olympic gold medal during the Tokyo Games.

The Warriors head coach was an assistant on Popovich's staff during the 2020 Olympics. He played for the Team USA squad that won the FIBA World Championship in 1986.

Durant has not committed to playing for the U.S. team in 2024. The 12-time All-Star told reporters after Wednesday's game he's open to representing the United States in the Olympics again, but it's too early to make a decision.

The 2020 Olympics marked the third time Durant won a gold medal with Team USA. He averaged 20.7 points and 5.3 rebounds per game in six starts during the run in Tokyo. The Americans defeated France, 87-82, in the gold medal game.

Durant is tied with Carmelo Anthony for most Olympic gold medals won by an American men's basketball player. He will be 35 years old during the Paris Games.

If Durant does play for the United States, he will be reunited with Kerr as his head coach for the first time since leaving the Warriors after the 2018-19 season.

Golden State played in the NBA Finals in each of Durant's three seasons with the team. The Warriors won back-to-back titles in 2016-17 and 2017-18, with Durant being named Finals MVP both times.

LeBron James did his part, but the Los Angeles Lakers weren't good enough as a team Wednesday to avoid a 134-120 loss to the Sacramento Kings.

James scored a game-high 31 points to go with 11 assists, six rebounds and two blocks, plus some impressive highlights on both ends of the floor:

The problem was the lack of help with Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook and Austin Reeves among those unavailable due to injury.

Fans were quick to criticize the supporting cast during the double-digit loss:

The defense was especially an issue with Davis out with a foot injury. Four different Kings players scored at least 20 points with six hitting double figures. Domantas Sabonis had 13, points, 21 rebounds and 12 assists with the Lakers unable to compete inside.

Los Angeles fell to 13-18 with the latest loss, putting them 13th out of 15 Western Conference teams. A home game against the Charlotte Hornets on Friday could be an opportunity to turn things around, but the rest of the team must figure out how to pick up the slack.

Former Denver Broncos running back Ronnie Hillman died Wednesday at the age of 31, his family announced in an Instagram post.

Hillman was diagnosed with Renal Medullary Carcinoma in August, a rare form of cancer.

The 2012 third-round draft pick spent four years with the Broncos, although he is best known for his breakout 2015 season when he led the team with 863 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. He helped the squad win Super Bowl 50 at the end of that season, which remains the franchise's most recent playoff game.

Hillman spent the following year with the Minnesota Vikings and San Diego Chargers but couldn't replicate his success and was out of the NFL by 2017.

In five NFL seasons, the running back totaled 1,976 rushing yards, 524 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns.

The Long Beach, California, native was also a standout for San Diego State, totaling 3,243 rushing yards and 36 touchdowns in just two seasons. His 1,711 rushing yards in 2011 ranked third in the country.

"Our deepest condolences go out to Ronnie's family," Aztecs coach Brady Hoke said in a statement, per Kirk Kenney of the San Diego Union-Tribune. "Although I only got to coach him one season (2010), I'll remember him as a great teammate and hard worker. Ronnie always came to practice with a smile on this face and his passion for the game was contagious. He'll always be an Aztec for Life."

Shawn Michaels' in-ring career is definitely over.

In an interview on the Culture State podcast (h/t Robert Gunier of Wrestling Inc.), the Heartbreak Kid addressed a recent report that he talked about potentially doing one more match after seeing Stone Cold Steve Austin take on Kevin Owens at WrestleMania 38.

"Yeah, I've had that final match. Nope," he said. "No, father time waits on no man. I'm good. I'm unbelievably happy with my career and it is now time to watch the next generation flourish."

According to Fightful Select (h/t H Jenkins of Ringside News), Michaels spoke with Owens about the WrestleMania match and told him "he'd be lying if he didn't think about doing another match" at some point.

After losing a retirement match to The Undertaker at WrestleMania 26, Michaels remained adamant for years that he wanted to honor the stipulation.

WWE got Michaels back into the ring one more time in a tag match with Triple H against The Undertaker and Kane at Crown Jewel in November 2018. The match was widely panned, with all four legends looking their age. It didn't help that Triple H suffered a torn pectoral muscle during the match.

Despite the one final bout as part of D-Generation X, Michaels did tell the Challenge Mania podcast (h/t Sean Rueter of Cageside Seats) he doesn't think that counts as an official match because the event was a "glorified house show."

The Showstopper revealed on the Sam Roberts Wrestling Podcast in 2017 he was offered a match against AJ Styles at WrestleMania 33 (h/t Dan Garland of SI.com) but said he turned it down.

If Michaels was going to do one more match, that probably would have been the time to do it. He's 57 years old now and has been the head of creative for NXT since September.

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