Tag: Sacramento Kings

Kings Break Losing Streak with Dominant Performance Against Hawks 122-107

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Photo by Mauricio Segura owner The Golden Bay Times, photographer, and writer: The Sacramento Kings Malik Monk (0) going for a successful layup against the Atlanta Hawks at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento on Mon Jan 22, 2024

By Mauricio Segura

SACRAMENTO–In a game marked by a standout performance from Harrison Barnes, the Sacramento Kings secured a crucial victory, ending their four-game losing streak with a 122-107 win over the Atlanta Hawks at the Golden One Center in Sacramento tonight.

Facing a significant challenge, the Atlanta Hawks played without their All-Star guard Trae Young, who suffered a concussion in the previous Saturday’s loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. This absence proved to be a factor as Kings forward Harrison Barnes took center stage, putting on a clinic of precision by achieving his second 30-point game of the season.

The Kings took control of the game during the second quarter, scoring 30 points while the Hawks struggled, managing only 16. This strong performance gave the Kings a halftime lead of 57-40. Throughout the game, Atlanta faced offensive challenges, scoring a season-low 40 points in the first half and shooting only 38.7% overall.

Sacramento extended their lead in the third quarter to 66-42, but Atlanta mounted a comeback with a 16-2 run, narrowing the gap to 10 points. Undeterred, Sacramento responded with a strong 13-2 run, securing an 87-66 advantage.

A key factor in Sacramento’s success was their bench performance, outscoring Atlanta’s bench 43-19. Additionally, the Kings dominated in the paint, finishing with a 56-40 advantage. Domantas Sabonis played a significant role with relentless drives, contributing 14 points and securing 21 rebounds, marking his 25th consecutive double-double. This ties him with legendary “Big O” Oscar Robertson for the second-longest streak in franchise history.

Keegan Murray and Malik Monk each added 13 points, while De’Aaron Fox contributed with 12 points. For Atlanta, Dejounte Murray lead the charge with 35 points and 10 rebounds. Bogdan Bogdanovic contributed 18 points, and Clint Capela secured 11 points along with 12 boards.

This Kings’ victory not only broke a losing streak but showcased a well-rounded team unity, which has lacked as of late. From Harrison Barnes’ precision to Domantas Sabonis’ historic double-double streak, the Kings demonstrated resilience and dominance that the team and fans hope will continue.

Kings Suffer a Third Loss In a Row to Phoenix 119-117

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The Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant is congratulated in the second half of the game against the Sacramento Kings for making a three point shot at Footprint Arena in Phoenix on Tue Jan 16, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

This was another stunning loss for the Sacramento Kings (23-17). Sacramento had led throughout three quarters and most of the fourth quarter before the Phoenix Suns (22-18) were able to take the lead. The culprit in this game were the 8 Sacramento turnovers in the fourth quarter leading to the 119-117 final. The Kings had led by as much as 22 points in this game but just faded away in the fourth quarter in an absolute melt down.

Game recap: The Kings won both quarters in the first half. Sacramento won the opening quarter 39-27 and finished up the first half with a 29-24 second quarter win taking a 68-51 lead into the locker room. The Kings defense made thing very difficult for the Suns in the first half. 

They held both the Suns Kevin Durant and Devon Booker to seven points apiece. The Suns Grayson Allen was the only Phoenix player on the floor with double digits after two quarters of play. 

The Kings De’Aaron Fox had 17 points in the first half. Sacha Vezenkov shot for 12 off the bench and Domantas Sabonis finished the half with 11 points and eight rebounds. He already had six assists and would be looking for another triple double as the two teams took the court in the second half.

Sacramento had a terrific defensive effort in the first half forcing the Suns into turnovers. At the half the Kings had four turnovers and the Suns had 11. They had really contained Durant and Booker and would have to keep pressure on both of them in the second half. There was still a lot of basketball to be played in this game.

Going into the third quarter Fox hit the teams 14th three. They had shut down the Suns from outside allowing only eight threes from Phoenix. At 7:27 the Kings had taken a 82-61 lead. Phoenix has a lethal offense that was slow to get onboard in this game and Sacramento wanted to keep it that way. 

The one thing that the Kings wanted to avoid was letting Booker get hot. With under four minutes left in the quarter six Kings had double digits and Sabonis was one rebound away from another triple double. 

With under two minutes left on the clock in the third quarter, the Suns made a run cutting the Kings lead to eleven points 92-81. As the third came to an end, the Suns had pulled to within ten points. 

The Kings pushed back and after three quarters led 96-84. Booker had started to come alive and Sacramento would have to dig deep in the fourth quarter. Fox was leading the offense with 25 points.

Sacramento pushed the lead back to 104-87 in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter. Sabonis hit his 11th triple double of the season in the fourth as the Kings continued to dominate defensively. Eight minutes into the final quarter Sacramento had pushed their lead back to 22 points 109-87. In a flash the Suns started to push back and the 22 point lead shrunk to 15 points going on a 7-0 run. 

Every time the Suns pushed, the Kings pushed right back. With under five minutes left in the game head coach Mike Brown called a timeout. The Suns had cut the Kings 22 point lead to ten points and there would be more from Phoenix before this game was all said and done. 

The Suns were scoring off of some horrendous mistakes from Sacramento. With under a minutes left in the game the Kings had a three point lead. With 18.7 left in the game the Suns had delivered a gut-punch taking a 117-115 lead. 

Fox tied up the game with 18.8 on the clock. Fox was called for a foul on Durant and Durant delivered giving the Suns a 119-117 lead in a shocking turn around. 

The Suns prevailed winning this game 119-117 and the Kings had suffered yet another devastating loss. Sacramento had eight turnovers in the fourth quarter and this was absolutely the straw that broke the camels back. It was a real stunner!

Fox had the team high with 33 points. Sabonis finished with 21 points, 11 assists and 12 rebounds garnering another triple double. Going into the fourth quarter the Kings only had six turnovers finishing with 14. 

It was those turnovers that killed Sacramento. In the fourth quarter the Kings couldn’t score inside nor outside. It became stagnant offensively after those three opening quarters handing the Kings another disappointing loss. They were not able to finish this game after playing so well through three quarters.

It was an amazing comeback by the Phoenix Suns and they deserve a lot of credit after trailing by such a margin. They hung in the game and finished the game taking advantage of the multitude of mistakes from Sacramento.

Post game notes: Tuesday night the Kings traveled to the “Valley of the Sun” taking on the Suns at Footprint Center. Sunday night the Kings suffered a heart breaking loss to the Milwaukee Bucks in overtime 143-142. Lillard hit a 32-foot buzzer beater with 1.1 left on the game clock. Sacramento was looking to get back on track but ended up dropping their third game in a row to the Suns.

The Suns have a daunting starting roster with Durant, Booker and Allen. Between these two teams there was some electric offense that went right down to the wire with Durant sinking two free throws for the win.

The Kings will now head home to Sacramento to take on the Indiana Pacers Thursday night. Golden 1 Center will look pretty good to the team after a rough finish to this road trip. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 PM. 

 

     

 

Kings Outplayed by Philadelphia 76ers Losing 112-93

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The Philadelphia 76ers Tyrese Maxey (0) shows some confidence as the Sacramento Kings Sasha Venzenkov (7) runs in front up the court at Wells Fargo Arena in Philadelphia on Fri Jan 12, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

Friday night the Sacramento Kings (25-25) lost to the Philadelphia 76ers (24-13) being outplayed at every turn. They trailed at the half 65-46 and the Sixers refused to letdown from start to finish. The Kings trailed close to twenty points throughout the entire fourth quarter. The final was 112-93.

Game recap: Philadelphia jumped all over the Kings in the first half of play. The Kings hung in the first quarter although ended up falling short as the quarter came to an end trailing 29-21. The Sixers began to really pour it on in the second quarter leading at halftime 65-46. 

They were outplaying the Kings offensively and the ten turnovers were also an issue. The Sixers had the advantage from the field as well as from beyond the arc. At the half Domantas Sabonis only had two points so Philadelphia had suffocated him. The Kings really struggled in the first two quarters of play and they had two quarters left to turn things around.

The third quarter was a close one which didn’t do much for the Kings cause since they had trailed by 19 points at the half. Sacramento had a huge mountain to climb if they wanted back in this game.

The Kings continued to turn the ball over and after three quarters had 14. Three’s were not falling for Sacramento only shooting 25% from downtown while the Sixers were at 52%. The Kings were having an improved offensive effort but weren’t able to provide many stops.

 Sacramento continued to plug away and after three quarters cut the Sixers lead to 87-73. The Kings won the third quarter 27-22 and they were also forcing Philadelphia turnovers.

Sacramento needed a whole lot more in the fourth quarter if they wanted to pull this game out and it would all start with more stops. It had been an uphill climb for the Kings all night as the 76ers continued their offensive dominance.

 Every time the Kings made a move the 76ers answered outscoring Sacramento 9-2 in the early minutes of the fourth quarter refusing to letup. The final was 112-93 and Philadelphia’s three game losing had come to an end.  

Tobias Harris was gave the Kings all sorts of problems finishing with 37 points. The absence of Embiid didn’t seem to hurt Philadelphia at least in this game. Tyrese Maxxy also gave Sacramento a lot of grief scoring 21 points.

It was a slow start for Sabonis although he did pick it up in the second half finishing with 12 rebounds and 14 points. The high for the Kings was De’Aaron Fox with 21 points. Sacramento had 17 turnovers were 8 of 38 from beyond the arc. It was not a great offensive night for Sacramento.

Post game notes: Friday night the Kings took on the 76ers at Wells Fargo Center. The Sixers came into this game sitting in third place in the Eastern Conference while the Kings are in fifth place in the Western Conference. 

The Kings won on Wednesday night beating the Hornets 123-98. The 76ers lost an overtime game on Wednesday losing to the Atlanta Hawks 139-132. They snapped their three game losing streak and they it without Joel Embiid who was out for a third straight game with a knee injury. 

The Kings have now lost two of their last six games with Friday night’s defeat and couldn’t take advantage of the absence of Joel Embiid. Sacramento has lost nine straight meetings against Philadelphia.

It doesn’t get any easier for the Kings heading into Milwaukee to take on the Bucks Sunday. The Bucks are currently in second place in the Eastern Conference. Tipoff for that game is scheduled for 4:00 PM.      

  

Kings Dominate Hornets 123-98 at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte

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The Sacramento Kings forward Domantas Sabonis drives to the net against the Charlotte Hornets center Nathan Mensah and guard Terry Rozier at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte on Wed Jan 10, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

There would be no ugly start for the Sacramento Kings (23-14) in Wednesday night’s game against the Charlotte Hornets (8-27). They won every quarter in the game with the final 123-98 in favor of the Kings at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte. Once again Domantas Sabonis and Keegan Murray stole the show; Sabonis with 24 points and Murray with 25.

Game recap: The Kings did have a much better start in this game than they did Wednesday night. They won the opening quarter 33-28. They went on to win the second quarter 38-31 leading at the half 71-59. The Hornets began to made a bit of a move after trailing by as much as sixteen points in the second quarter. 

Sabonis continued his stellar play with 18 points and six rebounds in the first half. Keegan Murray who had a slow start last night finished the half with 21 points en route to another terrific game. 

De’Aaron Fox who also struggled last night in the opening quarter had 13 points in the half. They also cleaned up the turnovers with only four in the first half. Sacramento had a great first half and were looking to continue to contain Terry Rozier and Miles Bridges in the second half. Rozier and Bridges were doing most of the heavy lifting for the Hornets in the first half.

Four minutes into the third quarter, the Kings had taken their largest lead of the game 82-62. The Hornets had cut the Kings 23 point lead to 15 as the third quarter expired but Sacramento continued to lead 95-80. Charlotte was having little success containing Sabonis as he continued to dominate.

With under four minutes left on the clock the Kings had this game well in hand leading 117-91. The Sacramento starters came out of the game and the bench took over. The Hornets were looking to sweep the Kings after winning their first two matchups but Sacramento had different plans. They led the entire second half winning the game 123-98 handing Charlote their 28th loss of the season.

Murray had the high for the Kings with 25 points and Sabonis was close behind with 24 points and he also had ten rebounds. Malik Monk had 20 off the bench and team leader Fox finished with 19 points. With Murray and Sabonis shooting so well it takes so much pressure off Fox which can go a long way to keeping him healthy. Right now this team doesn’t have a single injury and that is something that they really want to preserve going forward.

The Hornets got some outstanding minutes from Rozier with 22 points and Bridges with 24 points. 

Post game notes: After a scary first quarter Tuesday night against the Detroit Pistons, the Kings got a far different start in Wednesday night’s game against the Hornets. The Kings were outplayed in the first quarter of the Pistons game 47-29 and that was something that they didn’t want to see again any time soon. They were able to turn things around and win that game 131-110. The Hornets have been struggling this season losing Wednesday night to the Chicago Bulls 119-112.

Next up on this road trip for the Kings will be the Philadelphia 76ers Friday night. Both teams have similar records so this game has the makings of a real battle. The Sixers are favored to win this game. Joel Embiid is one of the Sixers main threats although he has missed his last two games with a swollen knee. He is doubtful in Friday’s game but that could change in the days leading up to Friday’s matchup. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:30 PM at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.

 

Kings Polish Off Pistons 131-110

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The Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren (0) is guarded by the Sacramento Kings forward Domantas Sabonis (10) in the first half at Little Caesar’s Arena in Detroit on Tue Jan 9, 2024 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

After a horrible first quarter, the Sacramento Kings (22-14) pulled it all together in the following quarters to take a 68-65 lead at the half. They had trailed by 20 points in the opening quarter only to take the halftime lead. They fought through a tie game in the fourth quarter to seal the win 131-110 over the Detroit Pistons (3-34).

Tuesday night the Sacramento Kings (22-14) were back in action taking on the Pistons (3-34) in Detroit. The Kings come into this game after getting peppered by the New Orleans Pelicans trailing at one time in that game by 50 points. 

The Pelicans won the game 133-100 and the Kings are looking forward to get back on the winning track against Detroit. The Pistons also lost their last game. The Denver Nuggets handed Detroit their 33rd loss of the season outlasting them 131-114.

The first quarter of this game was a shocker with the Pistons all over the Kings and leading after the first twelve minutes of play 47-29 in what would turn out to be a real roller-coaster of a game. Domantas Sabonis was the only starter that was holding this game together for Sacramento. The rest of the team combined misses, fouls and turnovers in the quarter to give the Pistons a huge edge. It was a horrible start for the Kings.

The second quarter saw an entirely different team take the court and at the half, the Kings had taken a 68-65 lead. There had been a 23 point swing in the first half and the rest of the starters came to life in the second quarter. Keegan Murray and De’Aaron Fox had a great second quarter to turn this game completely around. The Kings won that quarter 39-18 in a complete reversal of fortune.

The Pistons refused to back down and the third quarter was a tie with both teams scoring 30 points and the Kings were clinging to a 98-95 lead. The Kings put the finishing touches on this game in the fourth quarter winning it 33-15. The final was 131-110 in favor of Sacramento as they put this game away.

After a horrendous start in this game, the Kings put up some crazy numbers in their starting lineup. Domantas Sabonis had the team high with 37 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists. Keegan Murray who had a rough start finished with 32 points and 5 rebounds. De’Aaron also had a terrific game after a shaky start with 26 points. Malik Monk had 20 points off the bench in yet another stellar game. The turnovers were concerning with 18 committed in the game.

The Kings had led by 15 points in the third quarter but let the Pistons tie up the game in the fourth quarter. They nailed down the win in the final 9 1/2 minutes of play in this game. Sacramento gave up 47 points in the first quarter and only 45 in the entire second half of the game. After that first quarter the Kings put together a terrific offensive effort.

Post game notes: Tuesday night the Kings were back in action taking on the Pistons in Detroit Tuesday. The Kings came into this game after getting peppered by the New Orleans Pelicans trailing at one time in that game by 50 points on Sunday night. The Pelicans won the game 133-100. The Kings are back in the win column with the win over the Pistons. The Pistons also lost their last game on Sunday to the Denver Nuggets who handed Detroit their 33rd loss of the season outlasting them 131-114.

It is now off to Charlotte to take on the Hornets tomorrow night at Spectrum Center. Tipoff for that game is scheduled for 4:00 PM.

  

 

Sacramento Kings podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson: Kings host 12th place Raptors tonight at Golden 1

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The Orlando Magic forward Pablo Banchero (5) tries to defend against a Sacramento Kings forward Keegan Murray (13) shot during the first quarter at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento on Wed Jan 3, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the Sacramento Kings podcast with Jeremiah:

#1 Jeremiah. the Orlando Magic were shorthanded but the Sacramento Kings were still able to persevere and win out in double overtime on Wednesday night at Golden 1 Center 138-135.

#2 The Kings got help from Domantas Sabonis who chalked up another triple double, 22 points, 23 rebounds and 12 assists.

#3 Malik Monk went all out with 37 points and he did it off the bench for the Kings. The 37 points for Monk made him the team leading scorer for the evening. Making every basket that Monk could spare valuable as the Kings did whatever they could to win this one.

#4 The Magic’s power forward Pablo Banchero was just outstanding and difficult to defend finishing with game leading 43 points. For the Magic he was the key that kept them in this game forcing double overtime.

#5 The Kings came away with the win on Wednesday night and now host the Toronto Raptors who occupy 12th place in the Western Conference. The Raptors have won four of their last ten games and have won two games in a row coming into Sacramento on Friday night for a 7:00pm PT tip.

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

After Trailing Most of the Game Kings Pull Out Win Over Hawks 117-110

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The Sacramento Kings (forward) Domantas Sabonis (10) drives on the Atlanta Hawks forward Omekya Okungwu (17) in the first half at State Farm Arena in Atlanta on Fri Dec 29, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

The Sacramento Kings (18-12) trailed for most of their game against the Atlanta Hawks (12-19) and did not take the lead until the final 3:27 of the game. They trailed big in the first half, by as much as 20 points. Harrison Barnes, Keegan Murray and Kevin Huerter had very quiet games but Murray hit a huge shot in the closing minutes of the game. Trey Lyles and Malik Monk had an exceptional game off the bench in the win 117-110. 

Friday night the Kings traveled to Atlanta to take on the Hawks at State Farm Arena. They came into this game after a lackluster performance against the Portland Trail Blazers losing 130-113 Tuesday night. 

Prior to that they lost one to the Minnesota Timberwolves 110-98. The Kings did beat the Suns pretty convincingly 120-105 last Friday night. They have had some significant losses this time they bounced back Friday night so after two losses in a row and turned things around with the win over the Hawks. The Hawks lost Tuesday night to the Chicago Bulls 118-113 and once again couldn’t pick up the win Friday against the Kings.

Game recap: The Kings had a terrible start dropping the first quarter 36-23. The Hawks had outshot them from the field by a landslide. They did not hit a single three in the opening quarter. 

They only had two turnovers in the first quarter, they just could not hit a basket to save their lives. They had a more successful second quarter in fact, at 6:28 in the second they had pulled to within five points 48-43 after trailing by as much as 20 points in the first quarter. They let it all slide away losing the second quarter 35-30 and trailing at the half 71-53. 

Sacramento pulled to within seven points with six minutes left in the third quarter but again let it start to slip away.   After trailing by ten points, the Kings made a run pulling to within five points 91-86 as the third quarter came to an end. 

They won the third quarter 33-20 and this game hung on the fourth quarter. Sacramento had taken over the pace of the game but desperately needed Murray who had played 29 minutes and come away with only seven points. Barnes played minimal minutes with minimal success.

The Hawks extended their lead in the fourth quarter and the Kings couldn’t put a stop to their offense. The Kings had outshot them from the field, but the Hawks topped them from downtown and had 43 rebounds to Sacramento’s 31. 

With less than six minutes left in the game the Kings took their first lead 106-105. With 4:20 left in the game it was all tied up at 110 in a real nail-biter. Murray did not have a great night of shooting but he made a critical shot when it counted most with 49.1 left on the clock . The final was 117-110 in favor of the Kings.

On New Year’s Eve, the Kings will travel to Memphis to take on the Grizzlies at FedExForum. Tipoff for this game is scheduled for 5:00 PM.  

Kings Lose Despite 43 Points From Fox- Portland Bench Dominates in 130-113 win

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Sacramento Kings guard De’Aaron Fox (5) goes shoeless while trying to recover and defend the Portland Trail Blazers guard Scott Henderson (00) at the Moda Center in Portland on Tue Dec 26, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

It was a dismal game for the Sacramento Kings (17-12) Tuesday night losing to the Portland Trail Blazers (80-21). Portland’s bench turned in 60 points to the Kings 15 off the bench. DeAaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis had amazing games but got little support from teammates losing 130-113. Fox tied a season-high in this game. No other Sacramento player scored in double digits.

Tuesday night the Kings took on the Trail Blazers at Moda Center. Back in early November the Kings beat the Trail Blazers in overtime 121-118. Despite their record, the Trail Blazers gave the Kings all they could handle. Sacramento needed to start fast and set the pace and tone of the game. 

The Kings are coming off a loss to the Timberwolves Saturday night 110-98 and the Trail Blazers lost as well on Saturday to the Golden State Warriors 126-106. 

The Kings Malik Monk was still struggling with a right foot irritation missing the game on Saturday. He had been trying to play through the injury and did take the floor in this game. The Kings really needed his shooting and playmaking abilities. 

They leaned heavily on De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis and Keegan Murray in this game. Both Deandre Ayton and Shaedon Sharpe missed the game for Portland. Ayton is dealing with right knee tendinitis and Sharpe were out with a right adductor strain.

Game reacap: The first half was not the start that the Kings were looking for. While they did win the opening quarter, it was far too close for comfort 33-32. The Trail Blazers got the upper hand in the second quarter leading at the half 67-60. 

Portland won the second quarter 35-27. Keegan Murray played for 15 minutes in the first half coming away empty. Both Fox and Sabonis had good first halves but really needed the support of Keegan Murray and Kevin Huerter. Portland was outshooting the Kings from the floor, and from downtown keeping their turnovers to a minimum with only five.

The Trail Blazers continued to extend their lead in the third quarter. Portland had led by seven points at the half and after three quarters led by nine points 104-95. At one time in the quarter the Kings got to within three points only to let it slip away. 

Sacramento had trailed by as much as 13 points but were able to cut the deficit at times. They were unfortunately unable to take the lead. Fox and Sabonis were having monster games. Going into the fourth quarter Fox had 38 points and Sabonis with 30. 

They were getting little support from Murray or Huerter who had eight points between them.  Monk had seven points but he was more than likely hampered by the irritation in his right foot. 

Early in the fourth quarter, the Kings trailed by 15 points 115-100 in a game that they had the talent to win. The Trail Blazers was getting some great play from their bench with a combined 60 points to the Kings anemic 15 points. 

With eight minutes left in the game, Sacramento was running out of time. Rather than cutting the deficit, the Kings continued to fall further behind trailing 122-105 with under six minutes left on the clock. 

With under five minutes Portland was winning the fourth quarter 23-12 after having won the third 37-35. The Trail Blazers had this game well in hand with 3:36 left in the game leading 127-111. 

Fox played his heart out finishing with 43 points and Sabonis came away with 34 points and 12 rebounds. They got little help from the rest of the starting lineup. Harrison Barnes scored nine points with five rebounds and next to nothing from Murray and Huerter. 

The bench was not much help with a total of 17 points when the Trail Blazer bench finished with 60 points. Portland’s starters finished with 65 points and the Kings starters produced 96 points. The Trail Blazers bench put this game away.

The Kings will now travel to Atlanta for a match-up next Friday taking on the Hawks. The challenge that Sacramento will face will come from Trae Young as the Kings try to turn things around on Friday. The Hawks also have a great bench player in Bogdan Bogdanovic who also presents a threat. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:30 PM.  

   

 

Celtics Come to Town and Dethrone the Kings 144-119

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Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) goes for the the thrown down against the Sacramento Kings forward Keegan Murray at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento (AP News photo)

By Tony Renteria 12/20/2023 

SACRAMENTO–The hometown Sacramento Kings (16-9) hosted the Visiting first place Boston Celtics (20-6) on a cold December night in Capital City. The Kings started out strong with a high scoring first quarter but that seemed to be the only high scoring quarter for the Kings as the Celtics left Sacramento with a decisive victory with a score of  144-119.

The First Quarter started out with a three pointer by Keegan Murray and the Kings seemed to all follow suit as the Team was 11/21 from beyond the arch. The Celtics kept up with the Kings as they also hit three points shots going eight for 12 to pace as they were only down by three points as the Kings led 41 to 38. De’Aaron Fox was a superlative five for six from three-point land as he led the Kings with 17 first quarter points. 

The Second Quarter seemed to be all the Celtics as they roared back behind the shooting and play of guard Derrick White. White led all Celtics with 19 first half points. Fox seemed to cool off and in doing so let the Celtics go into the half with 74-to-66-point lead. Fox did score nine points in the quarter to add to his total of 26 points. 

The Third Quarter seemed to a continuation of the second as the Celtics came out firing and shooting lights out. At a little more than the seven-minute mark the Celtics had increased their lead to a near commanding 96-72 margin. 

As the Celtics continued to expand their lead in the quarter the sound of cowbells seemed to be drowned out by the cheers of Celtics who seem occupy almost half of the northern lower deck. The Celtics outscored the Kings 39 -24 in the quarter to take a 113- 90 lead into the final period. 

The Fourth Quarter just seemed to get worse for the Kings as the Celtics had a 25-point lead with nine minutes to go. The Celtics keep pace with scoring from Forward Jaylen Brown and Center Kristaps Porzingas. Around the six-minute mark it appeared as Head Coach Mike Brown had thrown in the towel for the games not a single starter was in the game. 

Celtics all-star Jayson Tatum (26.8 points and 8.7 Rebounds) was inactive due to a left ankle sprain. Starting Center Al Horford, the 17-year veteran and his (7.7 points and 7.1 rebounds) were inactive as well due to load management.  

Kings have been led by De’Aaron Fox (30.1 points and 6.4 assists) 

Kings Continue To Roll Beating Washington Wizards 143-131; Sabonis gets another triple double for Sac

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The Washington Wizards center Mike Muscala (35) guards the Sacramento Kings forward Sasha Vezenkov (7) in the first quarter at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento on Mon Dec 18, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

Monday night the Sacramento Kings (16-9) continued to rock and roll beating the Washington Wizards (4-22) at Golden 1 Center 143-131. De’Aaron Fox was back on the court and finished with 30 points. Domantas Sabonis had his 35th triple double with 28 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists. Keegan Murray had another great game with 25 points. Sacramento came away with seven turnovers and this game could not have gone better for Sacramento.

Game recap: The Wizards took the lead after one quarter of basketball 31-27 but the Kings were just getting warmed up. Sacramento powered through the second quarter winning it 39-25. The Kings led at the half 66-56.

Sacramento continued to push in the third quarter extending their lead to 112-91. They won the quarter 46-35. The Kings cooled off in the fourth quarter missing a lot of shots and ended up losing the quarter. The Wizards won the fourth quarter 40-31. Sacramento had a 21 point lead at the end of the third giving up nine points in the fourth quarter but winning the game 143-131.

The Kings now sit in fourth place in the Western Conference. They have won four of their last five games. Fox finished with 30 points and Murray had another terrific game scoring 25 points. Six Kings had scored in double digits in this game. Sabonis had his 35th triple-double with 28 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists. 

The triple-double was his 17th in a King uniform, the most in the franchise’s Sacramento era. The Kings protected the ball well throughout the entire game with only seven turnovers. It was an outstanding evening for the Sacramento Kings.

The Wizard’s Jordan Poole matched his career high with eight 3 pointers scoring 28 points in total. Kyle Kuzma added 27 points. Washington is really struggling right now having lost 17 of their last 19 games. They did tie up this game in the second quarter 40 apiece but that was as close as they would get for the rest of the game.

Post game notes: Monday night the Kings took on the Wizards at Golden 1 Center. Fox was back on the court after missing the last game against the Utah Jazz. The Kings were still basking in the glow of the amazing game that Murray had last Saturday. Watching Murray hit 12 three’s and finishing with a career-high 47 points is a memory that will go down in the 2023-24 season. He is really coming into his own. The Kings were able to contain Jordan Poole (28 pts) who always poses a threat and Kyle Kuzma (27 pts) always makes an impact. The Kings are on a roll right now and have continued down that path in this game.

Wednesday night, the Sacramento Kings take on the Boston Celtics at Golden 1 Center. The Celtics are in first place in the Eastern Conference. This will be a great matchup for Sacramento. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 PM.