Kings win! Holy cow. Send those gifs and light that beam! Full recap to follow.
Postgame Thread: Kings 114, Celtics 97
That just happened!
By Greg Wissinger | 194 Comments | Jan 10, 2025
Jan 10, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Malik Monk (0) drives to the basket against Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis (8) in the first quarter at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images
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Puke man showed up in Celtic green!
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Leprechaun Dance! Kings Win!
I was puke man last night. Bad scallops.
We’re going to the Super Bowl
We’re going to win an Emmy!
We made the honor roll!
No Cavity Club!
The Nobel Peace Prize goes to the Beam!
We are taking Wimbledon this year!
Our parents are getting back together!
Oh shit. I couldn’t stop laughing.
Madison Hotels is as good as ours!
We were caller #9!
I am now questioning everything. In a good way. Had a grandson watching the game at our house, and we told him all the reasons why he shouldn’t expect a win. Yeah, we were wrong.
Yeah baby! That’s a good win!
Man, what a game. I expected the Kings to lose and wouldn’t have been surprised to lose badly, but I hoped they would at least play hard.
Well, not only did we beat the Celtics on their home floor, we won by 17 points and thoroughly outperformed them in the 4th quarter.
What a turnaround from how I was feeling two weeks ago. I felt like the season was over and there was no hope to salvage the season. I know it’s still a somewhat small size of games since Doug took over as coach, but man, the difference of how the guys are playing is night and day. Feels like the Kings of 2022-23.
Light that beam, and let’s keep this up, Kings! We’ve climbed back to .500 (not to mention we now sit at the 9th seed), so now let’s keep winning games and get over .500!!!!!
And no one can take anything away from a big win over a fully healthy Celtics team!
I am sure some people will try!! Beamlieve!!!
And then I saw it hit lace
Now I’m a Beamliever!!
I’m starting to come around to Christie-anity!
(Hat tip to whoever invented that one a few days ago).
Beam Again Christie-ans
SMF-PDX Connection, if I recall correctly.
Outscored the Celtics 61-42 in the 2nd half. That’s some damn good defense.
Domas and Keegan both huge tonight!
I caught some Keegan smiles at the end.
After hit one of those 3s in the 4th he couldn’t contain himself. FOUND HIS JOY!
Was that a smile from Keegan?
The Kings held the Celtics to under 100 points for only the second time this year.
The other team was The Thunder.
That is very significant.
Amazing, isn’t it Adam?
For sure.
Played to their strengths on offense –
DeRozan big, Monk big, Keegan big – Domas huge.
Defense – Keon, Keegan toughing it out.
8 v 5
Sac the aggressor amd only 9 FTA to Boston’s 22! Yet Sac with a 17 point win,
Rook looked good as well.
If I look at it all, what’s different? – it’s the energy, to me. The team plays with grit and fire not warmth and smoke.
I’m a still a bit bewildered- but happily so
Energy comes from players, doug puts better players on the court to help increase energy…keon alone helps this
Fighting to win instead of hoping/expecting to win
Domas brings the intensity- because Domas always brings intensity
Monk brings the energy- he is going to spring and bounce every minute
Keegan is going to quietly work on his man coverage, and now,
make them pay on the other end by hitting some 3s (12-22 last 3 games)
DeMar is going to grind the mid game (I have to admit I like Mark Jones calling DeRozan the President of the Middy Committee)
Keon – Keon is going to bring the active hands and feet, cutting off passing and driving lanes and the lack of hesitation on calling his own number on offense (which was sorely lacking)
Lyles is going to bring some lane clogging, and make some 3s
Devin Carter – rookie confidence, not overly handy D, nice variety of 3s and drives on offense- and how about those rebounds!
Ok – SavageBeast brought this up yesterday: I am excited to bring De’Aaron back in this mix- should I be?
OKC did it at home; we did it in BOSTON!
What team am I watching play defense? Who are these people?
Whatever Christie is feeding them; yes please, and more of it!
Fuck it, we deserve this.
Also Domas with 28 rebounds just made Porzinger his bitch.
Wait…
what?!?!?!
ox had 28 rebounds?!?!
is that real?
(ps. I have not watched the game yet)
SMOKING THAT CELTICS PACK TONIGHT!
I loved the story of DeMar putting together a real of DC13 Playin D to help the team understand what Doug wants!
I want to see it too. Did they post it anywhere?
Yeah. I got choked up with 2 minutes to go.
Finally playing the way you’re supposed to on D. Bustin our asses
Sure, but dude. We waxed the champs in their house. I’m stunned.
I’m with you!
Always and forever, Kfan. ❤️
Welcome home to the board!
Light that MFer!
The Leprechauns were dancing to our tune tonight!
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Kings don’t win that game with MB as coach. Doug Christie for Santa Claus!
In his post-game presser, DC said that in the 4th quarter, Keon told him him that Carter was playing well, so don’t worry about Keon’s minutes!
That’s classy (and ballsy)!
That’s fantastic.
It would be great if Monk and/or DDR are so gracious when Fox returns to the lineup.
On the other side of the coin would it might help if Fox would be so gracious.
That’s what I call team ball. Also a lot of you were very wary about Devin Carter, I agree it is still a small size but what I saw last night shows a little why Monte drafter the kid. He can play basketball. He plays with the confidence a rookie doesn’t play with. IMO he is going to help this team. Because of the way he is playing Kevin Huerter just lost a lot of his minutes. I think a trade might be coming in the right situation.
PS It has to be the right situation. You definitely don’t want to rock the boat right now.
That Devin Carter kid is a baller. Great pick by Monte, and I love those high arcing three’s.
Rik,
Wake up my man, you have more early morning work to do watching the replay of this game!
Perhaps the best complimentary game played by the Kings on Offense and Defense this season. Even better than Golden State. They played with confidence the entire game.
Kings out rebounded the Celtics 56-43 I believe and had 17 points on fast breaks.
Devan Clark had a very nice game including 8 straight points at the beginning of fhe 4th qtr.
Lyles had 11 rebounds about half were off the offensive boards.
I’m here, I’m here!
Since I’m getting older I indeed try to get my sleep and see the game in the mornings on League Pass, before I see the result. It’s better for my health and sanity.
This was a great one to watch with my Saturday morning coffee. Too many players to mention for their contributions, but what is there left to say about Domas?
“what is there left to say about Domas?”
Over rated.
clearly
We are so back.
49-0 to close the season is still on the table
I’ll take that bet with you. Let’s go.
2nd longest current win streak in the league!
Go Kings!
Folks, the Kings just beat the Celtics in every statical category.
FG%, 3PT%, Ft%…..check.
Defensive Rebounds, Offensive Rebounds… check.
Assists, TO’s… check
Steals, Blocks,..check.
Game, blouses.
Purple Reign!
How is Purple Rain not the song we play after every victory and while lighting the beam?
Maybe a copyright thing?
Probably more just because it is an extremely downtempo romantic breakup song, not exactly a hype-builder.
So start wearing purple!
The Muppet version is incredible.
That is awesome, thank you!
Keegan is 12/22 from 3 in his past 3 games since coming back from the injured ankle. Keep letting them fly!
Yup yup. He’s improving. Great development.
Adversity be damned. We’re gonna have ourselves a season after all, it seems.
We’re late to whatever train the Bucks were on, but damn it, we’re gonna go for this ride.
That was a fun game to be at live
Heard some LTB chants. Celtics were my favorite team most of my life before moving to Sac. But I really enjoyed the Kings handing them the business.
Oh nice. Good for you. Slightly jealous.
Taps the Keon sign….
He’s on a bargain contract right now. Wonder how much he’ll make on his next one once his current one is up in 2026.
I’m wondering if KH will become an end-of-bench guy when Fox returns. I don’t think Doug will do that but I think he needs to. Keon needs his minutes for this team to be its best and KH has become nearly unwatchable. As one of the TKH writers said the other day, MB might still be the coach if he hasn’t mismanaged Keon’s minutes so badly.
I think Huerter should be the 5th guard in the depth chart. Hard to trade him now because he doesn’t make shots much anymore, gets cooked 1 on 1. He gets some deflections, but not enough to offset his poor offense.
For Huerter’s sake(because I really like the guy) I hope Monte can trade him. He needs to play more if only it’s on another team.
He should go to Washington but for Jonas, not Kuzma. He played college at Maryland and maybe he can re-find his groove there.
He played nearly 19 minutes last night and, in a 17 pt win, his BPM was -9.2 (per basketball-ref). The next lowest on the team was DeRozan at +1.3. If we’re trying to showcase him, it’s not working.
We have the same players. Shows what proper motivation will do. Hope it lasts.
Some coaches—Spoelstra seems to be one—can get consistent effort. The scheme helps too.
Domas was incredible. The rest of the team put in a great performance as well, nice gameplan and good execution.
Domas is truly amazing and gets more from his ability than any King ever .
You mean he’s the hardest-working?
1000%
He’s definitely on my Mt. Rushmore – Domas, Richmond, Webber, Jerry Reynolds.
Domas is the Clyde Drexler to Jokic’s Michael Jordan. If not for Jokic, Sabonis would be much more publicized across the NBA landscape.
Great analogy.
If Domas played in NY, Boston, LA, Chicago, he would be talked about much more, and his greatness would be front and center. But he’s in Sac, and that’s fine because we get to appreciate him every game.
Great win . Domas was great and Demar Mr Clutch with a quality Rookie showing . Seems the Celts were Doug Out !
The were Cristiefied!
I was taking my high school son out to get his ears pierced and then, after we left to come back another day, I turned on the radio and heard that the Kings were way ahead in the final minutes!
As the game went final, I was wondering how much fun it must have been for fans in TD Garden to chant “Light the Beam!” A lifetime memory to be sure.
LIGHT THAT MOTHAFUCKA!!!
.
Fox convo gonna get bigger with this win
The 1st half of the win streak took place with him, but that will be conveniently ignored.
Not ignored AT ALL. Use them in comparison. At some point in the next 6 months a decision has to be made. Spend a quarter billion dollars or make a trade.
If you are just as good of a team without spending that kind of money AND you can improve your depth, it’s a conversation to be had.
The issue for me is that the max is not an overpay for Fox when you look across the league.
The Supermax only comes into play if Fox makes all-NBA. For that to occur he’s going to have to play out of his mind while the Kings finish like a freight train.
The historical odds do not favor the Kings getting back a player that is better than Fox in trade.
Want to deal Fox? Fine. But it better not be for a handful of magic beans. And while tbe micro may say one thing, the macro says that the Kings are better with Fox than without.
Comes down to value for me. With the max or super max Fox will be making 2x-3x more than Monk and he is not 2x the player.
IMO, in a small market a super max player needs to be an MVP level player to justify it and Fox ain’t that.
The other thing is I don’t think his game is going to age well so two years into the massive contract the Kings could be in a Bradley Beal or John Wall situation.
Pass on that, trade him for the best package available.
Two weeks ago the Kings season was lost. You’re not giving Fox the supermax based on if he’s an MVP-level player today. You’re giving it on the belief he can be that player. It’s fine if folks don’t think he can be, but I still believe he can. We’ve seen him reach that higher level, and if he reaches it with more consistency he’s at that MVP level. It’s a risk, I understand the concerns, but I believe in Fox.
Yes, it comes down to how you rate and forecast Fox. I know I rate him lower than most on here.
I agree at his very best he is that guy but it just doesn’t happen often enough.
And the traits that make him potentially that level of player are all traits that don’t age well; speed, aggressiveness, ability to finish in the paint as a smallish guard.
Yea I agree with you Greg. If Fox had Klay Thompson from 6 years ago in his corner we’d be talking about Fox being an assist machine, maybe.
At the same time, I’m a doomer when it comes to him staying, so talking about dealing him might be smart management.
There is much more to learn this season, it would seem.
He’s 8 years in, Greg. I don’t imagine he’ll make a leap at this point to being an MVP level player. I know it chaps some people, but in considering his track record, Fox is closer to the Zach LaVines and CJ McCollums of the league than he is to guys who carry their teams like Shai, Luka, or Tatum.
The reality is, he’s made just one All-NBA team and he’s far from MVP consideration. He may not even be the MVP on his own team.
So we are depending on a 35 year old DDR to carry this team in late game situations for the next few years. We all saw the end of the Miami game….that offense was not great and DDR bailed them out a few times with TOUGH shots. It was awesome. But…
If you are expecting that consistently from aging guy you are in trouble. Fox was a monster part of great crunch time play against Philly and Dallas to start this streak and numerous others over past few years. You need a guy that can iso and get his own shot downs stretches against good teams…that’s just how it works. Besides DDR nobody else consistently fills that role.
I get it sometimes Fox takes over and wins you a game.
How about that DET game and press conference? Is that a max player?
Another concern is if Fox gets a huge contract at some point it will cost them keeping someone like Keon or Keegan or maybe both.
And it’s not losing Fox and getting nothing back. You lose him but if (big if) Monte is smart you are getting a great player or multiple good players and picks in return and strengthening weak spots. And IMO the net result is the Kings are better.
It would be nice if the Kings had balls and traded a star at peak value from a position of strength not when they had to.
Examples of trading stars that worked out:
Richmond for CWebb, started the glory years Cousins trade, avoided big contract and ended up being smart could have got more IMOHaliburton for Domas, started the Beam team
Also Corliss for Christie. Kings got a piece we needed and Peja became a starter. If Fox is traded, that leaves Keon and Carter to take his minutes and we get a strong player in a position of need, plus likely more depth.
And J Will for Bibby.
I was more pointing out trading a star/top player.
I see this as an opportunity for the Kings to take the next step. It’s a chance to contend possibly.
Has to be the right trade though. That is where I have apprehension, if Monte can pull it off.
Peja for Artest
If you were to trade Fox to the Hear you would probably get bach Tyler Hero as one of the players. Averaging around 23 points a game and is coming around defensively he could be your starting point guard with Monk at SG. Along with Hero IMO we should ask for Highsmith and Jovic plus 2 firsts. That would do it, Highsmith is a very good defender and Jovic at 6’10” is an up and coming PF.
PS. If not Jovic then Kel El Ware tyio backup Sabonis.
Herro and fox are the same level player, imo.
Yup, pretty close to it, and the same with Maxey. They are a solid Robin if you have a Batman.
Herro is younger and shoots the 3 better than Fox. Rest of the numbers are fairly similar.
A Richmond for CWebb level trade is fine. So is a Hali for Domas level trade is fine. DMC for Hield and picks that don’t yield fruit? Uh-uh.
My point on DMC was avoiding giving him a max which ended up being smart.
You’re right though the return on that one sucked.
Great points . Fox is a terrific talent and worth a big contract but as a small guard that relies on speed just think the odds of being worth a 200++ million contract a risk this franchise should not take .
Except it really doesn’t work that way in the NBA. You can’t really chop Fox’s salary into 2 or 3 lesser players and hope to make up for him in the aggregate. This is not fantasy league basketball, at least not when you get to the top players in the league.
Yes, there is risk. But if you’re the Kings, and you look back over the past 40 years at the players that have been here and been better than Fox (you won’t need two hands), you trade him only if you’re getting an absolute stud in return, or as an absolute last resort.
Trust me I’m not into fantasy league ball, could not care less about that.
And my point was not that you add 2-3 lesser players for Fox. It’s that he is not worth that contract and maybe if he is traded he brings back an All Star level PF or wing. Or above average of both. Add that to what the Kings have been doing sans Fox and now they are a legit playoff team possibly a contender IMO. And the roster is much more flexible and less redundant.
…at least not when you get to the top players in the league…
When I think top players in the league, who I would pay a max, I’m saying the top 10 or so players in the league. I don’t put Fox there, maybe you do. To me he is more around 20-25 and not irreplaceable.
If he brings back a top player, I am listening to the offer. Not two Monk level players, but a Fox level player. Top 40, at least, and cross off all of the elder statesmen.
Absolutely this.
Fox is what, a top five in the NBA in being able to create his own shot? So many times in the playoffs it comes down to who can create good shots late in the series when the teams know each other so well and have schemed for everything. There are few in the league who can get to their spot like Fox. Look at what he did against the Warriors in the Beam Team season.
I love Monk, but I am not sure he can handle the on ball pressure that Fox can, and someone like Herro can’t really either, and neither can crank up their harassment of opposing ball handlers like Fox can either.
If Carter is the real deal and can be a rotation player, then getting Fox back healthy, and hopefully using Kevin’s salary to get some size, I think they will be very competitive the rest of the season.
But is it an overpay if you are getting equal results (wins) without him? Probably.
Just a couple weeks ago we were talking how imbalanced our team is. We don’t have anything that anyone wants in a trade to get back someone of quality.
We can’t trade Huerter for some star that fills our needs.
Lyles? What does that leave us with absolutely no bigs left on the team outside Sabonis.
Would you rather have a great wing added and a couple first rounders? Or a backup big and wing and a first rounder by trading Fox?
Fox is ONLY worth the money if the TEAM does better with him than without.