Every basket counted in this one as the Stockton Kings put away the visiting Texas Legends at Adventist Health in Stockton on Sun Jan 26, 2025 (Stockton Kings X)

By William Espy

STOCKTON–The 10-2 Stockton Kings hosted the 4-7 Texas Legends on Sunday afternoon, as Stockton swept a back-to-back series 108-104 against Texas following a win on Friday.

The Kings struggled with protecting the ball early on, having five turnovers, four of which were Legends’ steals, in the first six minutes. Ultimately, that would be one of many factors that caused Stockton to trail by 11 points after the first quarter. Texas entered the second quarter with a 30-19 lead.

Texas carried their momentum into the second, with a couple energizing dunks in the first couple of minutes. Dexter Dennis was hitting some shots as well though, which was helping lessen Texas’s lead. The Kings made a dent in the lead, cutting it down to eight points before halftime, and the Legends led 58-50.

The Kings would cut that lead to just two points in the opening minutes of the third. Stockton would go on to score a total of 26 in the third quarter, and led 76-75 after 36 minutes. Obviously at that point, it was anyone’s game heading into the final quarter of the game.

The Legends came out fighting in the fourth quarter, but weren’t able to keep up when all was said and done. Led by Colby Jones’ 24 points, the Kings walked away with a narrow, 108-104 victory. Sweeping the back-to-back is the latest in a considerable number of great accomplishments the Kings have had so far this season. While Isaac Jones didn’t drop the same amount of points we’ve grown accustomed to seeing from him over the past few games, he finished with 13 points, and more importantly a team-leading 14 rebounds.

Tyson Walker dropped 28 for the Legends in their losing effort, but was pretty inefficient in doing so. He went 13-29 from the field and 2-9 from beyond the arc, had he hit a couple more of his shots then the outcome would have easily been very different. Jamarion Sharp made an impact defensively for the Legends though, getting five blocks over the course of the night.

The Kings will be back at home for the remainder of the week, with their next two outings being against the Grand Rapids Gold on Tuesday and Thursday night. Stockton will be looking to extend their five game winning streak, and continue separating themselves in the standings, against the struggling affiliate of the Denver Nuggets.