The Sacramento Kings started a three-game road trip against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden with a five-game winning streak and a 5-1 record since hiring Doug Christie as their interim head coach.
They succeeded in doing so, limiting the potent Celtics offence to double figures while winning 114-97.
The Kings received noteworthy contributions from everyone, despite losing De’Aaron Fox for the third consecutive night.
With an incredible stat line of 23 points, 28 rebounds, and three assists on 10/15 shooting, including 3/4 from three, Domantas Sabonis took the lead.
Half of DeMar DeRozan’s 24 points came in the fourth quarter. Devin Carter (11) and Keegan Murray (19) provided perimeter assistance, while Malik Monk contributed 22 of their own.
Holding a Boston team that averages a league-high 49.8 three-point attempts per game to 11/41 from three-point range, winning the turnover fight, and grabbing 16 offensive rebounds were the key factors.
Kings at Celtics Game Notes
In their third consecutive game without De’Aaron Fox, the Sacramento Kings looked to defeat the reigning champions in order to increase their winning streak to six games on the road. The Kings emerged victorious, despite the fact that the Boston Celtics shoot more triples (49.8) than any other NBA team.
Keon Ellis and Malik Monk started for the third time in a row without Fox. Early pace control was maintained by Monk and Domantas Sabonis, who also found and produced spray triples for their teammates.
Boston was 4/14 at the end of the first quarter, while Sacramento was 8/18 from three. Monk (2/4), Sabonis (2/3), and Keegan Murray (2/2) each made two three-pointers.
At the end of the first frame, the Kings led 34-27 thanks to that outstanding offensive effort. Naturally, there was still plenty of time for the Celtics’ potent offence to settle into a routine.
DeRozan, Monk, and Sabonis are given more responsibility for creating while Fox is absent.
In contrast to their wild start, Sacramento’s second-quarter lineup, which consisted of Carter, Hughes, DeRozan, Murray, and Lewis, played at a much slower tempo. Even though DeRozan is the highlighted player, it’s still a noticeable difference.
That team gave up the majority of Boston’s significant 16-3 run. The Kings were outscored 28–19 during the second quarter, which was their worst span.
They shot 1/12 from beyond the arc in the second quarter after a scorching opening quarter from three. By searching for advantageous mismatches against Sacramento’s switching defence, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Kristaps Porzingis helped their side pull away to a slim 55-53 lead at the half.
Without Fox by his side, Monk had more opportunities and finished with a game-high 14 points and four assists on 6/12 from the field. Trey Lyles put in a lot of effort in his 15 minutes of play, as seen by the fact that he grabbed four of the Kings’ seven offensive rebounds.
Sabonis, as usual, left his mark on the glass as well. By the middle of the third quarter, he had 20 rebounds. He now leads the NBA in rebounds with 20 or more in a game for the seventh time this season.
The second half began with neither team moving particularly quickly, which favoured the Celtics. Despite DeRozan’s inability to get going, the Kings managed to stay in the game by forcing turnovers and grabbing more offensive rebounds.
It had been a bit of a defensive battle, with the score tied at 76 going into the last period.
In the fourth, rookie Devin Carter began to show promise. In the first few minutes of the quarter of his fourth NBA game, the 2024 lottery pick scored eight points, including consecutive triples against Porzingis.
Sacramento began the fourth inning on a 16-5 surge thanks to his efforts and Sabonis’s ongoing dominance.
Murray maintained the momentum in their favour even though those two were the initial producers of late-game energy. The third-year forward claimed that he finally felt like himself again before they went on this three-game road trip, and it’s evident. With six and a half minutes left in the game, the Kings led 97-83 thanks to his fourth three of the evening.
Kim English, the head coach of Providence, was in the building to witness Carter, who had a chance to play significant minutes late on with the four other starters before Lyles took his position at about 4:30.
The clock worked in Sacramento’s favour as they dealt with a significant lead in the closing minutes. They kept that lead until the final buzzer in TD Garden by making sporadic shots, forcing turnovers, and grabbing offensive boards.
DeRozan put on a show in the fourth quarter, scoring 12 points and dishing out four assists on 4/6 shooting after a sluggish start.
With a team-wide effort, Sacramento extended their winning streak to six games and perhaps recorded their biggest victory of the season.
