Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic makes for the hoop against Sacramento Kings center Alex Len (right) at the Golden One Center in Sacramento on Wed Mar 9, 2022 (AP News photo)  

By Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO–The Sacramento Kings (24-44) were back in action on Wednesday night in Sacramento. The Kings welcomed the Denver Nuggets (40-26) into town. The Kings last played on Monday night which turned into an ugly blowout to the New York Knicks. The Kings played a solid first half against the Knicks, but fell apart in the second half to lose the game 131-115.

On Wednesday, the Kings were hoping for a different outcome against the formidable Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets beat the Kings 106-100 on Wednesday night. Lets take a look on what led to this result.

In the first quarter, it was the Nikola Jokic show for Denver and the Trey Lyles show for the Kings. Jokic started the game by scoring 15 points in the first quarter as his counterpart at the center position Trey Lyles scored 12. The Kings were outscored 31-29 in what was a competitive first quarter. The second quarter got ugly for the Kings.

In the second quarter, Nikola Jokic coninued to pour it on the Kings scoring nine points to get his total at halftime to 24 points. The Kings defense struggled to contain the Nuggets at large as they allowed them to score 31 points in the second quarter. On the other hand, the Kings offense didn’t pick up the slack on the offensive end.

The Kings scored 21 points in the second quarter to take a 63-51 deficit into halftime. Trey Lyles had a quiet second quarter but led the Kings in the first half with 14 points. The Kings were within striking distance if they could get back on track on the defensive end.

In the third quarter, De’Aaron Fox had his best quarter of the game. De’Aaron scored nine points in the third to lead all scorers. Nikola Jokic was hot on his heels but only managed seven points, Overall the Kings outpaced the Nuggets by the toon of 26-17 to get the game into toss up territory for either team to win. Could the Kings win the fourth and beat the favored Nuggets?

In the fourth quarter the Kings weren’t able to get the job done. It was a nail biting finish, but the Kings came up short by the final of 106-100. The Kings fought hard in the final quarter, but Nikola Jokic proved too much to overcome.

The Kings were outscored 26-24 in the final quarter as they just couldn’t edge the Nuggets. Nikola Jokic showed why he was the MVP of the league last year and is the leading candidate this season. Jokic finished with an impressive 38 points and 18 rebounds. For the Kings, De’Aaron Fox led the way scoring 32 points and adding ten assists.

Up Next: The Kings will look to rebound in their next games on Saturday against the Utah Jazz in Utah.