Cleveland Cavaliers Evan Mobley (4) goes for the score against the Sacramento Kings Harrison Barnes (40) and Domontas Sobonis (10) at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento on Wed Nov 9, 2022 (@Cavs photo)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO–The Sacramento Kings were back in action on Wednesday night in Sacramento. The Kings last played on Monday in San Francisco when they took on the Golden State Warriors. The Kings played an excellent and hard-fought game! Unfortunately, Stephen Curry exists, and the NBA refs are atrocious.

The Kings lost that game 116-113 in a very upsetting fashion for the Kings.

Game recap: On Wednesday, the Kings welcomed the upstart Cleveland Cavaliers into town at 7 PM PST. The Kings defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 127-120 on Wednesday night.

In the first quarter, the Kings came out swinging. The Kings put up 34 points in the third quarter compared to the Cavs 29 points. The Kings could have finished the quarter up by a more significant margin, but they didn’t finish strong. Domantas Sabonis started the game hot, scoring eight points in the first.

In the second quarter, it was a similar tale. The Kings started the quarter hot and cooled off toward the end. However, Keegan Murray led the Kings in the final minutes to stretch out the lead. The Kings defense struggled to contain the Cavs in the first half, but the offense was producing at a high clip.

The Kings managed to outscore the Cavs 69-58 in the first half, putting them on a good path to victory. The Kings were led in the first half by De’Aaron Fox, who scored 13 points for the Kings. However, the Kings have struggled to come out in the second half with energy; Wednesday night was a good test of that.

In the third quarter, the Kings defense continued to struggle. The Kings offense was the only reason the Kings were still in the game. The Kings allowed the Cavs to score 35 points in the third quarter. No doubt coach Mike Brown was disappointed by the defensive performance so far. However, the Kings still led the Cavs 97-93 heading into the game’s final 12 minutes of action.

In the fourth quarter, it was a back-and-forth battle. It was intense until the end of the game. Both teams played their hearts out, but ultimately, only one could emerge victorious. In the game’s final minutes, the Kings came up clutch to beat the Cavs.

Kevin Huerter came up with a clutch three-pointer as Malik Monk distributed the offense. The Kings outscored the Cavs 30-27 in the final quarter to come away with the win. The defense for the Kings was lacking all game. Yet, when the defense mattered most, the Kings got the job done down the stretch.

The Kings leading scorer was Domantas Sabonis, who dropped 21 points. Donavan Mitchell led the Cavs in defeat, dropping 38 points on the Kings. Nevertheless, it was a big win for the Kings, who improved to 4-6 on the season.

Up Next: The Kings travel to LA to take on the Lakers on Friday at 7 PM PST.