Malik Monk Effort Not Enough To Get Past Knicks Losing 143-120; Kings lose second in a row; Is Sac reverting to their old ways?

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New York Knicks Jalen Brunson (right) takes a jump shot against the Sacramento Kings Malik Monk (left) in the second half at Madison Square Garden in New York on Sat Jan 25, 2025 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

The Sacramento Kings (22-23) hung in their game against the New York Knicks (30-16) in the first half but fell apart in the fourth quarter losing 143-120. Sacramento went on a 23-6 run in the second quarter to get close but they just could not get on top of the Knicks who are third in the Eastern Conference. Malik Monk had the high for the Kings with 31 points and Domantas Sabonis had a triple double with 25 points 13 rebounds and 12 assists. De’Aaron Fox finished with 14 points but was hampered by a right hand thumb sprain which really messed with his shot.

Game recap: The Kings had the lead in the early minutes of the first quarter 13-12 at 7:44. This is when the Knicks got going after a slow start peeling off six points in a row. Sacramento trailed by single digits through most of the opening quarter but came apart at the three minute mark. New York began to hit shot after shot and led 38-25 after the first 12 minutes.

Sacramento continued to trail in the second quarter, their largest deficit 19 points. In the closing minutes of the half the Kings went on a run after trailing by as much as 18 points throughout the second quarter getting within five points with 1:49 left in the second quarter. Sacramento continued to play hard offensively going on a 23-6 run and at the half the Kings trailed by the score of 72-67. Everything was going the Kings way down the stretch in the second quarter.

Sacramento’s Malik Monk sparked the Kings offense in the second quarter and finished the half with 23 points. Domantas Sabonis was well on his way to another double double with 16 points and eight rebounds. Fox struggled offensively scoring five points and one rebound trying to work around his thumb injury. He was two of 10 in the first half shooting poorly hampered by his injury.

The Knicks Og Anunoby had the high for his team with 20 points followed by Jalen Brunson with 12 points and Karl Anthony Towns with ten points and nine rebounds. Both teams were hot at the line, the Kings shooting 100% from the free throw line and the Knicks with 90%. Turnovers were minimal for both teams.

Sacramento would be looking to take the energy they finished the half with into the third quarter. They would need as much as possible from their bench and solid offense from DeMar DeRozan, Murray and Fox who had been quiet. The way they finished the first half is exactly the way they would need to start the third quarter and finish the game.

The Knicks were unable to extend their lead in the early minutes of the third quarter. The Kings continued to nip at the heels of New York trailing by seven points at 8:46 76-83. The Knicks threatened to build their lead taking a ten-point lead 76-86 but the Kings battled back to a single digit deficit 86-80.

With 6:02 left in the third quarter the Kings trailed by two points 88-90. As the quarter began to wind down, New York began to extend their lead 102-94 as the Knicks refused to give up the lead. The Kings got close but could not get over the top. As the quarter came to an end, the Knicks had established a 111-100 lead.

A number of minutes expired at the start of the fourth quarter as both nets were examined confirming that they were both level. Players had complained that the baskets were not level. So after a ten-minute delay play got back underway.

The layoff did not hamper the Knicks at all as they pushed their lead out to 116-102. With 6:18 left in the game and trailing 131-110, the Kings had to make a move or risk losing a second game in a row which has not been done since interim Head Coach Doug Christie took over.

This was the largest Knicks lead of the game. While the Kings only had ten turnovers in the game, most of them came in the fourth quarter when they fell apart offensively. The final was 143-120.

Malik Monk had the high for the Kings with 31 points and every starter for Sacramento had double figures. Domantas Sabonis had a triple double with 25 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists.

Fox put out a valiant effort finishing with 14 points but it was obvious that his thumb injury really hurt his shooting. This was the first time the team had lost two games in a row since Doug Christie had taken over as Head Coach.

The Knicks had the game high with Og Anunoby turning in 33 points and every New York player finished with double digits. Josh Hart had a triple double with 20 points, 18 rebounds and 11 assists.

Game notes: After losing to the Denver Nuggets Wednesday night 132-123, the Sacramento Kings traveled to New York for a matchup with the Eastern Conference Knicks. The Knicks are currently in third place in the standings a couple of games behind the second place Celtics.

After the Kings loss to the Nuggets, they dropped into ninth place in the Western Conference. Besides wanting to get back on track after the loss, the Kings do not want to lose any more ground in the standings.

Sacramento has been struggling with slow starts and a slew of open missed shots. De’Aaron Fox is currently struggling with a thumb injury, a right thumb sprain but is slated to start in this game. He will wear a sleeve on his thumb which will not do a lot for his shot.

This was be another tough matchup for Sacramento after a rough game against Denver where they trailed by as much as 25 points in the game. The Kings needed to tighten up their defense which was a quite a problem in their last game.

The Knicks lead the league in points so Sacramento needed a solid defensive effort and fell short. New York came into this game after having had a number of days off and they were well rested. The Kings are currently on a six-game road trip.

The Kings continue on their six-game road trip traveling to Brooklyn for a date with the Nets Monday night. Tipoff for that game is scheduled for 4:30 PM as Sacramento will be looking to get back on the winning track and break their two-game losing streak.

Shaw’s OT winner completes comeback for Marlies in 4-3 win over the Barracuda

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Toronto Marlies center Joesph Blandisi toppled over San Jose Barracuda winger Thomas Bordeleau during the Marlies 3-2 win over the Barracuda at Tech CU Arena on Saturday JAN 25, 2025. (San Jose Barracuda)

by Marko Ukalovic

SAN JOSE — Logan Shaw scored the game winning goal on the power play a minute into overtime to give the Toronto Marlies a 4-3 victory over the San Jose Barracuda on Saturday afternoon at Tech CU Arena.

San Jose have lost three out of their last four games. Toronto has won four games in a row.

Shaw cleaned up the rebound off of an Alex Steeves shot from the left slot for his fifth goal of the season at the 1:05 mark of the overtime period that completed a comeback for the Marlies who were down 2-0 after the opening 20 minutes.

Toronto (22-10-2-3-49 points), who made its first ever trip to the South Bay, had the game’s first scoring opportunity when Jimmy Schuldt went into the sinbin for hooking at the 11:20 mark of the first period. ‘Cuda goalie Georgi Romanov and San Jose’s penalty kill kept the Marlies off the board.

San Jose (21-13-2-2-46 points) took advantage of their power play opportunity three minutes later as they drew first blood. Danil Gushchin sent a pass out to Collin White that bounced off of him over to Andrew Poturalski and he blasted a one-timer top shelf past Marlies’ goalie Dennis Hildeby for his team leading 18th goal of the season at the 16:12 mark.

It was also the Barracuda captain’s team leading eighth power play goal of the season that has him tied for second place in the AHL.

The Barracuda doubled its lead early in the second period just after its second power play opportunity had expired. Ethan Cardwell sent a pass to the net from the left boards that deflected off of Tristen Robins. A crashing Jack Thompson cleaned up the rebound into an open net for his second goal of the season at the 1:44 mark. Thompson has scored in back-to-back games for San Jose.

Toronto cut San Jose’s lead in half with an even strength goal late in the middle frame. Off a faceoff win, Joseph Blandisi skated around up to before finding Alex Steeves along the right slot and the Marlie winger rifled home a slap shot past Romanov for his team leading 22nd goal of the season at the 12:18 mark.

The Marlies scored the equalizer with 1:25 left in the period after a clean faceoff win that mirrored their first goal. Logan Shaw won the faceoff back up to the slot and Nick Abruzzese lasered a one-timer to top shelf to the far post that Romanov never saw for his 10th goal of the season.

“Yeah, I thought we got in trouble turning over pucks in the neutral zone. They were able to get back in it. And then at the end we had a shot. I liked our resiliency to come back with the goalie out on the PK actually. Obviously, the penalty caught up to us in overtime,” ‘Cuda head coach John McCarthy said.

Toronto gained its first lead of the game a second after its power play opportunity expired early in the third period. After killing off the majority of a double-minor penalty by Marshall Rifai, the Marlies gained momentum and drew a penalty against Donovan Houle.

The Cuda failed to clear the puck out of its own zone with seconds left on the minor to Houle. Zach Solow sent a pass toward the middle of the crease and Blandisi redirected the puck past Romanov for his seventh goal of the season at the 6:22 mark.

Jimmy Schuldt sent the game to overtime when he scored the equalizer with 14 seconds left in the period, a short-handed goal, when his shot from the left boards deflected off of a Marlies defender’s skate in the crease and into the back of the net for his fourth goal of the season.

Hildeby (5-2-2-1) finished the game stopping 30 of the 33 shots he faced to earn his fifth victory of the season. Romanov (9-7-1) made 26 saves on 30 shots in the losing effort.

GAME NOTES: San Jose finished 1-for-5 on the power play. Toronto went 0-for-4.

The Three Stars of the Game: 1) Shaw (1G, 1A) 2) Blandisi (1G, 1A) 3) Abruzzese (1G).

UP NEXT: San Jose and Toronto conclude their two-game weekend series on Sunday 1/26 at 2:00pm at Tech CU Arena.

Athletics Relocation podcast with Daniel Dullum: Remodeling at Sutter Health Ballpark continues

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Sutter Health Park the future home of the Sacramento A’s being worked on and expected to be ready by late March 2025 (photo from MSN)

On the Athletics Relocation podcast with Daniel Dullum:

#1 Daniel, the make over at Sutter Health Park in Sacramento is well underway the exterior of the ballpark is nearly finished.

#2 The finishing touches on Sutter Health are some three months away as spring training starts in February and it’s off to Sutter Health in late March for the 2025 season.

#3 The Athletics and the visiting teams will get new clubhouses which will be located in left field. It won’t be such a long walk for the pitchers who will be sitting in the bullpens.

#4 There will be very hot summers so the A’s are constructing a beer garden called the Legacy Club a place where fans can get a cold drink to cool off.

#5 No word where the TV and radio broadcasters will sit and how much room there will be for the working media. Word has it that an extra ten to 15 seats are being added to the main pressbox but even still room will be tight for reporters and fans likewise in the small space of the 14,000 capacity ballpark.

Join Daniel Dullum podcasts the Athletics Relocation podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa: Sharks host Panthers tonight hope to snap 5 game skid

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Nashville Predators center Steven Stamkos middle left celebrates after scoring against the San Jose Sharks in the second period at SAP Center in San Jose on Thu Jan 23, 2025 (AP News photo)

On the San Jose Sharks podcast with Mary Lisa:

#1 The Nashville Predators came to San Jose and Filip Forsberg scored twice help edge the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center in San Jose on Thursday night 6-5.

# 2 For Forsberg the two goals helped extend his scoring streak to seven games. The streak is a first in NHL history for a player who went without a goal in 18 straight games then to score a goal in seven straight games.

#3 The Predators Luke Schenn got three assists, Justin Barron and Roman Josi each scored a goal and Justus Annunen stopped 30 shots for Nashville. The Predators had a three goal lead erased but came back to edge the Sharks in the one goal win.

#4 The Sharks Macklin Celebrini leads all rookies with goals scored he added another one for this 15th of the season. Mario Ferraro scored and it was his fifth goal of season a career high also adding an assist.

#5 The Sharks host the Florida Panthers Saturday night at SAP Center the Panthers sit in second place in the Atlantic Division 28-18-3 with 59 points. The Panthers have won five of their last ten games. How do you see this match up tonight?

Mary Lisa does the San Jose Sharks podcasts each Saturday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NBA G League Action: Kings take care of business on second of back to back nights beat Texas 109-95

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The Stockton Kings forward Skal Labissiere (8) takes a jump shot against the Texas Legends at Adventist Health Arena in Stockton on Thu Jan 23, 2025 (Stockton Kings X photo)

By William Espy

The Stockton Kings hosted the Texas Legends on Thursday night in the second-half of a back-to-back. After defeating the South Bay Lakers Wednesday night, the Kings had no time to reset. They let that adrenaline from the beating the Lakers carry over beating the Legends 109-95 at Adventist Health Arena in Stockton

The first quarter was filled with back-and-forth from both teams, as the majority of the frame was spent with only a single possession separating the sides. After numerous lead changes, it would be Texas who led at the end of the quarter by the narrowest of margins, 26-25.

That trend would continue for most of the second quarter, but a late run by the Kings allowed them to extend a lead to seven points and they would maintain that gap headed into the break, leading 56-49 after 24 minutes.

It was more back and forth in the third quarter, but by the end, the Kings had maintained their seven point lead, 80-73. Texas was going to need a massive fourth quarter to have a chance to walk away with a win, but that didn’t happen. The Kings outscored the Legends 29-22 in the final frame and ultimately walked away with a 109-95 victory after the full 48 minutes.

Isaac Jones had another phenomenal night for Stockton, dropping 31 points on the night. At this rate, it would be surprising if he doesn’t start getting more attention from the Kings’ brass up in Sacramento. Jones was one of three players with a double-double for Stockton, as Isaiah Crawford had 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Terry Taylor had 12 and 10 of his own.

Meanwhile for Texas, their top scorer was Jarod Lucas who had 18 points on the night coming off of the bench but ended up playing more minutes than anyone on the team. Their highest scoring starter was center Jamarion Sharp. Sharp also led the Legends in boards, with eight on the night.

The Kings’ current four-game winning streak has given them a bit of breathing room at the top of the Western Conference over the second place Santa Cruz Warriors. They’re playing with confidence and seem like a team that could be a force to be reckoned with over the course of the season.

The Kings host the Legends and will meet again on Sunday, in Stockton in a 2:00pm PST matinee matchup. Considering how even this game was for the majority of the night, it should be an entertaining game to say the least.

Sacramento Kings podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson: Joker too much for Kings in Nuggets win 132-123

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The Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) tries to apply some defensive pressure on the Sacramento Kings forward Domantas Sabonis (11) in the first half at Ball Arena in Denver on Thu Jan 23, 2025 (AP News photo)

Sacramento Kings podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson:

#1 The Denver Nuggets Nikola Jokic chalked up his fifth straight triple double and accomplished it before the fourth quarter to help defeat the Sacramento Kings.

#2 Jokic finished with 36 points, 22 rebounds, and scored a season high of 17 assists.

#3 Jokic leads the NBA in triple doubles with 20 he’s quite the reason why the Nuggets won the NBA Finals in 2023.

#4 The Kings Domantas Sabonis had 23 points and 17 assists. This loss on Thursday was Sacramento’s third in 13 games since Doug Christie took over as head coach.

#5 The Kings will try to get back in the win column as they tip off against the New York Knicks on Saturday night with a 4:30pm PST tip at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks have going well of late, they are third in the NBA Eastern Conference at 29-16. The Knicks are 14-8 at the Garden and have won five of their last ten games.

Join Jeremiah for the Sacramento Kings podcasts each Friday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NHL podcast with Len Shapiro: Bruins blank Senators 2-0 behind Korpisalo’s shutout; Red Wings get a jump on Habs in 4-2 win; plus more news

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The Boston Bruins left winter Brad Marchand (63) takes a poke at the puck in an attempt to score on the Ottawa Senators goaltender Anton Forsberg (31) in the third period at TD Garden in Boston on Thu Jan 23, 2025 (AP News photo)

On the NHL podcast with Len Shapiro:

#1 The Boston Bruins took care of business shutting out the Ottawa Senators at TD Garden in Boston on Thursday night. The Bruins and Sens didn’t score in the first period but the Bruins got single goals in the second and third periods. Bruins Morgan Geekie (13) score in the second period at 2:06 and David Pastrnak (23) at 19:55 in the third period in the 2-0 win. Bruins goaltender Joonas Korpisalo stopped all 29 Ottawa shots for the shutout.

#2 The Detroit Red Wings won a two goal game over the Montreal Canadiens 4-2 at Little Caesars Palace in Detroit on Thursday. The Red Wings Jonatan Berggren (8) scored the game’s first goal in the first period at 13:00. The Wings scored a second goal at 19:56 in the first period by Alex DeBrincat (20) to go up 2-0. Second period Andrew Copp (9) at 4:25 and Dylan Larkin (21) at 7:50 both scored. The Wings came away with a 4- 2 lead after two periods. Neither team scored in the third period.

#3 The New York Rangers defenseman K’Andre Miller scored a goal and had an assist. The Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin stopped 35 shots in the Rangers convincing win over the Flyers 6-1 at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night.

#4 The Carolina Hurricane put away the Columbus Blue Jackets 7-4 at the Lenovo Center in Columbus. The Canes Seth Jarvis scored two goals and had two assists. Sebastian Aho had a goal and two assists, as the Hurricanes scored five goals in the second period and came away with a three goal win.

#5 The Minnesota Wild who are 28-16-4 took a rather shocking defeat 4-0 to the Utah Hockey Club (21-19-7) at the Target Center in Minneapolis on Thursday. Utah’s Barrett Hayton scored two goals, Lawson Crousse, and Clayton Keller scored a goal each in the win. Utah goaltender Karel Vejmelka stopped all 26 Minnesota shots for the shutout.

Len Shapiro does the NHL podcasts each Fridays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sharks extend losing streak to 5, drop back to back games against Nashville

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San Jose Sharks celebrating after scoring a goal during their game against the Nashville Predators at SAP Center on Thursday January 23rd 2024 (via SanJoseSharks/x)

by Madison Montez

SAN JOSE- Coming into today’s game, San Jose was looking to snap a four game losing streak. The last loss was against this Nashville team where they gave up another third period lead to fall 7-5. Tyler Toffoli drew back into the lineup after missing the last three games. Newly acquired from the Calgary Flames Walker Duehr also made his Sharks debut.

Nashville’s 16th ranked powerplay got them on the board first at 3:58. After being left wide open, Gustav Nyquist scored his eighth goal of the season, Novak and Skjej registering the assists. A minute later at 4:52, the same situation occurred when Novak was left open, scoring his seventh of the season. ‘Heureux and Svechkov registering the assists.

They extended their lead at 6:53 when Filp Forsberg scored his 17th of the season assisted by Barron. After three fights in the span of four seconds, the Sharks got on the board when Walker Duehr scored his first of the season and as a Shark. Kovalenko and Ferraro registering the assists.

After good puck movement by Granlund and Ferraro, the Sharks cut the Predators’s lead to one. Ferraro with the snap shot, his fifth of the season, Granlund and Liljegren registering the assists.

The Predators extended their lead again at 1:38 of the second. Filip Forsberg picked up a loose puck and wrapped around the net to score his second of the night. Sissons and Skjej registering the assists. After Mikael Granlund went to the box for hooking against Steven Stamkos, Stamkos scored his 17th of the season. Marchessault and Josi registering the assists.

San Jose wasn’t going down without a fight when Henry Thrun scored his first of the season, assisted by Wennberg and Kovalenko. A minute and 15 seconds later, Fabian Zetterlund scored his 14th goal of the season on a backhand shot. Smith and Granlund registering the assists.

The 26th ranked powerplay went to work when Cole Smith was assessed a match penalty for a hit on Ty Dellandrea. Celebrini scored his 15th goal of the season assisted by Granlund and Eklund.

After a quiet start to the third, Nashville took the lead at 8:16 when Fedor Svechkov scored his sixth of the season on a wrist shot. Skjej and ‘Heureux registering the assists.

The Sharks will be back in action on Saturday against the reigning Stanley Cup Champions, the Florida Panthers. The last time these two teams faced off was on December 7th when the Sharks fell 3-1, Toffoli registering the lone goal.

Rough And Tumble: Cal Women Survive Stanford’s Late Rally, Win 75-72

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By Morris Phillips

STANFORD, CA–For 35 minutes, the Cal women were themselves, offensive savants taking advantage of whatever the Stanford defense provided, which at times was a lot.

The other five minutes, littered with rough fouls, a technical foul out of nowhere, and a significant injury, spoke to a hard fought contest that Stanford was reluctant to relinquish. It was those five minutes that almost sent Cal home with an unlikely loss.

But Cal’s experienced leadership, principally graduates Ioanna Krimili and Kayla Williams, made the plays down the stretch in Cal’s milestone 75-72 win.

The win gave Cal a historic sweep of Stanford, 39 years after the last occurrence in 1986, the first season of Tara VanDerveer’s 38 years on the Farm in the long disposed Pac West Conference.

Smith, who went 0 for 11 against VanDerveer, her college coach, who subsequently suggested that Smith take up coaching, acknowledged the moment and its significance for Cal.

“This is special for me,” Smith said. “We knew it wasn’t going to be 18 threes like it was at Haas. But to be able to hold on and fight through a number of mistakes and adversity to get the win, I’m just really proud of this team.”

Cal made 17 of their first 20 two-point shot attempts and built a 53-37 lead and quieted Maples Pavilion without relying on 3-point shooting. But the deficit didn’t break the hosts’ resolve. Instead, Coach Kate Paye continued to change her personnel in hopes of a defensive stand. That finally happened in a stretch spanning the third and fourth quarters that saw Stanford outscore Cal 16-2 and make it a game.

“We forced some turnovers, and that really got us going,” Paye said.

Down the stretch, the play grew more physical as Michelle Onyiah, Cal’s center, and reserve Jayda Noble were thrown to the floor. Noble got tangled with Stanford’s Shay Ijiwoye and had to be helped off the court as a leg injury prevented her from walking on her own. After a video review, Ijiwoye received an intentional foul resulting in free throws for Cal and possession of the ball.

“They called an intentional foul. I watched it. I didn’t agree with the call at all. That was a game changer,” Paye said of the critical exchange with 2:40 remaining and Stanford trailing 66-64.

Krimili, shooting in place of the injured Noble, converted both free throws. Williams was fouled on the ensuing possession and made one of two free throws to put Cal up by five.

Nunu Agara, who had 19 points for the hosts, hit 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to get Stanford within 73-71 with 49 seconds remaining. But Cal held on as Krimili and Williams came up with a trio of baskets on drives into the paint to preserve the win.

“We knew the game was going to bring adversity. In those moments, we were telling ourselves,“‘we’re good, we’re going to get through this,'” Williams said.

Cal improved to 18-3 with the win, and that has them in a group of 6-2 teams with North Carolina and Louisville, tied for fourth in the ACC standings behind Duke and North Carolina State with one loss and 8-0 Notre Dame.

The Bears have the weekend free ahead of home games against the Tar Heels and Pittsburgh next week.

Kings Get Stomped By the Fourth Place Denver Nuggets 132-123

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The Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) drives on Sacramento Kings forward Domantas Sabonis (11) in the first half at Ball Arena in Denver on Thu Jan 23, 2025 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

The Sacramento Kings (23-21) trailed for the entire game losing to the Denver Nuggets (28-16) 132-123 at Ball Arena in Denver. They got close in the final minutes of the fourth quarter but came up just short. Whether they were suffering from fatigue after finishing last night’s game very late; they had an off shooting night, extremely off. They were attempting some pretty wild shots and they were not dropping.

Game wrap up: Sacramento hung tight with the Nuggets through the first half of the opening 12 minutes. The Nuggets were having a lot more success from beyond the arc then the Kings with four to Sacramento’s one.

Malik Monk had two personal fouls mid-way through the quarter and had to take to the bench which was a bit of blow for the Kings. Denver really began to flex their muscle and with two minutes left in the quarter had taken a ten-point lead 36-26 prompting Doug Christie to take a third time-out. As the quarter came to end the Nuggets had a 40-31 lead. The Nuggets were doing everything right with the one exception: shots from the line were not great at 54%.

Going into the second quarter, the Kings had their work cut out for them. Denver was running on all cylinders offensively continuing to extend their lead and with under six minutes left in the quarter had taken a 58-41 lead.

The Kings were getting completely outplayed by the Nuggets offensively and defensively and Sacramento just didn’t have an answer. Denver had more defensive rebounds 18-11, more offensive rebounds 11-5 with better shooting percentages from the field and from beyond the arc. In a blink, the Nuggets had opened up an 22-point lead 70-48 leaving the Kings in the dust. At the half, the Nuggets were cruising leading 74-52.

Sacramento was unable to stop the bleeding in the third quarter and after three quarters, the Nuggets were leading 110-85. Denver finished off the third quarter with a Jokic 66-ft jumper as the clock expired. This guy continues to amaze with his 20th triple-double this season.

The Kings went on a 11-0 run to start the fourth quarter cutting the Nugget lead more than in half from 25 to 11, 110-99. Sacramento would get as close as five points but come up just short. They had finished Wednesday night’s game very late, boarded a plane for Denver and fatigue could have played into the poor showing. This game got ugly in the first half and continued well into the third quarter. Sacramento did outscore the Nuggets in the fourth quarter 38-22 but it was too little too late.

Every Sacramento starter had double figures, and Domantas Sabonis had a double double with 23 points and 19 rebounds. The high for the Kings was DeMar DeRozan with 24 points and six rebounds. The Nuggets Nikola Jokic had the game high with 35 points, 17 assists and 22 rebounds.

Game notes: Thursday night the Kings were back on the road traveling to Denver and took on the Nuggets. This was a huge challenge for the Kings and it all started with Nikola Jokic. Containing this guy was a tough call. Wednesday night the Nuggets blasted the Sixers to the tune of 144-109 and Jokic recorded his 19th triple-double of the season. It will be very difficult keeping this guy under wraps.

The Kings came into this game after beating the Golden State Warriors Wednesday night in a tight contest. The Kings didn’t get a great start in that game but came on in the fourth quarter to seal the deal 123-117. Sacramento was looking for a much improved first quarter. In the Kings last meeting with the Nuggets Dec 16, Denver came away with a one-point win 130-129.

Jamal Murray hit a game-winning jumper with 8.6 seconds left in the game. Murray will be another Nugget to keep an eye on along with Russell Westbrook and Michael Porter Jr. Denver is loaded with weapons but the Kings will have their starting lineup available and they have been playing some solid ball. Sacramento will be looking for their fourth win in a row.

Sacramento will continue on the road traveling to New York for a date with the Knicks Saturday. They will have a day off Friday and get a little rest before playing on Saturday with tipoff scheduled for 4:30pm PST. They will be looking to put this game behind them and get back on the winning track in New York.