Sacramento Kings guard Kevin Huerter, left, fights for control of a loose ball with Denver Nuggets forward Bruce Brown in the second half in Denver on Sun Apr 9, 2023 (AP News photo)

Kings Drop Final Game of the Season to Denver 109-95

By Barbara Mason

Easter Sunday afternoon there was a lot of action in the NBA and a lot of teams fighting for position in the final standings. But, one of those games between the third place Sacramento Kings (48-34) and the first place Denver Nuggets (53-29) had nothing to do with the final standing in the Western Conference. The Nuggets got a six point win over the Kings 109-95.

Coming into this game the Nuggets were on a 3-game skid and a win would be a good thing going into the playoffs. The Kings have lost their last two games the most recent game to the Golden State Warriors 119-97. In this game the Kings did not play most of their starters giving them the night off.

The Kings got a great start in the first quarter leading 43-26. The Nuggets were playing without numerous starters. Jokic, Murray, Porter Jr. and Gordon were unable to play this games due to assorted injuries from leg tightness to inflammation to sprains.

The Kings had a halftime lead 67-59. They had played their usual starting lineup and going into the third quarter, De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis and Harrison Barnes sat for the second half.

The Nuggets took a slim lead into the fourth quarter 83-81 and finished off the Kings with a final of 109-95. Denver had outscored the Kings in the third (24-14) and fourth (26-14) quarters erasing the 17 point lead Sacramento had had in the first quarter.

Sacramento had a great start in this game despite the loss. They made six of their first seven shots from downtown before the Nuggets began to recover. The Kings only shot 35% in the final three quarters. This team came into the game as the highest -scoring team in the NBA. Harrison Barnes had the team high with 17 points even though he sat in the final 24 minutes.

Going into the playoffs the Kings hope to step it up a notch higher than they had during the regular season. The turn-around that this team has experienced this season has been nothing short of amazing. They have to be sentimental favorites going forward.

They are certainly the talk of the NBA and they deserve all the accolades thrown their way. It has been a very long since this team has been a playoff team and they will not have the post season experience that many of these teams will have.

This could hurt them, however, this is a determined group with an amazing bench and some phenomenal starters. A lot of credit for this turnaround has to go to Head Coach Mike Brown. The Kings had all the pieces and Brown knew exactly how to put them together.

The Sacramento Kings will face the sixth seed in the playoffs which was revealed today. They will face the Golden State Warriors who demolished the Trail Blazers this afternoon 157-101.