What We Learned as Kings Fall To Celtics, Lose 8th Straight (Again)

Titling articles with 'Kings Lose 8th Straight (Again),' pretty much sums up the Sacramento Kings entire season. As they fell big to the Boston Celtics once again tonight, they dropped to 12-38 on the season, and have now lost eight straight games for the second time this season with the 112-93 loss.

They've had some good stretches and a four-game winning streak this season, but the majority of the year has been filled with losing streaks of various length. Tonight's game against the Celtics had the writing on the wall early, which made matters even worse and the game harder to watch from the Kings' side.

Pretty sure I could do a collage of like a dozen games like this for the Kings so far this season... pic.twitter.com/uUB23WxdlM
— Will Z. Stats (@will_zimmerle) January 31, 2026

Payton Pritchard scored at will, finishing with a game-high 29 points on an effortless 12-of-16 from the field. He got to his spots and carved the Kings up. over and over again, and the Kings just weren't able to keep up on the offensive side of the ball.

With that said, here are three takeaways from the Kings 38th loss of the season.

Maxime Raynaud Bounce Back Game

Jan 30, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Sacramento Kings center Maxime Raynaud (42) goes to the basket against Boston Celtics guard Jordan Walsh (27) during the second quarter at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images | Winslow Townson-Imagn Images

Maxime Raynaud was due for a bounce back game. With many, including myself, saying he's hit the rookie wall, the rookie big man needed a strong outing to get his season back on track. That's easier said than done, and while the Kings didn't get the win, Raynaud had his best game in weeks.

He finished the night with 14 points and 14 rebounds on 6-of-7 from the field, and knocked down his lone three-point attempt. It likely helped that he was back in the starting role with Sabonis out due to rest and injury recovery. Raynaud played 36:04 minutes, the most he's played since December 21st.

It's a role he could be in for the remainder of the season any day between now and the trade deadline, as Domantas Sabonis is heavily involved in trade rumors with the Toronto Raptors. But even if Raynaud does go back to the bench, it was great to see him have a bounce back game tonight.

1st Quarter Catastrophe

As previously mentioned, this game was over early, thanks to a big 1st quarter by the Celtics. But to add some numbers to it, the Kings were not only outscored 40-25, but allowed Boston to shoot 70.8% from the field and 50% from three. Combine that with the Kings making just six of their 30 field goals (30%), and it's a wonder this game wasn't more of a blowout.

We've seen this time and time again for the Kings. They have a tendency to come out flat and lose a game in minutes. We haven't seen it in a while, but tonight was a good reminder of just how bad this team is this year.

The trade deadline and nearly everyone on the team being involved in rumors likely isn't helping. It's hard to be motivated to play hard when you know you may be in a different uniform next week. Hopefully the slow starts dissipate following the tension and question marks from the trade deadline.

Make Time Speed Up

For the final takeaway, we take a step back and look at the bigger picture. The Kings just need the deadline to be over. Regardless of if moves are made or not, the looming questions in the midst of an eight-game losing streak is weighing the franchise down (from the outside looking in).

This deadline won't fix everything, or even give us answers to all the questions surrounding the roster going forward, but a move or two would go a long way to appease some players and should hopefully make for the start of a successful rebuild. But only time will tell as we are forced to sit and wait.

Maxime Raynaud Bounce Back Game

1st Quarter Catastrophe

Make Time Speed Up

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