The Kings got two nights off to recover from the midweek emotional rollercoaster of defeating the Warriors and then losing to the Clippers. Tonight, they hosted the reigning NBA champions for their third home game in a row. Keegan Murray made his return after missing four games while recovering from a back injury. While the Kings had fresh legs and a healthy addition coming into tonight’s game, the Denver Nuggets were on the second night of a back to back after playing in Phoenix last night and were still without their starting point guard, Jamal Murray. For the Kings, the odds in defeating the NBA champs were likely as good as they’re ever going to get in this league. Let’s see how they did:
Quick Stats
Outcome: Kings win, 123-117
Sacramento Kings: 123pts, 48.5% fg, 47.1% 3 pt, 73.3% ft, 33 ast, 47 reb, 11 to
Denver Nuggets: 117 pts, 49.5% fg, 24.0% 3 pt, 65.0% ft, 35 ast, 46 reb, 11 to
Maybe back to backs are scheduled into this league for a reason. The Kings took full advantage of their rest and Denver’s lack of by being the more energized team and leading for a majority of the night. They gained their largest lead of 17 points in the third quarter. The Nuggets, not willing to let anyone forget that they are the champions, were able to make things interesting in the fourth quarter as they made a push and cut Sacramento’s lead down to just 2 points with three minutes remaining. Fortunately, the Kings were able to dip into their reserve tank to quickly widen the gap again with huge shots from Malik Monk and Kevin Huerter to eventually ice the victory.
The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
The Good:
- Beam Team Basketball: We got the best version of Beam Team basketball tonight. This was particularly showcased during the second quarter where the Kings outscored the Nuggets 39-20 and extended their lead to 14 points to end the half. Unlike in recent games, the Kings came out shooting well from the start. They ended the first two quarters shooting 5-9 and 4-8 from the 3-point line. During the first quarter, this kept them out of a hole as Nikola Jokic scored 16 of his 36 points, and they ended the quarter only trailing by 5 points. In the second quarter, this hot shooting earned them a sizable lead that they were able to maintain for most of the third quarter. Sacramento’s offense this season has been able to maintain effective movement and shot creation, but has yet to reap the benefits of seeing the 3-point shots fall consistently. Tonight was their best stretch of shooting and it impacted the rest of their offense. Domantas Sabonis (17 points, 15 rebounds, & 7 assists) was able to find some open lanes to attack the basket or complete back door passes to teammates because the consistent shooting opened up the floor. Kevin Huerter (16 points, 4-6 3-pt) and Malik Monk (26 points, 4-7 3-pt) both enjoyed efficient shooting nights and were responsible for the two shots that iced the game for the Kings late in the fourth quarter.
- JaVale McGee Moment: In just 12 minutes off the bench, JaVale McGee seemed possessed by the spirit of Hakeem Olajuwon. During the second quarter, McGee was the leading spark that ignited the Kings into gear to make their biggest run of the night. He had multiple big statement blocks, an old school sky hook, and a driving layup all which felt like back to back to back plays. McGee made his presence known and finished with 8 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 blocks.
- Closing Composure: Even with the Kings earning a 17 point lead in the third quarter, everyone tuned into this game knew that Denver, with their skill, execution, and pedigree, still had a shot. Nikola Jokic is unexplainable and seems to be able to put the ball in the basket from nearly anywhere on the floor, no matter what direction he is facing, and no matter how slow it may look he is moving. Jokic ultimately completed a triple double of 36 points, 13 rebounds, and 14 assists. His dominance, paired with Michael Porter Jr.’s (13 points) midrange specialty and Reggie Jackson’s (20 points) heater late in the game closed the gap to just 2 points late in the fourth quarter. It was really anybody’s game at this point. However, the Kings proved to everyone, and most importantly, themselves, that they are capable of competing and winning in late game situations against the best teams in this league. They were able to maintain their composure while Denver executed efficient offense to close the gap and respond in kind with their own run to secure the win.
The Bad:
- Turnovers: The Kings gave up 11 turnovers tonight, which isn’t the worst stat line to have in that category. However, some of them came at bad times and in bad ways. They committed 4 turnovers in the fourth quarter when they needed to value the ball the most, and some of these were in unnecessarily risky situations.
The Ugly:
- Losing the Lead Late: The Kings held on to the lead they gained in the second quarter for most of the game. It wasn’t until midway through the fourth quarter that they let Denver sneak their way back in. Suddenly a 14 point lead became a 5 point lead until it became just a 2 point lead. Although they were able to answer accordingly and trade buckets with the best in the league, letting the Nuggets get so close, so late was stress no one asked for.
The King of Kings
Remember that beautiful Beam Team basketball we talked about earlier? A huge part of why the Beam Team was beamin’ tonight was De’Aaron Fox and his 16 (SIXTEEN!) assists. Along with his 26 points, Fox shared the ball early, often, and throughout the entire game. He got off to a slow scoring start, but quickly notched 3 assists in the first quarter by the third quarter, he had already reached 11 assists. Playing alongside his Kentucky running mate helped, as Malik Monk was the happy recipient of a handful of Fox’s passes for open looks.
Up Next
Monday, December 4th vs. New Orleans Pelicans – 7:00 P.M. (PT) – In-Season Tournament Knockout Game
Is Malik Monk an Oxymoron?
No, it’s just arabic.
Who says a King (in Arabic) can’t take a vow of poverty?
Not me.
Glow from the beam can be seen all the way to mile-high Denver tonight!
Damn strong beam tonight
I think that was Fox’s best game as a King.
You could legit say that about a few of his games this year. That kid just keeps getting better and better. So proud of his on ball defense too
Maybe it’s just homerism – but the NBA has an officiating problem.
Some steps on Malik Monks foot and the overturn the foul on challenge. I was at the game and did not hear the explanation. Later in the game, Denver gets 3 free throws on same call.
Domas has arms up and gets a blocking foul. A few plays later, he drives, is knocked out position and no call.
And what was that other Jokic falling backwards gets the call about?
Fox drives – no call. Domas drives, no call.
The officials were inconsistent and awful, IMO.
That foul on jokic was such poppycock. Yet Fox and Domas get beat up in the paint all game with no whistles
Officiating around the league has been terrible this year. I blame it on the influx of new refs over the last 4 or 5 years.
YUGE games by Fox and the Ox! De’Aaron with a career high in assists was so fun to watch. Great team win tonight but everybody that touched the floor.
My Malik of Maliks has to go to Malik though. I really can’t stress enough how important to this team he is. Big shots and controlling the offense with the 2nd unit as well as the chemistry he seems to have with every player on the floor with him. I’m so happy we got this version of him in his career to pair with this team. Pay the man long term he deserves every penny he’s going to get. I love me some Malik Monk
McGee was awesome too.
And I am not sure if his goaltend was an actual goaltend or another block.
Scheduled win.
Next.
Last year: 10-8
This year: 11-7
Now let’s beat some Pelican ass.
Let’s knock them out! (of the tournament)
We’re 36% from 3 on average this season. Shot 47% from 3 this game. Took some unusually good shooting to win but I’ll take it. Hopefully the shooting stays hot.
Denver was 6/25 (3FG% of 24%).Much of the difference in the score.
I respect and applaud Coach Michael Malone, and I believe he gets a special joy out of beating Sac at the G1C. Glad Mike Brown’s Kings prevailed in this one.
I still find it weird that when Hali had to answer yet another question about Sacramento after less than two years, it was “let it go already!”.
But when Michael Malone still showed sour grapes after a decade it’s fine because he has a chip on his shoulder or something.
Get over it, Mike. It turned out great for you in the long run, and kudos to you.
All positive except one thing. The Kings get a big lead and can’t build on it but let’s the other team get back into the game. It would be nice to build on that lead and put the game away. Don’t let the other team make it so they have a chance to win the game. Okay one other thing that bothers me to no end is when Sabonis is called for a foul because he has his hand on the other player like what he did last night to Jochic when the game was on the line. He does this a lot. Isn’t he suppose to have a high IQ? Doesn’t seem that way.
Yes, but now he has to live in Denver instead of Sactown. I’d be bitter too!
I think it’s a bit different. Hali was traded- not tossed aside/fired for no reason.
Malone was wronged. I don’t mind him going after Vivek as long as he wants.
It’s a business or it isn’t. Though things happen in business, including wrong things. And coaches are so often the scapegoat.
I think the (lack of) communication with Tyrese may have made the matter extra painful. Also, he was barely more than a young kid when it happened. Malone a grown man.
OT—Steve Kerr used his team’s latest meltdown loss to the Clippers to downplay the Kings’ comeback win against the Dubs!
Sure, Steve!
I think Steve sees the windows shutting and is having a difficult time accepting that.
So, Kerr liked the loss to the Clippers, and yet it was more painful than the loss to Sacramento.
I think a great deal of Steve Kerr, as a player, a coach, and particularly as an interesting, thoughtful human being, but he is still stinging from his visit to Sacramento.
SEGABABA means “Scheduled loss” in Arabic.
“Jokić fined $2K by NBA for flop in Kings’ win over Nuggets”
It was so obvious. Meanwhile Domas and Fox have to show gaping wounds to get a call.
If they won the game from the flop call, $2k is a great deal
How silly is that? Take an embarrassing situation and make iteven more embarrassing.
Fine the player? Uh, no. Fine the referees. They were guilty of making the ridiculous call. It was obvious at the time and even more so on replay. The NBA has an officiating problem – and fining players for playing the refs is the wrong angle. Fix the officiating.
Jokic makes $33M per year, which is about $402K per game, or $8,375 per 48 minutes. That means the NBA fined Jokic for what he makes in about 15 seconds of basketball.
That fine is just silly when a play like that can change the course of a game.
They need to really figure out this flop thing. Sometimes it’s a technical which can impact how a game flows and sometimes it’s a “my bad we missed it” with small fine. Super inconsistent. Its like the 2 minute report, “sorry we missed a call that could have altered the outcome of a game, but we aren’t going to overturn any results.”
“hey you were right, we blew it. And some of the time, we’ll admit it, publicly. See! We are being accountable, and that is a noble thing. There, does that make you feel better?
But.. we will continue to call the game differently for different players – rookies get shafted and superstars get to the line. And unless your name is Lebron we really don’t care that you don’t like it. Oh, and Lebron – we are still loosing sleep over that missed call from last year. We promise to make it up to you, still. Go Lakers!”
On the other side of the coin –
Badge Legend