Kings 132, Wizards 118: TD goes off in DC as Sacramento wins seventh straight on the road

With Kevin Huerter sidelined due to a hamstring injury, it stood to reason that the Sacramento Kings’ offense, especially their three-point attack, would take a step back. But much like the rest of this magical Sacramento season, go ahead and throw reason out the window.

Though the start was slow, Sacramento found its groove early against the Washington Wizards, with the two teams trading buckets in a breakneck first half.

Playing big minutes with Huerter out and Kessler Edwards — making his first start in a Kings’ uniform — in early foul trouble, Terence Davis had himself a night, connecting on four three-pointers in the first half on his way to dropping 16 in the first 24 minutes. He would finish with 21 after having gone scoreless his previous three times out.

Though the Kings would ultimately live up to their billing as the league’s best offense, it was the Wizards who were lighting it up early. Behind Kyle Kuzma, D.C. jumped out to an early 10 point lead at 21-11. Kuzma, who finished his night with 33 points on 12-23 shooting (4-11 from 3), almost single-handedly kept the home team in the game, but was not enough to match the attack of the Kings, who saw six players drop double-digits, including Davis and Malik Monk (17) off the bench.

Shooting 60% from behind the arc as a team didn’t hurt, either, as the team broke its franchise record for made threes in a season in the first quarter when Keegan Murray drained a triple with just over four minutes remaining.

Sacramento turned a ten point deficit into a four point lead after one quarter, stretching its advantage to 11 at the half. This despite being downright awful from the free throw line, connecting on just three of their nine first half attempts.

The inability to take advantage from the charity stripe ultimately wouldn’t matter, as the Wizards had absolutely no answer for Davis or Domantas Sabonis. The Kings’ big man had 30 points, 10 assists, and 9 rebounds Saturday night, his 57th double-double of the season. He was only denied the opportunity to pursue his 12th triple double due to an apparent injury suffered to his left hand after taking a hard fall in the third quarter. Though he would return, he took a seat on the bench with several minutes remaining but with the game well in hand.

Though the Wizards hung around, the Kings were well in control by the third quarter, especially as Kuzma cooled off a bit. Bradley Beal had a strangely quiet 20 for the Wiz, and Corey Kispert chipped in 13. No other players scored in double-digits for the home team, who shot 45% from the field and 36% from three while allowing the Kings to shoot almost 56% from the field and 59.5% from deep.

It wasn’t the best defensive performance from Sacramento, but the home team’s effort was worse.

On a relatively quiet night for De’Aaron Fox, who scored 12 points and was 0-3 from the free throw line, Keegan Murray was big, dropping 19 including a 5-10 night from beyond the arc. He now stands just 21 makes away from setting the rookie record for three-pointers made in a season (Donovan Mitchell, 187), and he’s got 12 games to do it.

Washington played all 14 players, with every player that saw the court getting at least 6 minutes. Richaun Holmes, returning to the active roster after an illness, was the only King to not get any run, and 11 of the 13 players scored.

The Kings are now 8-2 in their last ten, have not lost on the road since the All Star break (7-0), and have secured their best record since 2005-06 — with a chance to cross the 50-win threshold for the first time since the ’04-’05 campaign.

The 132 points marked the 16th time the team had crossed the 130-point mark this season, adding to their legacy as the highest-rated offense in the NBA this season and keeping them in the lead for the all-time mark. It’s been a year of breaking records and lighting beams, and there was more of that Saturday in the nation’s capital.

With the win, and a loss by the Denver Nuggets, Sacramento is just three games back in the loss column for the No. 1 seed in the West. They hold on to the two seed thanks to the tie-breaker over the Grizzlies, who held off the Warriors earlier in the day.

Huerter’s time table to return is yet to be determined, and Sacramento was also without Trey Lyles in D.C. (right shoulder soreness). It is unknown at this time how much time Lyles is expected to miss or whether Sabonis’ hand injury will cost him any time.

Sacramento’s road trip will make its final stop in Salt Lake City, when they take on Utah Monday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.