The Phoenix Sun Devin Booker (1) tries to drive to the basket on the Sacramento Kings Richaun Holmes (left) in the first quarter of their game at Walking Stick Arena in downtown Phoenix on Sat Dec 26, 2020 (AP News photo)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

The Sacramento Kings have started the season off right. They were able to beat the Denver Nuggets last Wednesday on the opening night of the season. On Saturday night, the Kings were set to take on the Phoenix Suns.

The Suns wrapped up the season on a high note last year. After making the bubble, they were able to make all their games going 8-0 in Orlando. In the offseason, they managed to add veteran point guard Chris Paul. The Suns then started the season off right by beating the formidable Dallas Mavericks in their first game. The Suns and Kings matchup was going to be a quality comparison of talent. The Kings out scored the Suns and were able to hold onto a 106-103 three point victory.

In the game the Kings jumped out to an early lead outscoring the Suns 31-25 in the first quarter. For the most part, the Kings were able to hold the lead going into halftime by a score of 59-54. The Kings had been playing a strong game up until this point. The key for them going forward was not giving up a “meltdown” quarter.

In the second half, the Kings did not give up any monster quarters. However, at times in the second half, the Kings did slip into their old ways. The encouraging part for the Kings was the ability to stop the bleeding and get back on track. The Kings and Suns matched pace in the third each scoring 25 points. The Kings weren’t able to replicate the offensive success in the first half in the last quarter but they did just enough to hold on. The Suns out scored the Kings 24-23 but the Kings were able to hold on 106-103 for the win.

The Kings got a tremendous performance from De’Aaron Fox as he scored 24 points and had seven assists. Devin Booker led the way for the Suns with 26 points. Harrison Barnes had 11 rebounds compared to the Suns Deandre Ayton who had 12.

Up next: The Kings will run it back against the Suns on Sunday at 6 PM PST at the Golden One Center.