While the Sacramento Kings held strong deep into their matchup with the top-seeded Denver Nuggets, they had no answer for late game-run from Denver’s Michael Porter Jr. and Jamal Murray, and fell 113-106 in their first game without Domantas Sabonis.
With the score tied up 96-96 with 3:28 to go in the game, Denver went on an 11-2 run thanks to back-to-back deep threes by Murray and Porter Jr., which permanently put the Kings on their back feet. Two-time MVP Nikola Jokic led the way with 20 points, 11 assists, and 9 rebounds, and Porter Jr. (30 points and 6 rebounds) and Murray (25 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds) punished the Kings when Sacramento tossed double teams to help on Jokic.
De’Aaron Fox had 26 points, including 11 in the 4th quarter, while Kevin Huerter added in 21 points and Harrison Barnes finished with 13 points and 8 rebounds. But the Kings deep shots didn’t fall (28% on 35 attempts) and the squad clearly missed Sabonis’ playmaking in the 4th quarter.
Given the recent listless performances at Golden 1 Center against the Hornets and Wizards, it was good to see the Kings play with two-way focus and intensity for most of the match-up against the Western Conference’s premier squad. But the Kings fell to 17-15 on the season and 1-3 on this key six-game homestand, and silver linings don’t count in the NBA standings come playoff time.
In Sabonis’ absence, the Kings threw all defensive options at Jokic. Richaun Holmes’ had some strong moments on both ends, especially in the first half where he had 6 quick points with his patented push-shot. Trey Lyles played up against Jokic in small-ball lineups and finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Alex Len earned the start but was limited by fouls, and Barnes got switched onto Joker multiple times times. The squad showed the true next-man-up mentality with Sabonis out, but it was also clear that all of the Kings center options were overextended facing a superstar of Jokic’s caliber for 36 minutes.
These two squads will meet again tomorrow night for a rematch at Golden 1 Center. We’ll see if the Kings clear Sabonis for the second match of the double-header.
Game Notes:
- Associate Head Coach Jordi Fernandez took over for Mike Brown, who entered the league’s health and safety protocols on Tuesday afternoon. Fernandez celebrated his 40th birthday today by matching up against his former team, as he spent the last 6 seasons on Mike Malone’s staff in Denver.
- While the Kings started the game taking a ton of threes, their offensive success came once they started attacking the basket. Midway through the 2nd quarter, they held a 42-22 lead and had more points in the paint (26) than Denver had total points. But the Nuggets closed the gap through the 2nd and 3rd quarters by – surprise surprise – attacking the basket themselves.
- Davion Mitchell and Malik Monk tried to give the Kings an energy lift throughout the game, but the two combined for just 14 points on 6 of 18 shooting and 0 of 8 from deep. Mitchell did finish with 9 assists and some strong defensive moments, but the Kings needed a scoring lift from their bench that neither guard could deliver.
I just want to see the beam, but the beam doesn’t want to see me.
Here you are.
In the end, Denver just thumbed its nose at us and we didn’t respond.
Still early, but Keegan has to start showing that he can contribute in other ways when his 3-pointers aren’t falling. He’s looking very one-dimensional.
It’s almost a certainty that he’s going to get blocked around the rim.
he goes up weak. and he shows the ball. Lyles goes up strong and hides the ball. KM better learn some NBA vet tricks.
He did have a few deflections, a steal and a couple of boards in traffic.
They are obviously sticking with him.
His defense looks alright and has been improving. He also has been hitting some midrange shots and runners. But I agree he could be more aggressive getting rebounds.
DEN’s offense was bad in the first half, the Kings took advantage of it, and then fell apart when DEN started to play their game.
He really does need to add strength and get a bit more explosive.
Guy has a very low ceiling. I’d package him in a deal before the word gets out.
you want to trade away a small forward who plays decent defense as a rookie, is switchable, hits threes, has good shooting percentages elsewhere, and fits with everyone?
And is in the first year of a rookie deal!
Well, yeah, Eddie. This is how panicking works.
I believe my eyes. Can’t create. Below avatage athleticism. Zero aggression. Package him in blockbuster, not a minor deal.
What has happened to Malik’s Kalikimaka??
Might have to bring the bandaid back because his mojo went with it.
The drop in Malik and Hurter’s play from early in the season has been a huge problem.
Fox had a strong scoring game but key turnovers a huge factor in the loss . Another area where the loss of Domas was huge .
On the same night as a 61-20-10 triple double, Vlade is sitting center court next to the owner. What’s the story there?
Amazing. How on earth does Vlade sleep at night?
Just fine, you think he actually gives a sh@t?
the irony on that was HUGE. and Vlade was not introduced to the crowd which is getting a bit boo bird like lately
No Vlade intro was the right call.
Haliburton leads the league in assists and appears headed towards superstardom.
Luka put up the first 60/20/10 game in history.
Fox is what he is.
Domas is injured.
All King’s fans have to look forward to is maybe getting the 8th seed and getting bounced early and some beam lighting up.
16 years of this doesn’t seem fair for such a loyal and passionate fan base.
Domas is injured and will be back soon and a certain All Star that makes Fox better as a scorer . He has never been a natural playmaker . Wish Hali the best but if Kings had drafted Luka would not need him .
Hali is a good player. He did not fit with Fox. Sabonis is a good player. He fits with Fox and probably would with Hali. Indy wanted Hali’s cheaper contract.
I wish Kings would have drafted Luka instead of MB3. Then, since I do not like one dimensional ball hog teams, I would have traded him after he proved some of his value. What if we had Fox + Hali + Luka. Each of the 3 would diminish the others value.
Yeah, but why is he taunting Domas like that?
https://twitter.com/MarcJSpears/status/1607952723349237760?s=20&t=d27V_SzRxa8ViOiPslBeYg
Sadly, if Sabonis is out for any length of time I think the Kings are going to lose a lot in the soft part of their schedule. If we do, we could be right back in the lottery sooner rather than later. Bummer.
That 34 to 20 assist disparity really shows. Kings are down their best rebounder and playmaker. For 90% of the teams in the league that is typically two different players, so losing one isn’t as impactful. When the Kings lose Sabonis it’s a double whammy.
I also noticed last night that the Kings couldn’t hit the side of a barn from three. Sure, there were a lot of wide open misses, but there were also more contests. When Sabonis draws the double team (much like Jokic) he’s able to pass out to more open shooters who get the open look or can even swing it to a more open player as the defense scrambles to close out. That didn’t happen a lot last night. The Kings also missed the gravity Sabonis brings to the offense. He is just so important to this team’s success.
Yeah the assist numbers cratering were the biggest red flag to me as well. Sabonis is just so good at being a hub on that end. I know they’ve called him questionable but I’d be pretty surprised if he’s not out at least a couple weeks. Leaving things up in the air just feels very Kangz’y.
Feels like the business side, which controls these things sadly, is trying to sell tickets on the hope Domas ‘might’ be available.
Personally, I think he’ll be out until at least the Atlanta game on the 4th. And I doubt they will let him play b2b’s for awhile to reduce stress and wear and tear.
After the road trip, I thought this was a 50 game win type of team. But after these putrid first 4 games (I was not impressed by the Lakers win AT ALL), they clearly are sinking closer to a 500 team that was simply hot at the beginning of the season.
De’Aaron Fox’s performance last night isn’t creating much optimism for me either, truth be told. It is what it is.
That said, 45 wins remains my prediction for the season. They are just in a bad rough patch at the worst possible time for it.
Very realistic number, may even be pushing it a bit but around the 40 mark sounds right
Yeah after some initial optimism that Fox had made a jump this year, he’s been regressing to the mean. He’s a solid player he’s just a 2 or probably a 3 on a really good. I know it’s been a long time but I still think this team just needs more talent and given that they gave their pick this year, one more lottery trip might be for the best if Sabonis is going to miss time or not be effective when he comes back.
Unfortunately, our leadership is as anti-Lottery as it comes.
We gave our 2024 1st if it is outside of the top-14. That goes to top 12 in 2025, top 10 in 2026, and finally 2 seconds if not conveyed.
Kings have this years pick. It is 2024 top 14 protected, 2025 top 12 protected 2026 top 10 protected and then conveys to 2nd rounders. While that hurts trade options, it does protect for future continued failure.
Yeah that was a weird auto correct from have to gave on my phone for some reason. It’s supposed to say “have their lottery pick”.
The assist numbers have been down the last ten games even before the Sabonis injury. We’ve had games in that span with 19 assists twice, 20 twice, and 21 twice..
+1–Only one of those six games was a win (@ Cleveland)!
I’m less worried about the Sabonis injury than I am losing against bad teams last week with Sabonis.
Yeah the Charlotte and Washington games were huge red flags. You just can’t blow those two games the same week and really be taken seriously.
So far, this homestand has been a HUGE missed opportunity. Sold out crowds, the city is completely re-engaged…and they lay 2 eggs last week.
Man, if YOU already are losing faith, what am I supposed to do?
Haha well, a healthy dose of skepticism is always necessary! That goes quintuple for being a Kings fan.
And team’s built with young players like IND, ORL and HOU, will soon lap these guys.
Without the playmaking of Sabonis, I don’t know why they didn’t play Davion more than 16 minutes. Not a single minute where Fox and Davion shared the court.
I’d say 16 minutes is right where he should be at
why?
Ok, is 20-25 alright with you?
For now, sure, and see how it goes.
All I can say is the passing skill of Joker is another level of Sabonis………..
Jokic make quick decision on his passing……….
I think the team played well, except the 3 pts not falling………
Hope they keep the momentum the next game
Anyone else think it’s a bit strange that on a night the Kings could get their outside shots to fall that Terrance Davis got a DNP/CD? Seems like Jordi could have used a hot hand and TD has shown he can be a microwave.
I think they did this on their previous back-to-back also
No, not strange at all.
I went through his Game Logs, and I think of his 27 games played, only 6 he was a clear positive contributor as a scorer without being a negative in the defense and/or TO department.
So he is a microwave in less than a quarter of his games. And I think he’s a net negative in games where he’s not hot.
I was a lot more confused by the lack of KZ Okpala than I was no TD.
KZ is what fixes everything.
Tough L, this team is a step above last year but not sure it’s much more than that. I’m not sold on Fox having improved his 3 point shot enough, still waiting on that. Davions shooting is not good enough yet in his career either, he should stick to drives, midis, and a few wide open 3s. Monk better heat up and Sabonis come back quick or we could start sliding down standings real quick. If this team is .500 or better I’m happy, kinda sad but Kangz fanz don’t ask for much lol.
One of the guys on the recent TKH podcast brought up the fact that a huge part of this team’s early success was based on them playing historically good offense. Going from “historical” offense to “good” offense isn’t cutting it right now.
For about a month the offense has been pretty average. Without Sabonis, good would be a massive improvement.
The Kings are sitting at 6 wins, 6 losses for the month of December. A couple of wins to close out the month against Denver and Utah, and things are not looking too bad for December, potentially finishing with an 8-6 mark.
You never know, this league will surprise you on any given night.
The will define the Kings. Good teams will have occasional off-nights, against bad teams like CHA and WAS, but good teams also have great nights and beat teams like DEN and UT. The Kings need some of those wins.
yes. But I do feel insane going to the game tonight thinking or hoping for a different result.
Yep. You crazy.
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