Sacramento Kings forwards Trey Lyles, right, and KZ Okpala, second from left, fight for the rebound against Cleveland Cavaliers forward Cedi Osman, second from right, at Rocket Mortgage Field House in Cleveland on Fri Dec 9, 2022 (AP News photo)

Kings Handle Cleveland 106-95

By Barbara Mason

Friday night the Sacramento Kings (14-10) took on the Cleveland Cavaliers (16-10) at Rocket Mortgage Field House. The Kings were without De’Aaron Fox who has been dealing with right foot soreness for awhile now. He has not been right for a few games especially offensively. He will really benefit from some time off which will serve not only himself but the team better down the road.

Donovan Mitchell (out with a hamstring injury ) or Kevin Love for Cleveland so both team’s season leaders Mitchell and Fox missed Friday’s game. Mitchell had a monster game Tuesday night shooting for 43 points so he will be missed by Cleveland. The Kings moved fast on offense and created some key shots in their 106-95 win over the Cavaliers.

The Kings started Davion Mitchell, Kevin Huerter, Harrison Barnes, Keegan Murray and Domantas Sabonis. Defensive rebounding for Sacramento will play a huge role in this game.

The Kings came out fast in the first quarter taking a 24-11 lead with 3:00 left on the clock. The Kings Barnes and Murray were perfect from downtown. Murray hit four three’s and Barnes had 2 of 2. Sacramento also had 12 rebounds to Cleveland’s seven rebounds. The Kings led after the opening quarter 31-20. Sacramento had done exactly what they needed to do to start this game.

The Kings were able to hold a double digit lead minutes into the second quarter. That lead began to slip away with seven minutes left in the half, although, they held onto a 37-30 lead. The Kings started missing shots and turnovers played a role in the Cavalier surge. The Kings had scored 31 points in the first quarter and 18 in the second. The 15 point lead the Kings had held evaporated and at the half the two teams were tied at 49.

The third quarter remained close and at the finish, the Cavaliers held an 80-79 lead. The Kings continued to fight hard and going into the fourth quarter it became apparent that Sacramento had the ability to win this game. They had to clean up the turnovers and avoid forcing shots and continue to challenge Cleveland on every possession.

With under two minutes left in the game the Kings had taken back the lead 101-95. They fought hard blocking shots, drawing fouls and sinking three’s. Sacramento took a 103-95 lead with 35.4 ticks left on the game clock.

The Kings had a great offensive effort with Barnes the high score shooting for 20 points. Huerter had 19 and Murray and Sabonis each had 18 points. Sabonis also had an amazing 19 rebounds.

Caris Levert was the high for the Cavaliers with 22 points.

The Kings continue on this road trip traveling to New York to take on the Knicks Sunday afternoon. Tipoff is scheduled for 3:00 PM.