It was an unconventional defeat for the Kings as they fell to the Bucks 143-142. Despite a strong performance from behind the arc and a standout comeback game from Kevin Huerter, who returned from an ankle injury, the Kings couldn’t clinch the victory. Two main factors emerged as pivotal in this game – the friendly home court whistle and “the others” of the Bucks.
The game started strong for the Kings with De’Aaron Fox lighting it up from the three-point line, exploiting mismatches against Malik Beasley and Andre Jackson Jr. Domantas Sabonis also had a nearly flawless game with 21 points, 13 rebounds, and 15 assists on 9-10 shooting, overpowering Brook Lopez in the post. The eye test to this point told me that the Kings were mostly firing on all cylinders. However, the first half ended much closer than expected with a score of 68-66, thanks to the Bucks’ free throw advantage, plus 12 in attempts.
In the second half, Sabonis continued guarding Giannis Antetokounmpo and did an impressive job at that. Alex Len didn’t fair nearly as well against the Greek Freak as Giannis’ speed proved to be too much for the big man. Despite that, the Kings managed to gain momentum, following an incident that led to coach Mike Brown’s dismissal from the game due to a missed call on Cam Payne while he was defending Fox.
Despite an impressive performance from Kevin Huerter, who concluded the game with 26 points and 10 rebounds, the Bucks’ supporting cast, featuring Bobby Portis, Malik Beasley, and Cam Payne, proved to be too much. Just when it seemed the Kings were gaining momentum, Portis would either dominate in the post or sink another essential deep shot. Heck, Cam Payne had a stretch of about 2-3 minutes where he simply couldn’t miss. Notably, Payne didn’t even play in the Bucks’ previous game.
Regrettably, a tale as old as time, the Kings turned back into a pumpkin at the free throw line when it mattered most. The Bucks, on the other hand, had a successful run, with 27 out of 32 attempts from the line, while the Kings only managed to score on 15 of their 20 attempts. This difference became glaringly apparent during overtime, where Monk and Fox missed crucial free throws that could have clinched the victory. Fox and Malik Monk for the most part balled out with their respective 32 and 28 points, but Damian Lillard’s buzzer-beating three-pointer delivered the final hit, leaving the Kings to exit the court defeated.
In the end, though the Kings demonstrated potential with their revived three-point shooting prowess and Sabonis’s solid performance, their downfall was ultimately due to missed free throws and lost opportunities
