The Sacramento Kings defeated the Phoenix Suns 127-104 at home Wednesday night. This comes after the Kings beat the Suns in overtime on Sunday. The Kings used a strong fourth quarter to take control and seal the deal, forcing Mike Budenholzer to pull his starters with around five minutes left in the fourth. De’Aaron Fox set the tone in the first half leading a fast-paced attack for a Kings offense that shot a blistering 68% from the field. In a very positive sign, the Kings showed out from the three-point line. The Suns kept it somewhat close in the first half, cutting the Kings lead to single digits with a scoring push from Devin Booker and Josh Okogie. The Kings hot shooting from three and pace kept them ahead though. The Suns would briefly take the lead 66-64 with 9:12 remaining in the third. This as it was announced that DeMar DeRozan would not return to the game with lower back tightness. Keon Ellis started the second half in his place. (The Suns were without Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal and Grayson Allen.) A huge block by Keegan Murray in the third and other key defensive plays helped swing momentum back to Sacramento in the third. The Kings then put things out of reach for the Suns with a 19-4 run in the fourth that resulted in a 20-point lead.
The Good
De’Aaron Fox: Fox took control of this game early with his aggressiveness and attacking the basket. The whole offense played with nice pace as he set the tone. Fox finished with 29 points, and he hit several big shots to stop the Suns runs.
Three-Point Shooting: It is back! The Kings shot 58% from three (15-28). Eight players on the Kings hit threes with Domantas Sabonis hitting three of three from beyond the arc.
Bench Scoring: Trey Lyles finished with 13 points on 5-7 from the field (to go along with 5 rebounds and 3 assists). Jordan McLaughlin added 11 points. Ellis finished with 9 points and made some great defensive plays, no surprise.
Battle of the Numbers: The Kings shot 64% from the field (Suns finished 37%), collected 38 assists (Suns had 23), had 22 fast break points (13 for the Suns), and scored 62 points in the paint (to the Suns 42). The Kings also won the rebounding battle 45-40 (mainly because of defensive rebounds).
The Bad
Turnovers: The Kings handed over 17 turnovers for 29 points. If this game were closer, this could have come back to bite them.
Offensive Rebounds: Even though the Kings won the rebounding battle, they lost offensive boards 19-6.
The Ugly
The Suns Shooting: Aside from Josh Okogie going 10-15 for 25 points, the rest of the team did not shoot that well (37% overall and 30% from three). The Kings did well collapsing on Booker in the first half with double teams, which really stifled the Suns starting unit. They tightened things up on defense in the second half to help bring home the victory.
King of Kings
De’Aaron Fox: 29 points (11-17 from the field), 10 assists, 6 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 block is pretty good. And as I mentioned earlier, he set the tone for the game. Shout out to Kevin Huerter who finished with 22 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists.
Up Next
The Kings will take on the Minnesota Timberwolves Friday at 7 p.m. at home.
Something that caught my eye was the Kings ball movement and lack of ISO in the second half. They honestly looked like the Kings of two years ago. In the second half they had 20 assists to 6 turnovers. They shot 6 for 11 from deep and an insane 26 for 40 from the field which is good 65%. They also outscored the Suns 68-48.
I point this out because two key players were missing in Monk and DeRozan. Now, I’m not saying the Kings are better off without them, but I do want to point out that the style of play changed, the defense too a noticeable uptick, and Fox took just 1 3pt attempt as he instead touched the paint and created opportunities for his teammates. Did anyone else notice this change for the better?
Fox paint touches were very noticeable. The spacing was there, and maybe in different lineups those lanes might not be there.
The ball movement was nice to see. Hockey assists, cutting to the basket, etc. Now they need to keep that going with DeMar on the court. Put him in some of that cutting motion and really throw the defense off.
Could DeRozan bring us a good big in a trade, perhaps plus a 3 and D wing? Those seem to be greater needs, and it may be that DeRozan’s wonderful skills just don’t fit well with the strengths of this team. However, one game is not enough to justify that conclusion.
I think the Kings just need to figure out how to incorporate DeRozan into the version of the offense we saw last night.
DeRozan has a skillset this team needs, being able to score when the game ultimately slows down and getting to the FT line.
Absolutely. Like Adam pointed out in another thread, the Kings are just some average three point shooting away from having two more wins, so a very solid start to the season.
I think by January, health permitting, we will see a very powerful and versatile offense, with being able to push the pace and play half court, and the DDR/Fox/Domas synergy fully realized. Especially with how Keegan has expanded his game and if they are getting K-Von’s dynamic game vs Kev’s mediocrity.
Is Huerter the 3 and D wing we have wanted? His defense does seem consistently better.
Pump the brakes on that. He has improved to being average-ish defensively this season. He has a long way to go.
Yes. He looks better but I want to see the improvement and consistency over a whole season. He sucked too bad and for too long last year to get that label yet.
Kevin plays very good team defense. He has trouble staying in front of quicker players, which could be exploited, but I think having Keegan, Fox, and Keon be so good, minimizes that fault.
It has been good to see him pick up a couple of blocks.
Average on this team puts him well within the top half of this team. He has been more aggressive at the basket as well. Working out some plays with Sabonis has been fun to watch.
One thing I think is important to point out here is that Fox was playing different from the very beginning of the game, his style did not change when DeRozan went out. I double checked to confirm the numbers via https://www.nba.com/stats/player/1628368/boxscores-scoring
First half, 88.9% of Fox’s FGAs were 2 pointers, 14.3% of those were mid range
Second half, 87.5% of his FGAs were 2 pointers, 13.3% of those were mid range
He made a concerted effort to get to the mid-range and the hoop. It was clear from early on in the game. Was it Fox that made the decision, or the game plan? Either way, it was effective.
in the press conference Fox said the coaching staff basically told him to drive more and touch the paint. He said it was up to him to follow through on their plan and he thought it worked well
on one drive in the 1st half, he passed up a layup for a kick-out leading to an open Keegan three (swish). It was the sort of play that guys like CJ McCollum and Josh Hart did against the Kings last year.
I was mad in that split second because I wanted him to take the shot at the rim. I think he ended up more open than he was expecting. Luckily Keegan made the shot.
haha, same. but I also wondered why CJ and Hart did it last year and then I saw the Kings defense scrambling everywhere, and the Pelicans and Knicks getting open threes. they were passing up open runners from about five feet away to get the ball moving. CJ was smiling in mid-air too.
I was thinking the same. The team looked closer the team from the last two year and I’m wondering how much of it is due to Demar not putting his stamp on the game.
it also makes me think if the team would be better off with having him come off the bench and starting Keon Ellis. The bench could absolutely use his scoring punch and he can iso as much as he wants. He can still be part of the fourth quarter closing lineup, but it might help to balance the team.
Yes. Astute observation.
The team was definitely humming last night, starters, bench, everyone was working hard on defense, and we got a bit of reversion to the mean for three-point shooting. 50%+ is unsustainable, but then, so was the thirty percent before the Suns game.
Huerter, looked very good, and like his teammates, stayed busy on the defensive end. Keegan frustrated the ever-loving shit out of Booker, and Fox just undermined all of Phoenix’s defensive efforts by dancing into the lane to hit numerous shots inside of ten feet.
Maybe the first time that t he team has really looked like the one we expected.
Great win!
THE GOOD:
Aggressive Fox! I love that he attacked the paint from the start and reduced his 3pt attempts. Also contributing with passing, defense and rebounding. If he can be play close to this level consistently then he is a max player. Love to see Huerter and Lyles playing well. I hope they can continue this and be consistent. Keegan is playing some great defense. That is about as good as I have seen anyone guard Booker.
THE BAD:
The slapstick turnovers. If you tuned in at the wrong time you would not think they are a professional team. Rebounding, made Okogie look like prime Dennis Rodman. Sabonis was giving me some Golden State series vibes. He was close to a quad double with TOs. Nice he hit some 3s at least. I hope DDR is OK.
Someone mentioned that when Sabonis takes too much time holding the ball is the paint this is when his turnovers happen. I tend to agree. Either makemyour moves or get rid of the ball. Don’t take so long.
Trending in the right direction, with improved 3p shooting and bench production.
Any update on DDR?
The most glaring need over the past couple of seasons has been winning games that you should win, especially at home. Last night was a small step in the right direction. Fad or fashion? Time will tell.
You said in the preview that they needed to establish their authority on the home court, they understood your assignment.
I loved Kevin’s game last night. Smart team defense, and he really is a versatile scorer and underrated passer.
It was great to see Trey gets his legs under him too. He is a gamer on defense, hits the boards, and his willingness to both let it fly from range and be very capable filling a lane on the break can cause havoc for opponents bench bigs.
J-Mac looked very competent last night. I like what he has shown so far, and doesn’t seem like he would hurt the team if he had to play minutes to cover injuries. Hopefully Dougie can play 8-12 minutes and provide some sort of spark. He doesn’t need to be “good” per se, but “fine” would be nice consistently.
I said this after the first game, I think the Kings are a tough matchup for the Suns. The Kings have too many players who can score, and they have to hide a few players defensively, even with the improvements made under Bud. Being able to run Keegan/Fox/Ellis at Booker is quite an advantage as well.
Does McDermott ever pass the ball. No matter where he is he shoots the ball. No passes.
He had an assist, and I don’t know how that’s possible without passing the ball.
I freely concede that it could be possible, maybe the ball bounces off of your face and goes to a guy who hit a shot.
Kings got lucky with injuries here, but regardless, it’s nice to see them actually beat a team, play good defense and shoot the ball well. I’m not going to read too much into DeRozan being out. I see that as sort of a “dead cat bounce” in political parlance. With Monk and DeRozan out, this team will go through long scoring droughts, since the only other reliable scorer on the team is Fox. Appreciate the good ones when they happen.
did anyone perceive a difference in the way they took their threes in this game? I thought they looked more settled than before – less rushed.
Fox only taking two. Domas taking them when open. This is key; Fox being more aggressive and getting to the paint. He collapses the defense so there are wide open 3s to be had or he finishes at the rim. Huerter drove more last night as well.
Basically as a team not settling for the quick, bail-the-defense-out 3 nearly as often. IMO when they do that, they are at their worst.
Thanks Adam
The score shows a solid win. Watching the game, despite the 20 point lead with just six minutes to play, the other 40 or so minutes wasn’t so convincing against a team missing Durant, Beal, Grayson Allen and mostly Nurkic as the Suns seemed to outhustle Sacramento for the first three quarters. Not complaining, just observing.
Deebo leaves the game – where he looked unlike this season’s self with 2 points. Hope the Kings most consistent scorer and leading scorer (and in minutes), and the player who led the Kings to victory last match up against Phoenix, is healthy again soon.
The highlights of the game for me, were Keegan’s D on Booker and that the end of the bench for Sac outscored the end of the bench for Phoenix as a part of me couldn’t look away when Mike Brown emptied the bench against the Phoenix hopefuls with 5 minutes to play. I admit, I was wondering, will the starters have to return if this gets to 10 points with 1,2,3 minutes left? Just admitting my skepticism – I am sure I am alone on this thought.
Next.
I noticed from the start of the game that DeRozan just seemed to be tripping over himself and wondered if he’d gotten bad news right before tipoff. He definitely didn’t look 100%, and was making uncharacteristic mistakes, but a back will do that to you.
okay now ???? that’s what we want from you. To the bucket, mid range and making passes to the corner pushing the tempo. That fox is a max player.
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