SACRAMENTO — In a two-game set like the Lakers wrapped up with a 103-99 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Saturday afternoon, especially after winning the first matchup on Thursday night, the little moments can shine through.

But it was LeBron James’ offensive aggressiveness early that gave the Lakers an early edge.

And then the little plays made by the Lakers’ late sealed their third consecutive victory and fourth in their last five games, putting them at 16-12.

James (32 points, seven rebounds, six assists, four steals) attacked the rim early and often.

He scored 23 first-half points and made his first eight shots inside the paint to help give the Lakers a 56-53 lead during another game in which they struggled with their outside shooting (9 of 35 on 3-pointers – 25.7%).

Just like on Thursday, the Lakers’ defense not only gave them the advantage throughout Saturday, but their play down the stretch helped them seal the win.

James hit a 14-footer to put the Lakers up 99-91 with just under four minutes remaining. D’Angelo Russell (20 points, five assists, four rebounds off the bench) followed up with a 14-footer of his own, giving the Lakers a 101-91 edge with just under three minutes left.

After the Kings scored five unanswered points, De’Aaron Fox missed an open pull-up 3 that would’ve cut Sacramento’s deficit to two.

Domantas Sabonis made an and-1 layup and the ensuing free throw to cut the Lakers’ lead to 101-99 with 1:11 remaining.

James missed a 3 that would’ve given the Lakers a two-possession lead, allowing the Kings to tie the game or take the lead, but Fox missed a floater over Austin Reaves and Anthony Davis corralled the defensive rebound.

Davis was later fouled by Malik Monk on a Lakers’ inbounds play with 12 seconds left in the game.

The playoffs berths are starting to get sealed up in the NWSL and that’s a good sign the season is approaching the end.

For Angel City Football Club, the end could appear quickly if they squander this week’s opportunity.

Angel City (6-11-3, 21 points) is currently in 10th place, two spots out of a playoff berth, but the club returns home for consecutive games, starting Monday against the Portland Thorns. Angel City will also host the Washington Spirt Friday.

“We need to focus on one game at a time,” Angel City coach Becki Tweed said. “The goal for every game is three points now. We know we’re disappointed not picking up any points in the last two games (vs. Seattle and at Racing Louisville) in games we should’ve picked up points. We put ourselves under a bit of pressure, and we know that every game is a must-win now.”

The Thorns (8-9-3, 27 points) have lost four consecutive games, but still hold a playoff spot in seventh place. Plus, the Thorns still have USWNT star Sophia Smith, who can take over a game at any moment.

“The biggest threat that we talked about this past week was Sophia Smith up on the front line,” Angel City defender M.A. Vignola said. “She has the ability to want and find herself in good spaces. However, I think that once we can break that first line of press, we can get her kind of out of the game and also dictate that high press on her. That’s going to be the biggest thing for us.”

The teams will also meet Nov. 1 in the regular-season finale at Portland. After this two-game home set, Angel City will play two consecutive on the road (at Seattle, Oct. 4 and North Carolina, Oct. 12).

Angel City knows in order to have something on the line in October, September needs to end on a high note.

“Portland is a really good team,” Vignola said. “We talked a lot about how with the stretch of games that they had, they’re definitely going to come into BMO with that little hunger and fire. With us being home, it’s definitely good for us to be able to take the initiative and kind of run the game.

“We need to be the ones who initiate the press. When we’re going to go, when we’re not, we just have to dictate the momentum of the game, which is going to be really important.”

Angel City is 3-6-1 at home this season. The Thorns are 3-5-2 on the road.