Just because preseason games don’t count in the standings doesn’t make the outcome completely irrelevant.

And Sunday night, the Kings faced a championship contender that was taking the game seriously, too.

The biggest name to change teams in the offseason – All-Star center Dwight Howard – made his debut for the Lakers at Staples Center.

The Kings decided not to be admirers of the Lakers’ new lineup. And by the end of the night, a preseason game had the look and feel of the regular season in a 99-92 Kings win.

“You look in the building, this was not a preseason game,” Kings coach Keith Smart said. “You had guys (for the Lakers) trying to get a win here and that didn’t happen. But our guys made that not happen because they made the right plays at the right time for our team.”

via Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee