Thursday's NBA preseason scores: Lakers finish preseason 0-8

The much-hyped Los Angeles Lakers lost their final exhibition game 94-82 to the Sacramento Kings on Thursday, capping off an ugly 0-8 preseason. Kobe Bryant sat out the game to heal up some of his injuries.

There's little reason to panic in Lakerland, as preseason is usually not a true indicator of future success. Still, this was kind of a shocking result for a team that's expected to roll through most of the league. And in Thursday night's game, it was actually the Lakers' starters who were severely outplayed.

In perhaps the most exciting game of the night, the other team in Los Angeles posted a strong performance in a 106-94 win over the Denver Nuggets. Blake Griffin led the way for the Clippers with 25 points and 11 rebounds, while Chris Paul also posted a double-double with 10 points and 12 assists.

Elsewhere, the Utah Jazz grabbed a 97-91 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on the backs of their two reserve big men. Derrick Favors and Enes Kanter each had 21 points on identical 8-of-13 shooting. Kanter also nabbed 12 rebounds. The Blazers got nice performances from their starters, but the bench was nowhere to be found.

Finally, the Milwaukee Bucks took care of business by defeating the Charlotte Bobcats 100-94. Tobias Harris led the Bucks with 18 points, while Mike Dunleavy added 17 off the bench. For the Bobcats, Kemba Walker had 20 points. No 2 draft pick Michael Kidd-Gilchrist continued to struggle, scoring just four points.