What we learned when Kings lost to Spurs, finished sixth in seven games, originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SACRAMENTO – Domantas Sabonis recorded his 18e consecutive double-double, but it wasn’t enough to snap the Kings out of their recent funk as they lost 127-125 to the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday at the Golden 1 Center.
Sabonis had 25 points, 13 rebounds and six assists in another stellar performance as he spent much of his night defending San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama.
Malik Monk had 19 points in his first start since the final game of the 2021-22 season while with the Los Angeles Lakers. Monk, who finished second for the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year last season, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out six assists.
De’Aaron Fox added 23 points and nine assists. DeMar DeRozan scored 28. Isaac Jones had 12.
The Kings led for most of the night until the Spurs turned things around in the fourth quarter and built a 121-116 lead. Fox and Chris Paul traded 3-pointers before Monk’s 3-pointer brought the Kings within 124-122 with 11.8 seconds left.
Keldon Johnson made one of two free throws two seconds later, but San Antonio grabbed the rebound. Chris Paul was fouled and made both free throws to secure the win for San Antonio. A three-pointer by Sabonis at the buzzer provided the final points.
The Kings (9-12) have lost six of seven.
The Kings controlled the first half, leading by 17, before the Spurs put together their best stretch of the night to take a 79-77 lead into the third quarter. After Fox made a floater and Monk hit a long alley-oop to put Sacramento back in front, the two teams went back and forth in the final quarter.
These are the conclusions from Sunday’s match:
Fat first astic and furious
The Kings continued their recent trend of solid starts, scoring a season-high 42 points in the first quarter despite Wembanyama’s looming presence in the key.
Led by DeRozan with 12 points, Sacramento came out firing and built a 17-point lead to set the pace. Seven players had at least four points in the opening stanza. As a team, the Kings shot 17 of 24 (70.8 percent) in the first quarter, with five of the seven misses coming from behind the arc.
They were also crispy. A team that has had trouble taking care of the ball all season only turned the ball over once in the first quarter.
bone of the greats
Sabonis had another strong showing in his biennial clash against Spurs’ 2m tower Wembanyama. That’s four in four games since Wemby entered the league as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft, though the Spurs big man did not play in any of the four games.
Sabonis, who had 23 points and 12 rebounds against San Antonio on Nov. 11, was content to play the distributor role early and could have had an even bigger night on Sunday if he had been more effective under the hoop. He had seven offensive boards in the first half alone, but repeatedly missed putback attempts.
For his part, Wembanyama has put together a pretty solid statistical line: 34 points, 13 rebounds, 11 assists and three blocks. He also made a four-point play in the first half.
DeMar’s return
The Kings have a different atmosphere when DeRozan is on the court, and getting him back in the lineup after a two-game absence due to a sore back was huge.
It wasn’t just the scoring. DeRozan’s ability to read defenses is tremendous, and he has done an excellent job facilitating and moving the ball.
Defensively, DeRozan was sharp. He had three steals and eight assists. He also made an attacking error after taking a Wembanya elbow to the chin in the second quarter.
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