Category: NBA

Zach LaVine taking a quick rest during the game on Thursday night (Photo: Sacramento Kings on X)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO — The Sacramento Kings were back in action on Thursday night in Sacramento. The Kings, on the heels of a four-game losing streak, reeling from losing and an illness making its way through the locker room, welcomed in the Portland Trail Blazers. The game tipped off at 7 PM PST as the Kings defeated the Trail Blazers 128-107.

In the first quarter, the Kings played a very impressive and fluid first quarter. The Kings outscored the Trail Blazers 36-27 to take the early lead in the game. Keegan Murray got going early with nine points and three rebounds to lead the Kings in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, the Kings continued to put pressure on the Trail Blazers as they again outscored them. The Kings managed 32 points in the second compared to the Blazers’ 23 points. The Kings went into halftime leading 68-50 and in complete control of the game. The Kings shot 35% from three and 64% from the field in the first half compared to 24% and 36%, respectively, for the Trail Blazers. Zach LaVine led the Kings with 20 first-half points as Deni Avdija paced the Trail Blazers with 17 points.

In the third quarter, the Trail Blazers made their first real push on the Kings as both teams scored 32 points in the quarter. For the moment, the Trail Blazers stopped the bleeding and hoped for a miracle comeback in the fourth quarter. The Kings led 100-82 as the game headed into the final frame of the game. Domantas Sabonis had a monster third in which he scored 14 points to bring his game total to 22 points after three quarters.

In the fourth quarter, the Kings sealed the deal and handed the Trail Blazers a 128-107 loss. The Kings outscored the Blazers 28-25 in the fourth as the Blazers struggled to mount any offense late. The Kings were led in victory by Zach LaVine, who scored 29 points in the win. Deni Avdija paced the Blazers in defeat with 24 points.

With the win, the Kings remain in the ninth seed and are .5 games ahead of the Dallas Mavericks in 10th. The Phoenix Suns are one game behind the Kings for the ninth spot.

Up Next: The Kings go on the road to take on the Orlando Magic on Saturday at 2 PM PST.

Zach LaVine shoots during the Kings vs Thunder Tuesday night inside Golden 1 Center. (Photo: Sacramento Kings on X)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO — On Tuesday, the Kings were reeling after losing their third in a row to the Boston Celtics the night before. On the second night of a back-to-back, the Kings welcomed in the NBA’s best team, the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder came into Sacramento just a win shy of 60 wins on the season.

Pregame, Doug Christie addressed what Zach LaVine had described as “bad vibes” after the loss to the Celtics. “He was incorrect,” Doug said of the bad vibes. “I think when you ask a question like that, after going through a bit of a losing streak, it’s more about not being happy that you lost,” Doug continued. Regardless of where the locker room was, Doug wasn’t going to let any rumors continue about the so-called “bad vibes.”

In what has been a historic season for the Thunder so far, they came into Sacramento to face the Kings at 7 PM PST. The Thunder took care of the Kings with ease, 121-105.

In the first quarter, the Kings were getting it handed to them by the Thunder. The Thunder outscored the Kings 31-21 in the first to get off to a hot start. The Kings’ energy and effort were not matching what OKC was giving them early.

In the second quarter, it was more of the same for the Kings. The lack of physicality and effort cost the Kings as the Thunder outscored them 33-21 in the second quarter. The Thunder took a 64-42 lead into halftime, with hopes of winning their 60th game of the season. In the first half, the Kings shot 36% from three and 37% from the field as the Thunder pulled away. On the other hand, the Thunder shot 57% from three, 59% from the field, and 100% from the line on six attempts in the first half. Domantas Sabonis was the Kings’ leading scorer at halftime with 10 points. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander paced the Thunder with 18 first-half points.

In the third, the Kings flipped the script on the Thunder. The Kings’ offense caught fire in the third as they ran the Thunder out of the gym, outscoring them 39-25 in the quarter. The Kings, led by Keegan Murray, Keon Ellis, and Jake LaRavia, showed some signs of life. The Kings went into the final frame down 89-81.

Unfortunately, the Kings couldn’t keep up the energy in the fourth. The Thunder took back over the game in the fourth and outscored the Kings 32-24 to seal the victory, 121-105. It was another disappointing loss for the Kings. However, it was not surprising on the second night of a back-to-back. The Kings were led in scoring by Keegan Murray, who had 28 points in the game. The leading scorer for the Thunder was Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who led all scorers with 32 points.

After the game, a game in which the Kings failed to have the needed effort early to keep the game close—a common occurrence for the team this year—I asked Doug Christie if he has seen any improvements in the team’s process in approaching games.

“The ability to manifest is one… we talked last game about shooting 24 threes, unacceptable… so we had a conversation, some film, and they go out and shoot 48 threes, they get 32 assists. You demonstrate that is who you are and that’s what you can do… But again, the consistency at what you do is gonna say how high you go. For that group [Kings], sky’s the limit.”

Doug isn’t normally a moral victory guy. However, on Tuesday night, it seemed he was trying to highlight the fight he saw in his team in the third quarter.

With the loss, the Kings fell to 35-37 and are a game under .500 at home with a record of 18-19.

Key Performers:
Keegan Murray made 9-13 threes to score 28 points in the game.
Zach LaVine scored 19 points on 7-16 from the floor.

Playoff Picture: With the loss, the Kings are 35-37 on the season, which is good enough for a tie for 9th/10th with Phoenix in the Western Conference. The Kings are .5 games up on the Dallas Mavericks for the 11th seed.

Up Next: The Kings will stay home for an off day on Wednesday prior to Thursday when they welcome the Portland Trail Blazers to Golden 1 Center. Tip-off is set for 7 PM PST.

Domantas Sabonis goes to the basket defended by Kristaps Porziņģis in the Sacramento Kings battle with the Boston Celtics on Monday night. (Photo: Sacramento Kings on X)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO — Golden 1 Center was full of green for the game on Monday night. If you were in the building, you may have wondered if the A’s were holding a fanfest.

No, the Boston Celtics came to town, and the reigning NBA champs were heavily supported by traveling fans and local Celtics fans. The Kings were coming off a loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday, while the Celtics were on the second night of a back-to-back after defeating the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday in Portland.

The last time these two teams played was in Boston on January 10th, when the Kings beat the Celtics 114-97. I asked Doug Christie pregame if he thought the Celtics would have a little extra after the Kings blew them out in Boston. “I would say the only thing in our league is that you can use some things as motivation, especially when you are champions. The one that you do know is that they will not look past you. I think that is the biggest thing.”

On Monday, the game tipped off at 7 PM PST at Golden 1 Center as the Celtics handed the Kings a 113-95 defeat.

In the first quarter, the Kings hit first with good physicality and active hands leading to offensive opportunities. Five minutes and forty-four seconds into the game, the Kings led by nine and had control of the game. Soon after, the Celtics made a run of their own to close the quarter. The Celtics would end up outscoring the Kings 30-29 in the first quarter thanks to a buzzer-beater three from Payton Pritchard.

In the second, the Kings battled. However, the Boston offensive attack was good enough for them to pick up a five-point, 56-51 lead going into the halftime break. The Kings were playing the Celtics well on the defensive end of the floor, but there’s only so much you can do to contain them. Jayson Tatum and Payton Pritchard led the Celtics in scoring in the first half with 17 and 14, respectively. Domantas Sabonis and Keegan Murray led the Kings in the first half, each scoring 10 points.

The Kings needed to match the defensive intensity from the first half to defeat the Celtics.

In the second half, the Kings were plainly outmatched. The Celtics outscored the Kings 32-27 in the third and 25-17 in the fourth. In the third, Jayson Tatum would go down as he rolled his ankle on a Domantas Sabonis closeout on a three-pointer. Tatum made 1 of 2 of his free throws, left the game, and would not return. The Celtics remained unbothered by his absence as they defeated the Kings 113-95. There’s not much more to the story than that. The Kings fought, but ultimately, the offense became ISO-focused, and the ball stopped moving. The Kings desperately need to figure out how to close games as a team or they will soon find themselves outside of the play-in picture.

After the game, Doug summarized the night saying, “Disappointing. The areas we really need to be good in is creating extra possessions, offensive rebounds, turning them over. We weren’t able to do that and we need to shoot threes at a higher clip… points of emphasis.” I asked Doug how they get more three-pointers up, and he said, “It has got to be one, two dribbles at the most and kick it out… just the ability to move the basketball, and we can’t hold onto it too long.”

With the loss, the Kings fell to 35-36. The Kings need to right the ship in a hurry if they want to hold onto a play-in game spot at season’s end.

Key Performers:
DeMar DeRozan led the Kings with 20 points on an inefficient 9-24 shooting.

Playoff Picture:
The Kings fell to 35-36 on the season and are only 0.5 games in front of the Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks for the 11th seed in the Western Conference.

Up Next: The Kings stay home to face the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday at 7 PM PST inside Golden 1 Center.