Sacramento Kings forward Domantas Sabonis (11) gets fired up against the San Antonio Spurs in the first half at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio on Fri Dec 6, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

Friday night the Sacramento Kings (11-13) took on the San Antonio Spurs (11-11) winning the game 140-113 and evening the score after the team had lost to the Spurs last Sunday. The starters had a tremendous effort and Keegan Murray finished the game with 17 points and three rebounds.

It is only one game but Murray has certainly taken a step in the right direction. Sabonis had another double double with 22 points and 16 rebounds. The three musketeers Domantas Sabonis, De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk all scored 22 points each.

Game recap: The Spurs got a great start leading 28-19 with three minutes left in the first 12 minutes of play. After a King’s timeout, Sacramento went to work to tie up this game at 33 and we had ourselves a ball game. The Kings made up the deficit in record time and were looking to keep it up going into the second quarter.

The Kings took a 37-33 lead in the opening minute of the second quarter but it dissolved as the Spurs took back the lead. Three minutes into the quarter the score was tied at 40 and this game had all the signs of a real battle as the lead see-sawed back and forth.

The quarter got even more interesting when the Spurs Zach Collins was ejected from the game with a personal foul. With the Spurs down two players, Wembanyama who was out with lower back soreness and then Collins with the ejection Sacramento went on to take a 48-40 lead spurred by a Keon Ellis shot from downtown.

Four King bench players were getting in on the action and had 14 points through 1 1/2 quarters. Sacramento outscored the Spurs in the second quarter 36-26 and led at the half 69-59. The Kings protected the ball well in the first half coming away with six turnovers and were shooting well in the field at 56%. Sabonis was on the edge of another double double with nine rebounds and 13 points. DeMar DeRozan and Malik Monk also had double digits in the first half. They would need to play with the same energy in the second half and would be looking to extend their lead.

The Kings did indeed take the momentum from the first half into the third quarter. After three Sacramento had extended their halftime lead to 110-86. Every starter had double digits, Sabonis had his double double and the best of all, Keegan Murray had 12 points.

Sacramento would have to tighten up to finish off the Spurs in the fourth quarter. The Kings only had six turnovers through three quarters which was another plus that could help lead them to a win over San Antonio.

The Kings had a tremendous start in the fourth quarter and held a 20 point lead at 9:23 111-91. Kevin Huerter had been spotless from downtown going 4 of 4. As the clock wore down on the game Sacramento had taken a 130-109 lead. Every starter for the Kings was having a banner game and Sacramento had evened the score after the loss to the Spurs last Sunday 140-113.

Sacramento got some great offense from the King’s starters every one of them shooting double digits. DeRozan had the high for the team with 23 points. Sabonis, Fox and Monk each had 22 points.

Murray broke out of his funk scoring 17 points with six rebounds. It is only one game but it is sure a step in the right direction for Murray. The team only had 11 turnovers and shot 56% from the field. It was a badly needed win for Sacramento. Huerter was perfect from downtown hitting four shots and finished with 16 points off the bench.

Game notes: Western Conference battle last Tuesday evening, the Kings went onto lose to the Memphis Grizzlies 115-110 Thursday night and so it was back to the drawing board. The Kings were struggling dropping seven of their last ten games but managed a big win in San Antonio Friday night.

Something was going terribly wrong with this team but they seemed to have shaken it off on Friday with that outpouring of scoring. The talent on the team is undeniable as they got some answers against the Spurs.

Friday night they played in San Antonio taking on a team that beat them last Sunday 127-125 and got a little payback. They were riding a rocky road before Friday’s game. Along for the ride is Murray who had also struggled but scored 17 points against the Spurs.

Murray has fought through his miserable streak. The Kings had hoped that Murray was potentially a breakout player in this 2024-25 season. Murray had gone five straight games without a free throw in fact he has not gotten to the line in 11 of his last 12 games previous to Friday.

When the Kings signed DeRozan the thought was that DeRozan’s presence would open up some great looks for Murray. At age 24, Murray has gotten looks but his accuracy was not been very good but Friday he finished third in scoring.

Last season Murray had a 15 points per game average which is hardly the case this year he hopes after this game Friday he might have corrected that. He has been on a roll defensively and there is the hope and he was able to play some catch up Friday.

The Kings now return home to Sacramento to take on the Utah Jazz Sunday evening looking to start a string of wins; something they have not seen for awhile now. Tipoff for that game is scheduled for 6:00 PM.