Sacramento Kings guard Keon Ellis (23) plays defense against the Phoenix Suns guard Bradley Beal (3) in first half action at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento

By Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO–The Sacramento Kings were back in action on Friday night in Sacramento. The Kings welcomed the Phoenix Suns into town for the second to last game of the regular season. The Suns were coming off a rest day after last playing on Wednesday night.

The Kings were on the second night of a back-to-back after playing on Thursday night. The Kings lost to the Pelicans on Thursday night 135-123. On Friday, the Kings and Suns tipped off at 7:40 PM PST inside Golden One Center. The Kings lost to the Suns 108-107.

In the first quarter, the Kings defense came out strong. The Kings held the Suns to only 22 points in the first quarter. The Kings came out of the gate with much more physicality than they did in the game a night prior against the Pelicans. The Kings offense would put up 27 points in the first quarter to take the quick lead. The Kings would go into the second quarter leading by five points, 27-25. Domas Sabonis was the Kings leading scorer after the first with 11 points.

In the second quarter, the Kings were able to extend the lead. The Kings outscored the Suns in the second quarter 27-23 to extend the lead to nine points going into halftime. The Kings defense managed to hold the Suns to a sub-50 point first half, only allowing 45 points. The Kings would score 54 points in the first half to take a 54-45 lead into halftime. The Kings were led in scoring in the first quarter by Domas Sabonis, who scored 16 points. Leading the way in the first half for the Suns was Kevin Durant, who scored 18 points.

In the third quarter, the Suns were able to come back and bring the game a bit closer heading to the fourth quarter. The Suns outscored the Kings 33-31 in the third quarter to cut the lead to seven points. The Kings would lead going into the fourth quarter 85-78. Kevin Durant was leading the Suns through three quarters with 24 points. Domas Sabonis was leading the Kings heading into the fourth with 25 points. The Kings would need to find the energy to hold off the Suns in the final quarter of action.

In the fourth quarter, the game took an all too familiar turn for Kings fans. The Kings were up four points with 1:02 seconds left in the game. Domantas Sabonis made an errant pass that was picked off by Bradley Beal and scored at the other end. From that point, the Kings could never regain control of the game. The Kings would go onto lose after turning the ball over on the final possession of the game 108-107. The Kings were outscored in the fourth quarter 30-22. The Kings were led in defeat by Domas Sabonis who scored 25 points. Kevin Durant led the Suns to victory with 28 points.

Up Next: The Kings will stay home for the final game of the regular season on Sunday. The Kings will take on the Portland Trail Blazers at 12:30 PM PST.