What we learned as Kings lose to Spurs, drop sixth in seven games originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SACRAMENTO – Domantas Sabonis recorded his 18th consecutive double-double but it wasn’t enough to lift the Kings out of their recent funk as they lost 127-125 to the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday at Golden 1 Center.
Sabonis had 25 points, 13 rebounds and six assists in another stellar performance while spending 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 when he was still with the Los Angeles Lakers. The runner-up for the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award last season, Monk 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 most of the night until the Spurs flipped 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 remaining.
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 Sabonis 3-pointer at the buzzer accounted for 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 and took a 79-77 lead in the third quarter. After Fox made a floater and fed Monk for a long alley-oop to put Sacramento back in front, the two teams went back and forth in the final quarter.
Here are the takeaways from Sunday’s game:
Fast and furious first
The Kings continued their recent trend of solid starts, pouring in a season-high 42 points in the first quarter despite Wembanyama’s looming presence in the key.
Led by 12 points by DeRozan, 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 behind the arc.
They were crisp, too. A team that has faced issues taking care of the ball all season turned it over just once in the first quarter.
Battle of the bigs
Sabonis had another strong game in his twice-annual showdown against Spurs’ 7-foot-3 tower Wembanyama. That’s four in four games since Wemby entered the league as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft, although the Spurs’ big man did not play in one of the four games.
Sabonis, who had 23 points and 12 rebounds against San Antonio on Nov. 11, was content playing the role of distributor early and could have had an even bigger night Sunday had he been more effective under the hoop. In the first half alone he had seven offensive boards but repeatedly missed on the put-back attempts.
For his part, Wembanyama put together a fairly solid stat 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 vibe when DeRozan’s 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 huge, and he did a great job facilitating and moving the ball.
Defensively, DeRozan was crisp. He had three steals and eight assists. He also drew an offensive foul after taking a Wembanya elbow to the chin in the second quarter.
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