Darius Acuff Jr. #5 of the Sacramento Kings drives to the basket against Anthony Black #0 of the Orlando Magic in the second quarter at Golden 1 Center on November 10, 2026 in Sacramento, California. (Mandatory photo credit: Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
By Jeremiah Salmonson
SACRAMENTO–The Kings welcomed the Orlando Magic to Sacramento on Tuesday for a 7 p.m. tilt as neither team has had the start they wanted to the 2026 season. The Kings were coming off their ninth loss of the season on Sunday against the Miami Heat, while the Magic were fresh off a hard-fought loss in Golden State on Saturday.
On Tuesday night, the Kings fell to the Magic 107-100 in front of a sparse Golden 1 Center crowd of 13,573.
In the first quarter, the Kings got down early to the Magic as Anthony Black started the game on a tear for the Magic, scoring 12 points. As the quarter began winding down, the Magic led the Kings 34-20 as Doug Christie called a timeout to settle the game down. After the timeout, the Kings managed to battle their way back and went on a 7-0 run to end the quarter, closing the gap to 34-27. De’Andre Hunter led the Kings in scoring in the first quarter as he finished with seven points to start the game.
Opening the second quarter, the Kings stayed on their 7-0 run to end the first and added an 11-0 run to open the second quarter. Between the end of the first and the start of the second, the Kings combined to go on an 18-0 run to take a 38-34 lead.
Golden 1 Center was buzzing, and the Kings tried to keep the pressure on the Magic going into halftime. Unfortunately for Kings fans, the Magic battled their way back and outscored the Kings 23-14 in the second quarter to take a 57-52 lead into halftime.
It was an encouraging comeback for the Kings, but they needed to maintain high defensive intensity in the second half to keep it a competitive game. For the Magic, Franz Wagner and Anthony Black led the way, scoring 16 points each in the opening two quarters of the game. On the Kings side, it was Zach LaVine and Darius Acuff Jr. with 15 and 14 points, respectively, in the first half of the game.
In the third quarter, it was the Magic who went right back to applying pressure on the Kings. The Magic outscored the Kings 27-24 in the third quarter to expand their lead to 84-76 heading into the final quarter of action. It was Franz Wagner for the Magic and Darius Acuff Jr. for the Kings who paced their teams on the offensive end of the floor as they scored 10 and nine points, respectively. The Kings went into the fourth quarter trailing the Magic by eight and in need of a miracle quarter to mount a comeback.
In the fourth quarter, it looked over for the Kings for the better part of it. However, the Kings managed to battle back late in the quarter thanks to two late 3-point baskets from Zach LaVine to pull the Kings to within five at one point, with the score at 103-98. However, the Magic settled the game down late and were able to defeat the Kings 107-100. The Kings did outscore the Magic in the fourth, 24-23, but it proved too little, too late for the Kings, who remain winless at home.
The Magic were led in scoring by Franz Wagner, who dropped a 33-point game on the Kings. Anthony Black was the second-leading scorer for the Magic as he scored 26 points.
For the Kings, Zach LaVine led the way in scoring with 31 points, while Darius Acuff Jr. trailed just behind as he scored 29 of his own.
After the game, the frustration from the Kings was palpable.
Darius Acuff Jr. told the media after the game, “I just don’t know man, 1-10 just doesn’t sound right.”
Zach LaVine also shared his frustration with the losing streak and his turnovers (five) on Tuesday.
“I had careless turnovers and it’s a momentum shifter and it sucks because our margin for error isn’t good enough for that,” LaVine said after the game. “We’re trying to find one [a win] obviously. We’re trying to win a game and… we don’t have room for error.”
With the loss, the Kings are now 1-10 to start the season, which is tied for the worst start in franchise history with the 1990-91 Kings.
The Kings will stay home to take on the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday at 7 p.m. PST inside Golden 1 Center.
