Kings Head Into All-Star Break with Statement Win Over Nuggets
Despite losing four of their last five, the Sacramento Kings went into the defending champs' home and took down the Denver Nuggets with one of their best second-half performances of the season.
The Kings were down by as much as 13 in the third quarter but turned on the jets and took control of the game after that. Sacramento performed poorly for much of the game but stepped up in the second half when they needed it most.
Kings' star point guard and reigning NBA Clutch Player of the Year De'Aaron Fox dominated at the end of the game, going on an 8-0 run by himself to ice the game with just a minute remaining. After an abysmal six-turnover performance in Tuesday's loss to the Phoenix Suns, Fox cleaned it up with just one turnover to go with his eight assists.
Fox followed up his 40-point performance in Phoenix with a 30-point outing in the win in Denver. After many realized Fox hit a cold streak and his numbers plummeted, the star point guard has picked it back up as the season inches closer to the finish.
Sacramento shot just 43.8% from the field and 27.3% from deep, yet got the job done, outscoring Denver 61-45 in the second half.
Kings' Domantas Sabonis ended his three-game triple-double streak but outperformed the best player in the league, Nikola Jokic. With 20 points, 13 rebounds, and seven assists, Sabonis did not have the dominant performance he typically does but was very effective all around.
Sacramento's bench still raises concerns, as Sixth Man of the Year candidate Malik Monk shot just 2-11 from the field with six points. If Monk does not show up, the Kings virtually have no bench, but they fought through the weakness in Wednesday's win.
The win in Denver was far from Sacramento's best performance of the season, but it was one of the most important wins heading into the All-Star break.
The Kings are now 3-0 against the Nuggets this season, but their inconsistency against inferior teams is what causes trouble. As Sacramento inches closer to the bottom of the playoff picture, every win matters from here on out. Going into Denver and getting the hard-fought win was a fantastic way to head into the long weekend.
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