The Los Angeles Lakers conclude their regular season Thursday night with a road battle against Pacific Division rivals the Sacramento Kings at Power Balance Pavilion. However, with the Lakers having already clinched the No. 3 seed, Thursday night's game is essentially meaningless, which means several stars won't play for the Lakers.
Kobe Bryant, Andrew Bynum, and Pau Gasol will all sit out tonight, per Mike Trudell of NBA.com. Couple that with Metta World Peace serving the first game of his seven-game suspension, and Matt Barnes back in Los Angeles with an injured ankle, and Thursday's roster is quite thin.
Given that the Lakers haven't played since Sunday, Bryant, Bynum, and Gasol will all have a week of rest by Sunday's playoff opener. The Lakers will host either the Denver Nuggets or Dallas Mavericks on Sunday at Staples Center.
Bryant, by not playing, conceded the scoring title to Kevin Durant. Bryant averaged 27.9 points per game on the season, just behind 28.0 for Durant, and would have needed to score 38 points in the season finale to capture his third scoring title. Instead, Durant secures his third scoring title.
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