The Sacramento Kings entered tonight’s game having won 4 out of 5 games on their current road trip. On the second night of a back to back, the Kings had their work cut out for them against a scrappy Chicago Bulls team. Could the Kings continue the good vibes, or would the schedule catch up to them?
Quick Stats
Outcome: Kings win, 123-115
Sacramento Kings: 123pts, 50.0% fg, 38.5% 3 pt, 82.8% ft, 33 ast, 40 reb, 16 to
Chicago Bulls: 115 pts, 46.2% fg 32.4% 3 pt, 90.9% ft, 24 ast, 47 reb, 16 to
Kings win! The Kings powered through the struggles of the back to back and secured yet another win. The Kings have now won 5 of 6 games on this road trip, with one more road game to go. That’s the upside. The downside is how it happened. The Kings came out playing fantastic in the first half, and led by as many as 30 points at one time, but squandered the lead with a horrendous third quarter. Luckily the Kings have a superstar in De’Aaron Fox who took over in the fourth and helped the Kings escape with the win.
The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
The Good:
- First Half Execution: The Kings played truly inspired basketball in the first half. Great ball movement, great defensive effort, and the shots were falling from everywhere. It was the type of basketball we love from the Beam Team.
- Domantas Sabonis: Sabonis had a quiet night, but still racked up his 31st straight double double and his 14th triple double of the season. Domas finished with 13 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 assists.
- Bench contributors: Trey Lyles and Malik Monk were big off the bench for the Kings. Monk had 22 points, 7 assists, and 5 rebounds. Trey Lyles had 16 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists, and was 5/7 from beyond the arc.
The Bad:
- Foul Troubles: Keegan Murray was in foul trouble early. Even though he still logged 31 minutes, his usual flow was disrupted and Keegan finished with just 5 points, and was 1/5 from 3. De’Aaron Fox also struggled with fouls, finishing with 5. The final foul in particular was egregiously bad, as replays showed that Fox made no contact at all on DeMar DeRozan. The Kings, however, couldn’t challenge because…
- Bad Challenges: Mike Brown continued his trend of being truly terrible at challenges. The Kings lost their challenge in the first half, while up big, on an ultimately meaningless play.
The Ugly:
- The third quarter: The Kings allowed a 30 point lead to dwindle to just 10 points. Poor execution, sloppy play, rushed shots. What was worse is that no Kings fans were surprised by it.
The King of Kings
De’Aaron Fox
Fox showed out for baby Reign’s first birthday, finishing with 41 points, 5 steals, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists. Fox was everywhere in defense, and took over scoring down the stretch. The Bulls defense was locked in, but Fox’s heroics were just a step above.
Up Next
The Kings finished their road trip against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday, February 5th at 4:00 PM PT
