Three-Point Woes Strike Again as Kings Fall to Hawks

In news that will surely make the vast majority of Kings fans happy, Sacramento's losing streak grew to three as they fell 123-113 to the storming Atlanta Hawks. While the Kings' loss helps position them in the draft lottery standings, the Hawks won their 15th game in 17 tries as they make a playoff push to end the season.

Coming into tonight, Atlanta was down multiple starters, which gave the Kings a fighting chance. But just like we've seen time and time again this year, the Kings couldn't slow down the Hawks from beyond the arc, and struggled to keep up themselves.

Sacramento shot 12-of-32 (37.5%) from three, which is a respectable number for them this season. It feels like any time they can get into double digits is a win for this team. It's a low bar, but where we are for the team that makes a league-worst 10.2 threes per night. Atlanta, on the other hand, made 16 of their 41 attempts, good for 39%.

The Kings (Still) Looked Small

Even with the better defensive effort tonight, the Kings were in a disadvantage with the size of the Hawks. It's nothing new, but there are certain teams where it just shows more than others. Even with seven-foot Maxime Raynaud and six-foot-ten Dylan Cardwell, the Kings somehow felt small.

It's the lack of size on the wings that does Sacramento in, especially on nights like tonight. DeMar DeRozan had players draped over him all night, as the Hawks had no shortage of players they could put on the future hall-of-famer.

And they were in the passing lanes and getting their hands on the ball all night, using defense to lead to quick offense and stringing a few big runs together to put the game away. To make matters worse, the Hawks had even more size and athleticism on the bench, with Dyson Daniels, Jonathan Kuminga, and Onyeka Okongwu all missing the game with injuries.

I guess to be fair, the Kings do have both Keegan Murray and De'Andre Hunter sitting on the bench as well.

The Plus Side

Mar 28, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Sacramento Kings center Maxime Raynaud (42) shoots the ball against Atlanta Hawks center Jock Landale (31) during the first quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images | Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images

On the plus side, there were a few good trends from beyond the arc on an individual basis for Sacramento. Raynaud made both of his three-point attempts, continuing his recent trend of both taking and making more threes. In the last six games, Raynaud has made eight of his 15 threes, good for 53.3%.

For reference on how big of a jump that is for him, Raynaud made just 11 threes in his first 47 games this season. At this rate, he'll pass that total in another game or two.

His three-point shooting continues to be one of, if not the biggest, X-factors heading into next season. While tonight was another disappointing game in terms of team totals and the three-point line, at least there is a continued bright side at the development of Raynaud into a true stretch-big.