For the Sacramento Kings in 2023–24, no lead is safe.
The Chicago Bulls won 113-109 at Golden 1 Centre on Monday night, quickly wiping out a 22-point lead that they had early in the third quarter.
Sacramento (34–26) suffered a startling and expensive loss as they dropped from the postseason picture to the seventh seed in the Western Conference. Even though there is little margin for error with 22 games left, the Kings are still losing to teams that are below.500, like the Bulls.
On a night that saw De’Aaron Fox make his comeback after missing two games, the focus will be on yet another underwhelming performance by a Sacramento club that defies comprehension.
Kings versus. Bulls: Synopsis and Key Points
After being out of action for two games, De’Aaron Fox showed no signs of regression.
With a buzzer-beating floater in the lane, Fox finished off a strong first quarter that put the Kings ahead 36–22 at the halfway point. With only three Chicago players finding the back of the net, Sacramento closed the quarter on a 19-3 run while limiting the Bulls to 38 percent shooting from the floor.
On Monday night, the second quarter was quite different in typical 2023–24 Sacramento Kings manner.
The Kings cooled off to start the second quarter, allowing the Bulls to seize the chance after they had shot 38 percent from outside the arc and 54 percent from the field in the first. With three minutes remaining in the half, Chicago outscored the Kings by three points after going on a 22-5 run that ended a 14-point deficit and frustrated a sluggish Sacramento offence.
Sacramento responded with a 13-3 run to take a 56-49 lead into the second half, largely due to Fox and Monk’s outstanding play. With just 24 minutes remaining, the Kings managed to take back the lead and position themselves for success despite shooting just eight of twenty-four (33%) from the field in the second quarter.
After Sacramento took the lead again in the second quarter, it seemed as though someone flicked a switch and they never looked back.
Kevin Huerter and Domantas Sabonis had rocky starts, but they both settled into a groove in the third quarter as the Kings exploded for a 23-9 run that extended their lead to 21 points. After scoring just two points on one of nine shots in the first half, Sabonis scored 12 points (5/5 FG) to help Sacramento take a commanding lead.
With Fox setting the pace and finding his fellow All-NBA player in transition, Sabonis got four of his five baskets off of passes.
It appeared as though the Kings were about to
With 3:28 remaining in the third quarter, the Kings had an 89-67 lead, but it would soon evaporate as DeMar DeRozan (19 points on seven of seven shooting in the fourth) and Coby White (career-high 37 points) took over late and the Kings’ offence, which had been completely stagnant during the second quarter, came to an abrupt stop.
In response to his team’s late collapse, Kings head coach Mike Brown commented, “That shows you how quickly the momentum can swing in an NBA game.” “We scored 24 points with 18 turnovers. Most likely, that’s where the game was lost. I believed that the game would have been much simpler for us offensively if we had taken better care of the basketball.
Sacramento shot six for twenty (30%) from the field in the fourth quarter but turned the ball over six times. Sacramento went scoreless in the last 1:56 of regulation, as Chicago went on to outscore the Kings 36–18 in the frame.
Regarding the Kings’ late-game performance, Fox stated, “We need to make the shots that we’re given.” “We understand that the game isn’t finished when we are ahead. A game can swing in many different ways. We must improve in the final moments.
Sacramento added its most recent heartbreaking loss to a list of losses that is far too long for a team that aspires to compete in the Western Conference, in a season that has seen more ups and downs than when Mike Brown took over as head coach last year.
The Kings are only two games ahead of the tenth-seeded Golden State Warriors, despite their current good position to finish in the top 10.
It’s concerning that after 60 games, we still don’t know this squad’s true identity, but what might be even more concerning is the possibility that this Jekyll and Hyde pattern represents this team.
Harrison Barnes made his 200th consecutive start in tonight’s game against Chicago. In the Sacramento period (1985–present), Barnes joins Eddie Johnson, , LaSalle Thompson, Otis Thorpe, Jason Thompson, and Ben McLemore as the only players to appear in 200 consecutive games.
In 39 minutes, De’Aaron Fox ended his comeback with 20 points (8/16 FG), 10 assists, and one steal.
Before fouling out in the fourth quarter, Domantas Sabonis recorded his 43rd straight double-double: 18 points (7/19 FG), 21 rebounds, and 4 assists.
When will the Sacramento Kings play next?
On Wednesday night, Sacramento will go to Los Angeles in an attempt to go further ahead of the 10th-seeded Lakers in the Western Conference rankings.
The Kings can win the regular season series and all potential tiebreaker situations against the Lakers if they triumph on Wednesday. This season, Sacramento has defeated Los Angeles in both meetings; the most recent one took place on November 15 at crypto.com Arena.
For all of your Kings vs. Lakers coverage, be sure to tune in right here on Sactown Sports 1140. Game Night begins at 6:00 PM PST, with a 7:30 PM PST tip-off from downtown Los Angeles.
