After an extremely disappointing loss to the Wizards, the Sacramento Kings continued their road trip to Orlando. The Kings have played well against the Magic over the years, but the Magic are a big, athletic team. The exact type of team that traditionally gives the Kings a hard time. After Washington’s stink, Sacramento really needs a win. Could the Kings pull a rabbit out of their hat and get a victory against the Magic? Let’s see how they did it:
Quick Stats
Result: Kings win, 109-107
Kings of Sacramento: 109 pts, 43.7% fg, 37.5% 3 pt, 85.7% ft, 26 ast, 42 reb, 7 to
Toronto Raptors: 107 pts, 47.7% fg, 28.6% 3 pt, 72.2% ft, 27 ast, 49 reb, 13 to
They did it! It wasn’t always pretty, but the Kings escaped with a crucial victory. Sacramento benefited from the whistle in the final minutes, while Orlando was whistled for a foul against De’Aaron Fox. Jalen Suggs may have pushed a little, and that may have been the reason Fox was heading for a backcourt violation, but I was still surprised the refs called that one in favor of Sacramento. Fox was held from the charity stripe (8 of 9 for the game) and Keon Ellis made it 1 of 2 with 2 seconds left. One last stop, and that’s all she wrote.
The good, the bad and the ugly
Good:
- Keegan Murray: Let’s get straight to the point, the Kings would not have won this game without Keegan Murray, 22 points on 12 shots, 6 for 7 from beyond the arc, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks. Keegan wasn’t the star of this match, but he took a big step forward in this one.
- Double Domas: Another stud exit from the Kings center. The double-double streak continues, as Domantas Sabonis finished with 21 points, 14 rebounds and 8 assists.
- Keon Ellis: Keon was huge in this one. He played his usual solid defense, with 2 steals and a block, but also contributed on offense. 19 points, 4 of 9 from three, 6 assists and 5 rebounds. This really makes me wonder why the hell Mike Brown played him so sparingly against the Wizards.
The bad:
- The bench unit: Good God. This is one of those games that really shows how much the Kings are missing Kevin Huerter and Trey Lyles right now. Sasha Vezenkov was questionable for this one but ended up being ruled out. He would also be a welcome addition. As it stands, the Kings bench has been a disaster. 4 players combined for 7 points in 53 minutes of combined play. The +/- ratings for the four bench players were Len -7, Mitchell -12, Monk -22 and Duarte -19. I actually feel bad lumping Len into this group because he played solid interior defense. But Monk (more on him in a moment) and Duarte were particularly bad.
The ugly one:
- Monk Malik: Malik Monk did not score any points in this contest. He played 22 minutes, made 11 shots and made absolutely none. Thanks to the Magic, who were clearly geared toward removing Monk from the game. Mission accomplished, Orlando. Monk never looked comfortable, never found his rhythm and was off the floor in the final minutes of the game.
The king of kings
De’Aaron Fox stepped up tonight, leading the Kings with 31 points, 8 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 assists. Fox was struggling from beyond the arc, going just 3-12, but he was excellent from the charity stripe and made key jump shots to keep the Kings in the game throughout.
Following
Monday, March 25 at 7:00 p.m. PT against the Philadelphia 76ers.
