Doug McDermott #7 of the Sacramento Kings celebrates with Nique Clifford #5 after making a shot in the third quarter against the Brooklyn Nets at Golden 1 Center on March 22, 2026 in Sacramento, California. (Mandatory Photo Credit: Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Sacramento Kings were back in action on Sunday afternoon against the Brooklyn Nets after spending two days off at home. The Kings entered the game on Sunday with an 18-53 record, while the Nets were slightly worse, carrying a 17-53 record. It was a battle of two teams desperate for a top draft pick in hopes of turning the page on their franchises’ recent failures.

Limited by a plethora of injuries, the Kings started a depleted unit of DeMar DeRozan, Precious Achiuwa, Maxime Raynaud, Nique Clifford, and Killian Hayes. The Nets, also battling injuries and the all-but-overt tank, started a group consisting of Terance Mann, Ziaire Williams, Danny Wolf, Drake Powell, and Nolan Traore. The Kings fell to the Nets 126-122 on Sunday afternoon. 

In the first quarter, Malik Monk and Maxime Raynaud got going early for the Kings on the offensive end of the floor as they scored 12 and eight points, respectively. However, the Kings were outscored anyway by the Nets, 34-30, to take an early deficit into the game. The Nets got seven points from Danny Wolf to lead the way for them in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, the Kings and Nets mostly traded baskets as the Nets outscored the Kings 28-27. The Kings took a 62-57 deficit into halftime as neither team was able to create any real separation in the game. Maxime Raynaud continued his hot start for the Kings and added an additional nine points for the Kings in the second quarter while scoring 17 first-half points, and Precious Achiuwa added seven points for the Kings. On the Nets side, Ben Saraf led the way, scoring 10 first-half points, while Ziaire Williams and Danny Wolf were right behind, adding nine points each.

In the third quarter, the Kings flipped the script and outscored the Nets 28-20 to take a slim 85-82 lead into the fourth quarter of the game. Ziaire Williams had nine points for the Nets in the third, while Malik Monk led the Kings with six points of his own to help the Kings take the lead.

In the fourth quarter, the game transitioned to a slugfest where seemingly neither team played any defense. The Kings outscored the Nets 41-40 to take the 126-122 win over the Nets in their first meeting of the season. The Nets were led by Ben Saraf, who scored 22 points in the game, while Malachi Smith and Ziaire Williams each added 18 points in the game. The Kings were led in victory by Malik Monk, who scored 32 points, and Maxime Raynaud recorded a 22-point, 10-rebound double-double.

After the game, I asked the Kings how it has been having a veteran like Doug McDermott playing with them. Doug hit a three in the third and two threes in the fourth to finish the game with nine points on 3-4 shooting.

DeMar DeRozan was highly appreciative of Doug’s contributions this season.

“Doug is great, man,” DeMar told me after the game. “He deserves more credit. I think last year he was about ready to retire, and for him to come here, be ready, do what he been doing in this league at a high level when he gets in there, how professional he is, a lot of credit has to go to Doug. We always tell the young guys, Doug was the man back in the day, man. So for him to be the veteran guy, bring it every day, whatever is needed from him, it’s big.”

The Kings will head out on the road for a five-game road trip, starting in Charlotte on Tuesday at 4 p.m. PST.