The Sacramento Kings forward Domantas Sabonis drives to the net against the Charlotte Hornets center Nathan Mensah and guard Terry Rozier at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte on Wed Jan 10, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

There would be no ugly start for the Sacramento Kings (23-14) in Wednesday night’s game against the Charlotte Hornets (8-27). They won every quarter in the game with the final 123-98 in favor of the Kings at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte. Once again Domantas Sabonis and Keegan Murray stole the show; Sabonis with 24 points and Murray with 25.

Game recap: The Kings did have a much better start in this game than they did Wednesday night. They won the opening quarter 33-28. They went on to win the second quarter 38-31 leading at the half 71-59. The Hornets began to made a bit of a move after trailing by as much as sixteen points in the second quarter. 

Sabonis continued his stellar play with 18 points and six rebounds in the first half. Keegan Murray who had a slow start last night finished the half with 21 points en route to another terrific game. 

De’Aaron Fox who also struggled last night in the opening quarter had 13 points in the half. They also cleaned up the turnovers with only four in the first half. Sacramento had a great first half and were looking to continue to contain Terry Rozier and Miles Bridges in the second half. Rozier and Bridges were doing most of the heavy lifting for the Hornets in the first half.

Four minutes into the third quarter, the Kings had taken their largest lead of the game 82-62. The Hornets had cut the Kings 23 point lead to 15 as the third quarter expired but Sacramento continued to lead 95-80. Charlotte was having little success containing Sabonis as he continued to dominate.

With under four minutes left on the clock the Kings had this game well in hand leading 117-91. The Sacramento starters came out of the game and the bench took over. The Hornets were looking to sweep the Kings after winning their first two matchups but Sacramento had different plans. They led the entire second half winning the game 123-98 handing Charlote their 28th loss of the season.

Murray had the high for the Kings with 25 points and Sabonis was close behind with 24 points and he also had ten rebounds. Malik Monk had 20 off the bench and team leader Fox finished with 19 points. With Murray and Sabonis shooting so well it takes so much pressure off Fox which can go a long way to keeping him healthy. Right now this team doesn’t have a single injury and that is something that they really want to preserve going forward.

The Hornets got some outstanding minutes from Rozier with 22 points and Bridges with 24 points. 

Post game notes: After a scary first quarter Tuesday night against the Detroit Pistons, the Kings got a far different start in Wednesday night’s game against the Hornets. The Kings were outplayed in the first quarter of the Pistons game 47-29 and that was something that they didn’t want to see again any time soon. They were able to turn things around and win that game 131-110. The Hornets have been struggling this season losing Wednesday night to the Chicago Bulls 119-112.

Next up on this road trip for the Kings will be the Philadelphia 76ers Friday night. Both teams have similar records so this game has the makings of a real battle. The Sixers are favored to win this game. Joel Embiid is one of the Sixers main threats although he has missed his last two games with a swollen knee. He is doubtful in Friday’s game but that could change in the days leading up to Friday’s matchup. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:30 PM at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.