San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) is defended by the Sacramento Kings forward Domantas Sabonis (right) at Frost Bank in San Antonio on Mon Nov 11, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

The Sacramento Kings (6-4) came out in the first quarter with great energy winning the first 12 minutes against the San Antonio Spurs (4-6) 26-22. That was about all they could muster losing the game 116-96. The Spurs won all of the remaining quarters in the game.

The overtime win yesterday over the Suns weighed on the team. They had lost their sixth man Malik Monk to injury in that game and they will happily hop a plane and head home to Sacramento for a four game home-stand which begins on Wednesday.

Game recap: The answer came early for Sacramento. They took a first quarter lead 26-22. They continued to push that lead in the second quarter taking a 33-27 lead to open the second 12 minutes.

The Spurs continued to push the issue pulling to within one point 33-32 after having trailed by nine points earlier in the quarter. At 7:36 the Spurs took the lead 37-36. Sacramento took back to lead but by the slimmest of margins and this game went back and forth. San Antonio’s superstar Victor Wembanyama had scored 13 points in 13 minutes. Sacramento would have pull out all the stops dismiss their fatigue and fight for this one.

At the half, the Spurs led 60-55 after trailing by nine points. Had fatigue caught up with the Kings? We would find out in the second half of play.

In the third quarter, the Kings just plain ran out of steam. They were missing shot after shot and after three the Spurs had a 84-71 lead. Sacramento typically has had some very productive fourth quarters and they would need to step up both their offense and defense if they would have any chance in this game.

The Spurs continued to extend their lead in the fourth quarter leaving the Kings in the dust. With 10:13 left in the game the Kings trailed by the score of 75-87. Victor Wembanyaama had already hit 25 points with 12 rebounds.

Kevin Huerter had not hit a single three and with 8:19 left in the game the Spurs had a 95-78 lead. Huerter had only scored two points, and Keegan Murray had hit five points. Sacramento had a lot of ground to make up and they had to get within striking distance in the final three minutes of this game.

It just didn’t happen. The Kings fell further and further behind and with less than a minute left in the game trailed 116-96. That would be the final and Sacramento had suffered a 20 point loss.

The Kings protected the ball well in this game with only 11 turnovers but the missed shots weighed heavy on the outcome of the game. Sacramento hit 10 threes but the Spurs were on fire scoring 22 shots from outside and the Kings couldn’t manage Victor Wembanyama.

He hit six shots from downtown, had 14 rebounds and finished the game with 34 points. The Kings Kevin Huerter finished the game with a disappointing two points and Keegan Murray was equally disappointing with five points. The team will be happy to put this game behind them as they head home for a four-game home-stand. It was close to being one of their worst games this season.

Game recap: Monday night the Kings took on the Spurs (4-6) at Frost Bank Center. The Spurs are on a downward trend losing three of their past five games. Saturday night their Head Coach Greg Popovich became seriously ill and missed the game and will not be on the bench for this game.

This has been a blow for the team attributing to part of their decline. The Kings suffered a loss of their own Sunday night in Phoenix losing Malik Monk to a right ankle sprain. There is so far no indication as to the seriousness of the injury nor a timeline for his return.

The Kings really need their sixth man since their bench has been a bit lackluster although Keon Ellis has been a defensive powerhouse. The Kings came into this game after beating the Phoenix Sun handing them their second loss of the year 127-118 on Sunday. It was an epic battle and the question remains; how much gas do these guys have left in the tank.

Tuesday will be a travel day for the team. They will be grateful to get some much needed rest on Tuesday before taking on the Phoenix Suns Wednesday night at Golden 1 Center. Tipoff for that game is scheduled for 7:00 PM. In the coming days the Kings will be watching for some update on the extent and possible return date of Malik Monk.