Orlando Magic guard Cole Anthony, right, gets fouled by Sacramento Kings guard Davion Mitchell at the Amway Center in Orlando Sat Mar 26, 2022 (AP News photo)

Kings Hold Off Magic In Overtime 114-110

By Barbara Mason

Saturday night the Sacramento Kings (27-48) took on the Orlando Magic (20-55) at Amway Center. Neither team is playoff bound. Orlando sits at the bottom of the Eastern Conference while the Kings are in 13th place in the Western Conference. The Kings made work of the Magic picking up their 27th win of the season with a 114-110 win on Saturday in overtime.

It is hard to believe that there are only eight games left in the season. In their last meeting back on Dec 8th in Sacramento the Kings came away with a 142-130 win. The Magic were slightly favored in this game playing at home.

The Kings are coming off a win against the Indiana Pacers in a close one 110-109 last Thursday. The high scorer in this game was Davion Mitchell who shot for 25 points and had 7 assists. The rookie has really been elevating his game since moving into the starting lineup last week.

He is averaging 26.5 points and eight assists in the last two games. In the Kings win over the Pacers seven players reached double digits. The team were relying heavily on Mitchell since De’Aaron Fox will not take the court tonight with a hand injury.

The Kings got a fast start in the first quarter taking a 41-28 lead, a high scoring quarter for Sacramento. The Magic started to turn things around in their favor outscoring the Kings 34-25 in the second quarter and at the half the Kings were holding onto a slim 66-62 lead.

Davion Mitchell was carrying the load in this game scoring 20 pts though three quarters. The Magic took a slim lead after three quarters 84-81. Franz Wagner and Mo Bamba were keeping Orlando in this game.

The Kings had to contain Wagner and Bamba going into the fourth quarter. Finishing games has been a problem for Sacramento this year and they need to finish this one if they hope to win. With five minutes left in the game the Magic held a slim 98-95 lead.

With 3:36 left in the game the Magic were making a move and the Kings were having trouble defending it. With the Magic continuing to lead 105-98 and 1:14 left in the game the Kings fought back and when the quarter came to an end the score was tied at 105 and they would go into overtime. The Kings had a second chance.

With 33.2 seconds left in overtime the score remained tied at 110. The Kings would take a 113-110 lead with 12 ticks left on the clock.

The Kings would hang onto this game and finish off the Magic in overtime. This was a gutsy performance by Sacramento with once again seven players scoring in double digits, Mitchell was the high with 22 points, nine assists and seven rebounds.

The Kings will next be facing the Eastern Conference leading Miami Heat. Tipoff Is scheduled for Monday at 4:30 PM.