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Celtics 132, Kings 109: Boston sprints past Kings in second half

The Kings looked tired.
By | 27 Comments | Mar 21, 2023

Pictured: Keegan Murray is whistled for a foul. Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

Like the mini-fireball that consumed parts of my beard, a good chunk of my eyelashes, parts of my eyebrows, and large areas of my arm hair after my father-in-law let the propane run in our built-in grill without telling me before I hit the igniter tonight (I’m mostly okay, although most of the beard will have to be trimmed off), the Boston Celtics exploded in the second half against a tired Sacramento Kings squad to win their 50th game of the season on Tuesday evening.

The first half looked mostly encouraging for the Kings, as they led for the majority of the first and second quarters, and their offensive firepower was clicking, but their legs seemed to give way in the final 24 minutes of their fifth game in seven nights, and second night of a back-to-back, as the Celtics took over in the third with a 40-point quarter before cruising for the rest of the game. Jayson Tatum put up 36 points and 8 rebounds and Jaylen brown poured in 27 points of his own for the Celtics, while Domantas Sabonis recorded yet another triple-double, ending the night with 16 points, 13 rebounds, and 12 assists.

The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
THE GOOD

Off Night: Alongside his usual pestering defense, Davion Mitchell enjoyed a rare positive offensive performance on Tuesday evening as well. Sacramento’s backup point guard put up 13 points on 5/8 shooting, including 3/5 from deep, although all of his scoring came in the first half.

THE BAD

Mike Brown Challenges: Ninety-nine percent of Mike Brown’s coaching has been nothing short of amazing this season, but his choice in challenges often leaves something to be desired. After a bevy of bad calls to end the first half that saw no disputes from Kings staff, Brown used his challenge on an obvious De’Aaron Fox foul on a Jaylen Brown and-one. Fox wasn’t in foul trouble, and even if the challenge had been successful, the Kings would have saved a single point at the very start of the third quarter. Wasting a timeout and the ability to challenge a more important play at a later point in the game seemed unwise, even if Brown was trying to prove a point.

Depth: Tonight, the Kings played their fifth game in seven nights and their second game in a row, yet Mike Brown stuck with a nine-man rotation, likely due to Sacramento’s lack of reliable options on their bench, especially at backup center. Neither Richaun Holmes nor Chimezie Metu saw a second of meaningful floor time, leaving Trey Lyles to man the backup four and five spots and Domantas Sabonis to put in 37 hard fought minutes. The Kings should find some relief when Kevin Huerter returns from his injury, which will slide Kessler Edwards back to the bench, but until then, there may be some tired legs in Sacramento.

THE UGLY

Officiating: Complaints about officiating in a loss often come across a little hollow, as similar levels of dissatisfaction are rarely discussed in wins, but goddamn was the officiating awful tonight. Between Marcus Smart’s obvious grifting, Jayson Tatum being gifted every favorable call, and Domantas Sabonis getting demolished inside with nary a call, the Kings couldn’t seem to catch a break with the refs. Officiating wasn’t the cause of Sacramento’s loss, but it sure didn’t help either.

Free Throws: The Kings shot 13/20 (65%) from the charity stripe tonight. Domantas Sabonis was 2/6. That’s not going to get it done against a potential Finals contender like the Boston Celtics.

The King of Kings

Although it wasn’t Domantas Sabonis’ most dominant performance, Sacramento’s soon-to-be All-NBA center still managed to record 16 points, 13 boards, and 12 assists. With no other Kings players putting up impressive stat-lines, Sabonis wins by default.

Operation: MCNAIR – Season 2 Watch

Tonight’s chosen charity is Sac Steps Forward.
Donate if you are able and be sure to notify Will via Twitter (@WillofthaPeople) or e-mail ([email protected]) so he can continue to track donation totals.

Up Next

Friday, March 24th vs. Phoenix Suns – 7:00 P.M. (PT)

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Klam
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March 21, 2023 9:51 pm

Not really mad. It was pretty much a schedule loss being a back to back, 5th game in 7 nights where you had to cross the entire US the previous four games (thanks NBA!). Even if it wasn’t a back to back I would’ve predicted a loss considering the Celtics are the better team. The fact that this is the first consecutive losses the Kings have had since early February is pretty impressive.

Fortunately, as I mentioned before, we have a cushion between ourselves and the fourth seed, so let’s just get some rest, regroup, and come out and beat Phoenix on Friday. Let’s get closer to that magic number of 47 wins to clinch a playoff spot.

Mike120
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March 21, 2023 10:18 pm

One of those games where you grudgingly think the Kings will lose, but they play a decent first quarter. So you get your hopes up mostly because you don’t want to hear the large number of Celtics fans in the arena. Then they get behind and make a few mini runs after the Celtics bigger runs and it all falls to crap by the middle of the third. Then you realize it just isn’t happening tonight and you just want to go home and not get rained on.

RikSmits
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March 21, 2023 10:31 pm

Glad you’re more or less okay, Tim. That sounds scary.

RPO
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RPO
March 21, 2023 10:58 pm

Sounds like the brutal scheduling – the number of games in a short period of time – caught up to team. Too bad, it would have probably been a nice game of both teams were equally rested.
Oh well, get some rest then on to the next one.

BeTheBall
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March 21, 2023 11:17 pm

I opted to go to Mellencamp over going to the game. I think I made a solid decision. Excellent show.

UpgradedToQuestionable
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March 21, 2023 11:47 pm

I was at this one. Lots of green jerseys and jackets at Golden1.

The zebras were awful. Embarrassingly so, IMO. If there is a silver lining, it is good experience for these Kings to know what to expect as they head into the playoffs and these turkeys Bevetta Sacramento. Say what you want – but I am sure it is coming. They have to learn to play through it.

The Celtics in this contest, with the help of the referees, overpowered the Kings. Mostly, they outhustled them, and that surprised me. They dove for balls and were much more active than Sac. That had nothing to do with the officiating. Taken in total – the Kings lost the game because Boston beat them, but the whistles made it worse. Is Jayson Tatum a Laker or something?

My only other beef was that with 5 min to go – Mike Brown waved the surrender flag – aka he put in PJ Dozier and Richaun Holmes. Boston left in Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Marcus Smart – and that had me leave early for the first time in many years. That was a weak sauce move by the Celtics. No class. Hope no Celt starters got injured but karma had me wondering.

Lastly -my first NBA team to love was the ’69-’70 Red Holtzman coached New York Knickerbockers. The starters were Walt “Clyde” Frazier, Dick “Fall back, baby” Barnett, “Dollar Bill” Bradley, Dave deBuschere and their leader and captain and one amazingly tough and talented guy, Grambling’s Willis Reed.

Forever engrained in NBA history is Willis limping on to the court for The NBA Finals Game 7 at The Garden – barely able to walk, unable to bend one knee at all, shot full of only who can imagine of pain killers and anesthetics, and taped and bandaged, he hobbled to start the game and scored two jumpers before he went out. He rallied that team and Clyde Frazier had an MVP performance as NYK beat the Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain Lakers to become The Champs.

Willis Reed has a Sacramento connection, having assistant coached with the great Jerry Reynolds back in the early ARCO days.

A true NBA legend. R.I.P. Willis Reed.

Last edited 1 year ago by UpgradedToQuestionable
RikSmits
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March 21, 2023 11:59 pm

Rec’d for the Willis Reed shout out. He was truly a great player.

KingBob
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March 22, 2023 7:15 am

Definitely tired legs 2nd half. A lot of shots coming up short in the 4th. It seems like people pick on the Kings’ defense, but I have been finding myself wondering how they are supposed to play defense if they get called for a foul every time? Is this ref thing home team bias and every fan of other teams feel this way or is it really stacked against the Kings?

RobHessing
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March 22, 2023 9:52 am
Reply to  KingBob

30 out of 30 NBA fanbases feel that NBA officiating sucks (they are all correct) and biased against them (they are all incorrect).

Kingsguru21
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March 22, 2023 11:45 am
Reply to  RobHessing

It’s the inconsistency I find frustrating.

Hobby916
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March 22, 2023 12:19 pm
Reply to  Kingsguru21

Would adding a 4th ref make a difference? It seems like there are calls that are made where the ref is obviously being blocked by a player, or they are out of position, etc…or maybe that would just be another set of bad eyes calling the game, idk.

andy_sims
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March 22, 2023 11:19 pm
Reply to  Kingsguru21

Disagree, I’ve found them frustratingly consistent, especially as it pertains to Fox.

RobHessing
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March 22, 2023 9:51 am

The last time the Kings lost two straight was Feb 3-5, which is sort of amazing. The last time they lost three straight was Nov. 23-28. Beating Phoenix on Wednesday would nail a few coffins shut for the Kings. Let’s hope they come into that game rested, focused and on point.

Kingsguru21
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March 22, 2023 12:38 pm
Reply to  RobHessing

The last time the Kings lost two straight was Feb 3-5, which is sort of amazing. The last time they lost three straight was Nov. 23-28. 

And they’ve only lost three OR four games on the year once apiece. As opposed to a few years ago where they had two separate 9 game losing streaks in the same season. Amazing stuff really.

For shits and giggles, I looked up team numbers since Jan 1st. The Kings are 24-14 in that time. They have a 121.5 ORtg (1st) and a 118.3 DRtg (26th) for a Net Rtg of 3.2 (9th).They’ve lost 2 in a row the following dates: 1/4 & 1/7 (Home vs Atl & LAL), 1/25 & 1/28 (Home vs Toronto and @Minnesota), 2/3 & 2/5 (@Indiana & @New Orleans), and these last several games against Utah and Boston. In that same timeframe, they’ve won 6 in a row, 5 in a row and 3 in a row (twice).

IMO to beat Phoenix and Utah Friday and Saturday nights respectively, play your game and do it well. That’s what’s required to beat them.

Kingsguru21
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March 22, 2023 10:10 am

A schedule loss, but not much more than that IMO. The officiating stunk, absolutely in Boston’s favor, but it was good to see that Boston had counters on how to play Domas. That was something the Kings needed to see as more teams will do that to them moving forward. Some of Domas’ TOVs were fatigue related IMO. Not on his part, entirely, but on the team’s ability to play in the paint. Or lack of doing so, more accurately.

I’ll say this alot moving forward, but the way you really beat the Kings is controlling the tempo of the game in the halfcourt. Slow them down in the halfcourt, you win. But you had better have a game manager like Mike Conley, Jrue Holiday, Chris Paul or Marcus Smart. Not every team does. Boston had alot of impact on the Kings looking like they were running in sludge. They kept the Kings from moving as freely as they would like in the lane all night and the Kings finished with 2 FB points. TWO. For the parts of the game that mattered, it was 0. The Celtics beat them up and eventually wore the Kings down. The refs can’t call all the contact, and then you factor in the effective flopping/star power Boston has and there you go. The upside to this game is Boston had to come out and beat them and did so. Points in the paint favored Boston 56 to 38 and that’s an absolute losing formula for the Kings.

The real loss was losing in SLC the night before without Markannen, Clarkson or Sexton playing for the Jazz. And that is what it is. The question is can being home help this Kings team push into the playoffs.

Make a big deal about the time zones for the Kings but they at least were travelling West (which is easier), but the Celtics were on the end of a road trip and out on the road for 12 days. I do think it’s a quirk, but the Celtics caught the Kings both games under challenging scheduling circumstances both times for the Kings. Lots of teams sit their players under those load constraints. This road trip was bad, but they’ve had worse. Check out the 6 game in 8 day trip in 2002 (starting Jan 31st in Seattle). THAT was rough.

Moving forward, you have to beat the teams in front of you and there are no gimmes as we saw Monday night in SLC. Phx Fri, Utah Sat, Minny next Mon and in PDX next week on Wed/Fri for that mini series. Apr 2nd (following Sunday) is home vs SA. These next 6 games are likely to determine where you sit in the playoff seedings. Could the Kings catch Memphis? Maybe, but it’s not gonna be easy. Memphis plays Houston twice in a row, in Atlanta Sun, and plays Orlando/LA Clippers 3 of the next 4 days at home after that.

Does this team have anything left (I’m guessing yes) and can they figure out a way to pull some Ws out of the hat here. I’m guessing yes, again. There’s not alot of value in analyzing back end of trips other than it’s time for rest.

Phoenix just lost to OKC (who also beat the Clippers last night; well wishes to Paul George in recovery from that horrible injury), they have to beat the Lakers in Crypto tonight and they play a b2b with Sac in Sac and Philly in Phx Sat night. (Philly is in SF against GSW and Utah is in SLC playing Milwaukee Fri night FWIW.)

The Kings have their opportunities here. It’s up to them. The Kings had 25 post ASB games and 6 b2b’s, both were NBA highs. But 4 of those b2b’s have already come and gone with the 5th b2b set this weekend. (Apr 4th/5th in New Orleans/Dallas is the last. Also known as games 79 & 80.) This was the stretch alot of the NBA world was convinced the Kings would stumble in, and they are 11-4. They are in these 4 sets of b2b’s 5-3. (The only loss on a rest day was against Milwaukee. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ )

The Kings have a decent shot at hitting 50 W’s. They have a high likelihood at finishing 1st in ORtg. In order to hit 50 W’s, they would have to go 18-7 (72% winning clip) post ASB as opposed to the 56% winning clip they were on prior to the break. Am I worried about seedings or playoff positioning? No. This group has exceeded my expectations and I thought this was a 45 win team with a good shot at finishing top 7 in ORtg (and a middle to bottom 3rd in DRtg). In years past, these stretches (from the Milwaukee game to today) would kill the Kings. This year they are 3-3, a dramatic improvement. And yet fans are mad they lost to the Celtics at home, a legitimate championship contender. That’s improvement.

I’m here for the ride and I’m not worried about any of it. This year has been too much fun to care about silly trivial stuff like championships. I’d like the Kings to win one, but I’m not going to be expecting it. Meanwhile, as I said at the time of the trade, I felt that the Sabonis trade would be judged as successful if the Kings managed to win 50 games 3 years in a row. I was not expecting year 1 of that to be this season, and that’s been a fun revelation: Perhaps we all, fans and outsiders alike, truly underestimated this team like everyone else.

And demz da breakz of da game.

Last edited 1 year ago by Kingsguru21
Bluejohn
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March 22, 2023 2:15 pm
Reply to  Kingsguru21

Really good piece Nate. One of your best this season I think. When I decide to lock in watching the King’s defense I usually focus on Foxy. In the first half last night he was really dialed in and played aggressive and scrappy defense. Second half…. not so much. As an aside I thought Davion played his ass off in the 19 minutes he was on the floor.

In the bigger scheme of things (including next season) this could be a valuable loss for the Kings. Their #1 rated offense is not enough to beat highly skilled teams and while I expect them to be be a better offensive team next year this loss to the Celtics has to be an eye opener for Fox and Co.

Kings coaches over the years have talked defense to this team til they were blue in the face with almost no buy in. I know Coach Brown has this roster’s attention but the team remains one of the worst defensive units in the Association. Now that the Kings are almost sure to make the playoffs and are starting to believe in themselves as an elite team. If they want to be accepted by other teams and more importantly their peers as winners then last nights game clearly had to show them that they have a lot of work to do on the defensive end.

As the old saying goes (I’m old, get over it)…..the worst lies are the ones you tell yourself and if that’s true (which I think it is) then this season’s King team is going to continue to buy their own BS until they commit to playing equally hard on both ends of the court.

andy_sims
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March 22, 2023 11:20 am

So much energy spent digging out of a giant deficit against Utah, it was hard to be surprised that the Kings couldn’t kick into that gear where the offense flows like Niagara Falls. Boston certainly had a lot to do with it, their halfcourt defense is truly elite. Front-rim misses and blown shots in the paint are reliable indicators that the oomph you need to win games against good teams just wasn’t there. They only have themselves to blame for not putting Utah away early, just a really bad loss.

And I agree with you 100%, Brown’s challenge was so obviously doomed to fail that I can’t believe one of his assistants didn’t grab him by the shirt and ask him what the hell he was doing. If, as speculated, he did it to avoid a technical, he should have just taken the tech. Just an uncharacteristically bad decision by MB.

And I’m glad to hear that you’re largely intact after your brush with death. Generally, “this is going to blow up in your face” is metaphoric, and it’s great that the only damage was cosmetic, and temporary. I’m sure that you are still very beautiful.

Klam
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March 22, 2023 12:10 pm

OT: Wonder how this’ll affect the Clippers the rest of the season.
https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1638611560053497856?t=4uxbzV9wwMIvbZCSoDQzxA&s=19

andy_sims
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March 22, 2023 1:33 pm
Reply to  Klam

Negatively, I presume.

UpgradedToQuestionable
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March 23, 2023 12:40 pm
Reply to  andy_sims

That’s why I am a regular here on the TKH- it’s for the insights.

Sacto_J
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March 22, 2023 1:04 pm

I’m not a fan of getting your ass handed to you, ever. Especially when the ones handing it to you is a team you’re trying to contend with as one of the best in the league.
Boston, similar to the Bucks, Clippers, Philly, is definitely a benchmark team, tho. One where, by the end of the game you will know a little bit better how well you do (or don’t) stack up in this league. And I think its safe to say we’re definitely not “there” yet. Boston and the Bucks, specifically, handled the Kings with little trouble and would likely dispatch this team in 5 games right now. I actually think those 2 teams could probably do that to just about any team in the West right now, honestly. The good news is that we wouldn’t have to see either of those 2 teams unless we made it to the finals. Which, in this Bizzaro world of a season, could actually be possible. Maybe not probable, but definitely possible.

andy_sims
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March 22, 2023 1:42 pm
Reply to  Sacto_J

I think that under better circumstances, Sacramento can hang with the Celtics, but my money would be on Boston in a best-of-seven.

It’s basically the difference between being a contender, and being a team that no one wants to deal with in the playoffs. The Kings are on a good tier right now, at least thirty levels higher than last year, but Boston is one or two notches above us, some of it because of having more talent. Experience counts, too, and while any team can be got on any given night, my guess is the Kings’ really bad losses (teams resting players or on a SEGABABA), The Celts take most of them in the same situation.

Boston is aspirational, and it’s going to take some time and a lot of effort to become that kind of team. I like our odds.

UpgradedToQuestionable
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March 22, 2023 5:16 pm
Reply to  andy_sims

No one in the West carries much juice in my mind. Denver just doesn’t impress very much though Jokic is a bona fide superstar. For me, whoever comes out of the East will be League champs.

Embiid and Phila are the East Coast equivalent to the NuggyNuggs. Some nice pieces, a nice win-loss record and that’s it.

Boston v. Milwaukee is what I expect to be the East Conf Finals and that winner wins the Larry O’Brien. I think that will be BrewTown, Cream City, the Buck stops there.

andy_sims
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March 22, 2023 7:36 pm

I agree with you, assuming the #1 team in the West at the end of the season makes the Finals, it’s tough to envision them getting the better of Philly, Boston, or Milwaukee. A lot of good teams out here, but no great ones, I think.

AnybodyButBagley
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March 22, 2023 7:53 pm

Pile up enough wins early so you don’t have to beat one of the best teams in the NBA to squeeze into the playoffs.

The room to lose this game is the result of overall success.

Sacto_J
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March 23, 2023 12:33 pm

Absolutely fair point.

NowLoveThemOnceAgain
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March 22, 2023 8:09 pm

Celtics and Bucks are just better teams than the Kings. That’s okay, having a great season and getting to the playoffs with confidence is a win for all of us.

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