The Sacramento Kings overcame a seemingly endless supply of obstacles, some self-inflicted and some from outside forces, and emerged with a hard-fought and well-earned overtime victory in Minnesota, defeating the Timberwolves 118-111.
A brief rundown of the things that went against the Kings in this game:
- Sacramento went 1-12 from 3 in the first half
- Sacramento ended just 9-30 from beyond the arc
- Domantas Sabonis got a tough whistle all night, and fouled out before overtime
- Kevin Huerter finished the game 1-7 from the field, including 0-5 from deep
- Minnesota continually hit well-contested shots
- Anthony Edwards went off for 33 points, including some absolute daggers down the stretch
- De’Aaron Fox, the clutchest guy in the NBA, missed a game winning shot at the end of regulation
- The game tying shot by the Timberwolves in regulation was likely a miss travel call. Surely the refs will lose a lot of sleep over it.
So how did the Kings manage to win this game?
- De’Aaron Fox finished with 32 points, stepping up his scoring much earlier in the game than usual, while also coming through down the stretch in both the fourth quarter and overtime, despite the miss at the end of regulation.
- Following Sabonis’ 6th foul, Mike Brown went small with Trey Lyles at center. This drew Rudy Gobert out of the paint and really turned the tide at the end of the game.
- Lyles finished with 11 points, the majority (if not all?) came in the fourth quarter and overtime.
- Malik Monk had a huge night off the bench, finishing with 19 points, 5 assists (but it felt like at least twice as many) and 5 turnovers (but it felt like at least twice as many). But despite the turnovers, Monk was huge tonight.
- Keegan Murray notched another double double, finishing with 13 points and 13 rebounds.
- Sabonis, despite facing a tough whistle all night, still had his customary double double, with 17 points and 13 rebounds.
It was an ugly, hard-fought game. The Kings played some of the best team defense I’ve seen all year, and it really kept the in the game when shots weren’t falling. This game was stressful and sloppy and messy, but winning a game like this, in overtime, on the road, is a huge step for the Kings. These are the types of games the Kings need to be able to win both to maintain their spot in the Western Conference playoff standings, but also to prepare themselves for a playoff series.
I will gladly take the W.
I made this suggestion somewhere about a possible solution to the Sabonis backup issue:
If the Kings are at the point where Lyles is the best possible backup center, then they are in trouble.
Well, Duane Causwell ain’t walking through the door anytime soon! Seriously though, if we end up rolling forward as is, I’m not sure there is a better option. He’s smart, defends, works hard and has range out to the three point line.
All he doesn’t have is the size of a traditional rim protector, which would certainly be less of an issue if the perimeter defense was at least average.
Duane Causwell, veteran mentor.
I’m on board!
I think he can play that role in certain situations, but not consistently over the course of a season. We need some help guarding the paint in our starting lineup. Murray, as good as he’s been, is the only candidate and I don’t see that happening yet.
Wolf dance!
Anthony Edwards is my least favorite type of player. He takes I’ll advised bad shots, but they go in just enough for him to think he should keep taking them.
Kings got the win, but they still had a bad game. Hopefully the shots start falling and they can make these games look easier.
Once again, ugly victories>moral victories
Yeah though ugly, this was a good win. Their shots weren’t falling but they played much better D throughout and then fought through the overtime for the win.
In the past, losing the lead like that at the end of regulation would have probably led to a loss in OT. This is a different kind of team. This was a good win, really good win on the road against a hot team.
Much better defensive effort tonight. Brown must have gotten in their ears.
Their home / road defensive splits are crazy. They are an adequate defensive team on the road and a tire fire at home. They are also an average offensive team on the road, and #1 at home. /Shrugs.
That makes no sense whatsoever… kangz logic.
Right? Is it the crowd getting the team over-pumped? An overconfidence that is derived from sleeping in your own bed? The pre-game meal at “Sauced?”
It’s bipolar as hell.
It was easier when we just expected them to suck every night.
But this is a lot more fun.
Just knowing that they’ve got a legitimate chance to compete and win is one hell of an upgrade.
I was thinking last night, is there any current team that is nearly the shit show the Kings had been the last few years? I can’t think of any team who is anywhere as incompetent as the Kangz of the last few years. Now that team is good, I am definitely grasping the mockery that people made of this org for so long.
I’d posit that the last few years have been exceptionally managed. Even with a great plan, results are rarely immediate, or even short-term.
McNair had a Vladian knot to untie, and he didn’t have the option of slicing it in half.
And their worst offensive game of the year came at G1C against Toronto.
This team seems to be capable of winning every night but they also seem capable of losing, too.
it weren’t pretty, but it worked
Good job, Kings. This is why I wasn’t too concerned about the last two losses…as long as this team doesn’t start spiraling out of control with a losing streak and can hover above .500, barring injury, things should be okay.
But getting a backup center would help too…
I don’t complain much about refs but that missed travel call on McDaniels was obvious and could’ve cost us game. Luckily Trey made the play of the night with that huge AND1 dunk in OT! That Fox airball was pretty weak too but we got the W and that’s all that matters. We deserve two All-Stars, a win Wednesday sure would put us in the position to prove that before reserves are announced on Thursday.
Looking forward to the public apology on the NBA officials twitter shortly after they missed an obvious travel on the game-tying 3PT by Minny that sent this game into OT in the first place. Surely it’s gonna happen, right?
The league really can’t help themselves when it comes to how predictable and transparent they are when it comes to coddling certain teams/players
They’re sure to lose sleep over this!
LeComplainer.
James has gotten more bailout calls than anyone in history and Lakers the most of any team . Happy to see a little payback but sad to see the NBA taking the knee for him !
I liked what Draper said in the postgame show:
Intermittently the Kings played very well defensively, better at getting steals than at staying in front of people, but at times they really did contest shots. At other times Minny players were all alone at the 3-point line. But the Kings got lucky—a lot of open Minny shots did not fall.
Love to see some defensive effort, and also much more fun to see Fox go clutch after playing well the whole game.
I was howling as Davion was effectively locking down Edwards on possession after possession for a while during the first half. I kept yelling, “Quick, ain’t he? Strong, ain’t he?!?”
You can rarely shut down the great ones for an entire game, but if you can get them frustrated, sometimes that carries through a bit. Edwards managed to get his points, but committed six turnovers, which takes off some of the shine.
I love watching Mitchell and Okpala defend. And honestly, though less spectacular, Lyles can be deceptively tough on that end. He’s good with the angles, anticipates well, and plays bigger than he is in the paint.
Keegan Murray quietly had an awesome game.
He’s been doing that lately. I’d say January has been his best month as a pro.
maybe but his spot on the rookie ladder has been taken by Kessler from the Jazz.
I suspect that will change_ Paolo, Mathurin, Keegan, Ivey and Smith or Kessler.
Who cares. Keegan is awesome and he is a sacramento King. We’re lucky to have him. Don’t care about those losers on those stupid teams.
you know, you are right.
For us, it does not matter because we love him. For him though, it might be validating to get the recognition
And there is still lots of untapped potential and room for development. We have seen in the last few weeks how good coaching could lead him to step up his rebounding. Can’t wait to see more!
Yeah, he doesn’t have his NBA body yet, either. Lots of upside.
Do you think so? I’m sure he can learn to be quicker and get stronger, but physically, he seems pretty full-grown to me. What kinds of things would you like to see him work on?
Because you know he’ll do what’s necessary.
With the rare exception of guys like LeBron, almost all NBA players – especially players that have to work inside – get much stronger. The workout regimen and diet plans for NBA players must be vastly more intensive than at the college level, plus these are still young men that are still developing their bodies.
Pick a player. Look at rookie Ron Artest and Artest after being in the league a few years. Or Serge Ibaka. Or Jaren Jackson. And so on.
I’ll put money on the barrel head that Murray looks much more cut up within three years.
Agreed, but nothing is guaranteed. We thought that Davion would make a jump on ofense this year after the latter part of last season. Didn’t happen (yet). Happy that he is still contributing defensively.
Don’t get me wrong, I like Keegan a lot and he seems to have the tools and mindset. But development is often eratic.
Brown should tell Keegan to step up and score one hundred points per game. He’s been very accommodating.
his game is “quiet”. However, the numbers are loud. He did shoot under 50% from 3 though. More boards, steals, smart plays on D.
Kings won despite HB and Hueter being very sub-par. Both must be tired.
Edwards can really score but does he make teammates better? and had two critical lazy turnovers late.
McDaniels did more than hippity hop to the barbershop. He was doing the flipping River Dance out there. Bad missed call.
Nice to win when 2 guys had bad games.
Delo– can’t miss one game, can’t make the next and does not seem to give a darn. It’s all in the show.
A win is a win and I can look out my window right now and see a beam!
Yeah Russell is not a player I would ever want on my team. It’s all about him to him. No thanks.
It don’t come easy,
but only 2 more wins and we match last season’s win total.
Ringo is asking for 4 more before the Allstar break.
Peace and love
We’ll get those two wins with a little help from our friends.
That was a fun game. Minny is starting to come around, and they still have KAT sidelined, but they are an interesting team. Probably a better regular season team than playoff team, I think D-Lo keeps them at a fairly low ceiling, but their size and Edwards burgeoning superstardom makes them a tough opponent.
Couple of things rattling around in my head:
I still think, and I apologize for repeating myself, that this team still hasn’t played to potential. I cant think of one player that is over-performing. There has not been one stretch where the entire team is firing on all cylinders, and if that happens soon, they will cement home court advantage in the playoffs, and God help the team that has to play in sacramento for the first playoff series in sixteen years.
Light that mother-effing beam. Warts and all, this team is g-o-o-d and the path to great is obvious and attainable, and they have the coaching staff to reach it.
Preach brotha!
Great post, and I totally agree (FWIW). I would add that I like TD…I hope he doesn’t get traded. He was a reason we won yesterday. He hit big shots when no one else was and brought energy they needed.
Good post.
Tinker on edges maybe but do not give up top 6-7 talent unless huge deal presents itself. Lots of chatter about TD but he has strongly contributed in about 4 games- that’s a big contribution from a barely top 10 guy.
Sac Bee mentions Thybulle this AM- the D can be improved inside if the right guy available but perhaps on the perimeter as well.
Monte usually has happy feet so something may happen. His happy feet cannot, in any way, compete with McDaniels hop step and jump last night.
Trey Lyles is something else. I have no idea how that man is only making 2.7M this year in the NBA – he is a perfect backup big who can play 4/5 and not kill your spacing no matter who else is on the floor. He can even work in 5-out. I’m pretty sure we need to let him hit UFA which will suck, but I really hope Monte has a plan to bring him back.
he is an example of focus, wight loss and changing his game. Dedication to his craft- good for him.
All I know is that he’ll be making considerably more next season, and truly hope that it will be in Sacramento.
The defense was impressive at times, but I think this team shows how valuable it is to consistently create good shots. Even without its best player, the Kings kept on getting wide-open looks in OT. First Lyles (3pt made), followed by Murray in the other corner (swish), and then Monk (miss, but wide-open). Impressive stuff against a disappointing, but still pretty decent team.
Better team won.
Sometimes the story is simple.
A win is a win, is a win, but the Kings aren’t going to do well going forward if they continue to play like that. IMO, they are playing more like a #8 seed over the past 2 weeks than a #3 seed. It’s still a remarkable turnaround from last season, but Monte may need to do some tweaking to fine tune this machine.
Oh, and there is this:
https://twitter.com/JandersonSacBee/status/1620448272770007040
Matisse as a King?
A shorter version of KZ. I wouldn’t envy Brown in trying to figure out where to add them (along with Davion) to make sure the offense is only 4 on 5.
He seems a little redundant with Mitchell. I guess Thybulle has a bit more length, but we’ve already got one all-defense/no-offense guard in the mix. If this is for some combination of Holmes/Len/Davis/prospects/2nds I guess I’m fine with it, but I don’t necessarily understand why they would be actively going after him
Thybulle is a true wing defender, something that Mitchell is not. A definite upgrade over Okpala.
I don’t think that the Kings are looking for chemistry-altering trades at the deadline. I’d be surprised to see any changes in the top six (Domas, Barnes, Fox, Huerter, Murray, Monk) and perhaps not even the top eight (add Mitchell and Lyles). They’ll be looking at making changes at the margins, with players like Thybulle or Mason Plumlee getting their tires kicked.
The nice thing is that in the past, guys like Thybulle or Plumlee had to be franchise-altering for bad Kings teams. Now they just have to fill specific roles for a team that is already doing much more good than bad.
Same. I’d be surprised by that as well. But anything’s possible because who saw Tyrese Haliburton being traded in advance?
Yep. If you think Thybulle is truly a cut above someone like Okpala, go for it. That’s the job if you’re a GM.
Well, we all kind of thought it was going to be Fox & Barnes (and Buddy and Bagley) being shipped out so Tyrese was a curveball, but last year was definitely a “blow it all up” situation. I really doubt we will see anything of that magnitude with a team that is sitting at 3rd in the West with strong underlying analytics.
I never thought it would be Fox because of his contract (mainly the max slot he occupies) and because his value wasn’t that high. I didn’t think the Kings would get enough for Barnes to really move him, either. Although I think I mentioned John Collins in a deal for him. I certainly don’t think that now.
But I don’t listen to rumors that often, either.
The trade works straight up for Davis and that is probably what makes the most sense for both teams. I’d definitely prefer someone who will actually get minutes in that 9th spot, but I would miss the demonstrative coaching Mike Brown does with TD
http://www.espn.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=2oes5fy7
I’m a big fan of Thuybulle, but I don’t see what he gives us that Okpala doesn’t already provide. If you can get him for scraps, I have no objections.
Fauvism (Sacramento style)
We missed 7 FTs but they missed 12. Looking at the box score only, that seems to me to be the story of the game. Can’t expect to win consistently like that, but any road win against a decent team is nice.
The low bar for me is 35% from 3 and 75% from the line. Anything below that (especially on the road) and this team should be cooked. Kings were 30% / 68% last night. Definitely one where they gutted one out with less than their best stuff.
Trade deadline is around the corner, can we get some trade season content?!
Usually we have trade deadline discontent around here.
We traded away a malcontent to Detroit!
I thought we traded you to the podcast world, Grant.
One way to measure effective offense is to look at points per possession. It bodes well that the Kings scored 1.19 points per possession. The Wolves were at 1.12. Missed FTs were the culprit there.
But the Kings only hit 9 3s all game and 2 of those makes were in OT. That’s the dirty lil secret of this Kings team. You can no longer take the air out of the ball and beat them in the halfcourt. Like you could with the 2018-19 team. The Kings are one of the top halfcourt offenses in the NBA, they’ve been top 5 all season for all intents and purposes.
Why? De’Aaron Fox gets to his spots. Domantas Sabonis is great for 3 qtrs moving the ball, screening, scoring in certain spots, etc etc. But this team is mentally tougher, too. Sure there’s talk of breaking the chemistry like they did in 18-19 but I’m not concerned. That team was nowhere as good as this team. They overachieved and it caught up to them as they never developed the halfcourt game they needed to evolve. Iman Shumpert wasn’t changing that. If you look at something like Win Shares or WS/48, Willie Cauley-Stein led that team. Domas (by alot) and De’Aaron are leading this team, and Barnes isn’t far behind Fox. Huerter rates as an avg NBA player overall (.103 where .100 is avg), and Murray is climbing towards that average mark. But that’s only part of the story. If you look at Andy Bailey’s catch all numbers, Sabonis is a top 15 player and Fox is a top 40. Barnes and Huerter are top 75 players and Murray is now a top 150 player.
LEBRON from 538 loves Sabonis and Barnes because of the shooting factors. No metric really loves De’Aaron Fox unless he’s hitting a high number of 3s.
This team is in an interesting position being 3rd in the West, and more importantly being on a 47 win pace.
But the Kings quietly are tougher than opposing players realize (or realize too late). They don’t fold at the first sign of adversity. Bad games, poor shooting, sure. It’s the NBA. Nobody is perfect over 82. Hell Philly lost to Orlando at home last night.
But I like this team’s chances to host a playoff series in round 1 simply because they find ways to win. Sure I’m an optimist around here, but I still think it’s possible I underestimated this team. This team is healthy, sure, but I’m not sure the Wolves are better with KAT than they are without him.
I would like to see the Kings win 5 games on this trip just because I think they are capable of it. I was hoping the Kings could get to 34-23 by the All Star break. There’s a decent shot at that. And a big part of that is, it’s hard to slow this team down. They outscored the Wolves 68 to 50 in the paint. They outscored the Wolves 21 to 9 in points off turnovers. The bench outscored the Wolves bench 45 to 29. These things all add up.
It might be hard for people to accept, but I fear some of you have to get comfortable with the notion this Kings team is simply good. And, demz da breakz, as they say.
I’d just be happy with a playoff berth. The West is a mess, but the “reward” for the 3rd seed might be something really messed up, like a healthy and rested Warriors or Clippers team
I’m not happy with just a playoff berth. I want at the very least a playoff series win or two.
One of us has $10,000 riding on a championship.
Championship or bust!
For this season, you wouldn’t be happy with being in the 1st rd? Jeesh, talk about raised expectations…..
Personally, I see next season as the one where we finally see Brown’s plan come together.
I was not anticipating any playoff games this season (a play-in game at most), so any playoff games are house money for me.
The teams is about a year ahead of where I would have had them, and that is with no interruptions to the upward trajectory. Me happy.
absolutely! Nothing but happiness to the point of glee.
Before the season began I thought they were going to be a 40-43 win team and you have always maintained you thought they would win more. Well Done sir!!
Although he should have made the move sooner, giving Huerter’s minutes to TD was smart. If Huerter isn’t hitting his 3’s, he is a liability.
Are you saying he’s ….huerting us?
A primer:
Sabonis plays hurt.
Philly’s QB Hurts.
Brown plays Huerter.
Bagley is hurtest.
I hate you
I huert him.
frequency hertz
Damn you all to hell
Basketball hell?
Maybe so but Huerter is a smart player. He can drive and dish, drive and score or shoot free throws. He is also an above average facilitator and plays realitively good defense. I agree he should have sat sooner last night but he also willingly gave his minutes to Davis when coach took him out. Watched him on the bench. He wasn’t hurt but was a team player rooting for the team and Davis.
PS Watch him tomorrow night.
Another PS If we can get Matisse for say Len and a couple seconds I would do this. Plays great defense. Can guard multiple positions. Pair him with Mitchell and wow’ We still need a backup big that can protect the rim and rebound. I would take either Plumlee ot Collins.
At some point Jack, you’ll figure out it’s not about what you’ll take in a deal. It’s a question of whether or not the other team is interested in what you have in exchange. Quite often, they are not.
I’m personally not expecting any player or whatever because rumors are not necessarily the best gauge of whom is available.
I was just throwing out a possibility. I agree the other team has be there to make the deal.
Keep throwing them out there Jack. Your original ideas are interesting and entertaining. Copying pasting stats and other people’s post is not so fun.
There’s nothing we have that Philly wants in exchange for Thybulle.
That might not be true. I could see them making a deal for Terence Davis straight up.
FWIW, they are both avg’g 12 MPG. That’s why I think the Kings are looking at Thybulle.
See now this might be a possibility. You are trading some offense for really good defense.
I’m not saying bench the guy, I’m saying that there will be nights where he doesn’t have it, and TD gets those minutes. Personally, I would prefer TD in those minutes than Huerter not making 3’s.
At what point do we start talking about starting Monk (or Davis) and letting Huerter work through things against other teams’ benches? Huerter will turn it around, but he’s been nearly useless during the slump.
I think you keep rolling him out there as a starter (similar to when Keegan was struggling) bc he is lethal when he is on, and give those minutes to TD or Monk if he doesn’t have it that night. I think Brown should have given him the hook sooner last night.
I can see it that way, too, but with the shorter leash you recommend.
When does benching a shooter to limit his shots help a shooter work out of a slump?
I am going to play Devil’s advocate and say that I do not think McDaniels traveled. He dribbled before he picked up his left pivot foot. If he had not dribbled it would have been a travel. Your mileage may vary. Light the Beam.
I didn’t lose any sleep over the call.
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