Kings 140, Spurs 113: It turns out we are allowed to make threes

So it turns out that the Kings are actually pretty good when their threes start to fall.

Sacramento made 16 of 34 three-point attempts (47.1%) on Friday night en route to a 140-113 victory, its biggest win of the season. It was a balanced scoring performance from the Kings with six players in double figures, led by DeMar DeRozan’s 23 points. The Spurs were without Victor Wembanyama, but got 30 points from Julian Champagnie and 11 points, 13 assists and 8 rebounds from Chris Paul.

Despite the final score, the Kings actually got off to a bit of a slow start in this game, with Champagnie and Keldon Johnson knocking down threes early on. The Spurs actually built a 28-16 lead with 3:29 left in the first quarter before the Kings came back to tie the game at 33-3 at the end of the quarter, outscoring the Spurs 17-1 in the final few minutes. 5 exceeded. Domantas Sabonis had left the game early in the period before the Spurs lined up because of a broken tooth, but returned to score seven points in that period.

With the game tied with about 9 minutes left, Zach Collins was whistled for a foul on Domantas Sabonis and was chatting with the referees as he left the court while Sabonis shot free throws, even taking out the referee at one point. Collins was ejected, the Kings made four free throws in a row and never relinquished the lead from then on. Without Wembanyama and now Collins, Spurs instead switched to Charles Bassey and sometimes Jeremy Sochan at center. DeMar DeRozan also got going in this second quarter, scoring 10 of his 23 points in the period, with the majority of them coming on the finish line. At halftime, the Kings had built a 10-point lead at 69-59.

The Spurs appeared aggressive in the third quarter and even cut the lead to just 3 points (77-74) with a three-pointer from Stephon Castle at the start, but Sacramento responded well. The Kings started with a few drives from De’Aaron Fox, taking advantage of San Antonio’s lack of rim protection. They spent most of the remainder of the game in the zone and scored all but five of their points in the zone or at the line. The Spurs, on the other hand, couldn’t buy a basket and only shot 9:23 and 3:12 from three in this period. At the end of the quarter the score was 100-86 and the Kings were in control.

In the fourth quarter, the Kings really blew the game away, and this time it happened because of their three-point shooting. Sacramento took a three-point lead 8-11 in the final quarter with almost everyone in the game. It was a pleasant finish and something we haven’t really seen from the Kings all season. By the end of the quarter, the Kings had scored 40 points, their highest total ever, after scoring at least 31 points in each of the previous three quarters.

Wins like this are desperately needed for this franchise, but when the Kings are still under .500, it’s hard to enjoy them too much. Sacramento hasn’t won consecutive games since early November, when they beat the Heat and Raptors. They still have a lot of work to do, but it was nice to see them taking care of business against a team that has given them some problems this year. Of course Wembanyama wasn’t there and that was a big factor, but the Kings have played down their opponents in the past anyway and I’m glad they didn’t this time. I believe a lot of this team’s struggles this season can be attributed to three-point shooting, and I hope we can see more balance from the team in this regard in the future. The Kings will have a chance to continue that momentum when they return home to take on the Utah Jazz on Sunday.

Random observations

• Coach Brown did some more work on the lineup tonight to find the right fit. Tonight, Orlando Robinson got the call early and played a total of 9 minutes, scoring 5 points to go and 4 rebounds. I think he was a little hesitant with some of his opportunities around the basket, but overall he played well.
• Malik seems to fit right in as a starter. 22 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists on the night for Malik, also 3-8 from distance. I think the biggest advantage of having Malik in the starting XI is simply the fact that he can play more. Even last season, when he should have won as the 6th man, he only averaged 26 minutes a night. As a starter he’s closer to 36, and that’s more in line with what should happen. Bring your best players onto the field.
• Kevin Huerter had his best game in what felt like weeks tonight, and it’s no coincidence that it was because he was 4-4 from three games. I just wish he wasn’t so all or nothing. These last two games have been a microcosm of his entire tenure with the Kings, losing 6-0 last night and 4-4 tonight. I’ll take a consistent 2-5 from him instead, please.
• Keegan also shot well tonight, 3-5 from distance and 4-6 from two distances. He had a really nice play in the second half where he almost forced his way upfield against a smaller defender and rose to the mid-range basket, and it shows how much he’s improved since being exclusively a catch-and-play. Shoot player was a player as a rookie.
• DeMar had a bad game against the Grizzlies and I think he knew that because he looked a little more controlled and less powerful on offense tonight. He even shot a few more three-pointers than usual, making it 1-3 (and it should have been 2-4, but one of his shots landed on the tip of his foot on the line). While I believe the Kings and DeRozan are still figuring it all out, hopefully we have most of the bumps in the road behind us.
• I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Kings player take as many penalties every night as Domantas Sabonis. Tonight it wasn’t just the broken tooth, but multiple blows to the head and neck. And in the end he still had 22 points, 16 rebounds and 4 assists. I think another advantage of Malik in the starting lineup is his ability to make Domas look good in the pick and roll. The chemistry between the two is great in that regard, and it’s hard to guard when Malik himself is such a threat.
• Keon Ellis was fully back in the squad tonight after spending most of the games on the bench. He only scored 3 points on 1-4 shooting, but played well on defense (4 steals) and also distributed the ball (3 assists). I’m not sure why Keon has such a short distance to Mike Brown, considering he’s one of our best defenders and shooters and our bench depth is already poor, so hopefully this is more in line with what we’ve got going into the season will see future.
• Based purely on the name, Stephon Castle would be a cool guy on the Kings. Other guys in recent NBA history with funny royal names: Brandon Knight, Taurean Prince, Royal Ivey. Are there any others you can think of?