We made it y’all. It is the last night of 2023 and whether it was your best year yet, or one you’re ready to move on from, it’s time to close this volume and move on to the next. But before we could really relax into the festivities, we had one last Sacramento Kings game to either celebrate or curse this year. The Kings ended their road trip and calendar year in Memphis to take on the Grizzlies. Since the return of their complicated star, Ja Morant, the Grizzlies were rejuvenated with a 4-0 run before recently falling to the Nuggets and Clippers. The Kings looked to carry on the momentum from their previous 23-point comeback victory over the Hawks and end the year right. Let’s see how they did:
Quick Stats
Outcome: Kings win, 123-92
Sacramento Kings: 123 pts, 51.1% fg, 48.5% 3 pt, 76.5% ft, 28 ast, 59 reb, 13 to
Memphis Grizzlies: 92 pts, 36.6% fg, 30.0% 3 pt, 71.4% ft, 20 ast, 34 reb, 8 to
We can all celebrate and sleep well tonight knowing we are ending the year with a beam lighting the sky. The Kings left no doubt in this one. After finishing the first quarter with a 5-point lead, they never looked back. They spent the second quarter maintaining an 8-12 point lead, the third quarter maintaining a 15-20 point lead, and the fourth quarter maintaining a 20-30 point lead. It was dominant, delightful basketball to watch, and the perfect way to end the year.
The Good, The Better, & The Best
The Good:
- Unlocking the Rotation: Coach Mike Brown made the call tonight to switch things up in the starting lineup. He replaced Kevin Huerter with Chris Duarte. This had three noticeable effects: 1. Harrison Barnes got more and better quality looks – Huerter’s usual shots were redistributed to Barnes, allowing him to have more frequent attempts on offense and he finished with 11 points on 4-8 from the field. 2. Kevin Huerter got to join the bench party alongside Malik Monk and Trey Lyles, where he also found some more consistent production – in 17 minutes, Huerter scored 9 points on 4-9 from the field. 3. Chris Duarte’s defensive presence made the Kings more switchable in defending Ja Morant (17 points) and Desmond Bane (17 points). Whether this will be the lineup Mike Brown continues with remains to be seen, but it was extremely successful tonight.
The Better:
- Bench Production: The Grizzlies came out shooting hot to start, hitting 7-13 from the 3-point line in the first quarter. The Kings were able to keep up with this, however, thanks in large part to their bench, as they came out firing as well. Trey Lyles and Malik Monk combined for 3 3s straight off the bench and helped give the Kings their 5-point advantage to end the first quarter and weather the Grizzlies’ hot shooting. Lyles was a consistent force on both ends, finishing with 12 points on a perfect 3-3 from deep. Alex Len felt like a warm comforting blanket in the backup center spot. Len has negative chaos in his play style, doing exactly what he’s out there to do – be a big dude in the paint and rebound. Len finished with 8 boards in 12 minutes. Davion Mitchell was decisive in his role tonight, scoring 8 points on a perfect 4-4 from the field and connecting on 4 assists. In total, the Kings got 58 points from their bench to help them gain and maintain their lead all night.
The Best:
- Getting Physical: The Kings played one of their most physical games tonight and it paid off for them. Their defense allowed nothing easy inside, as they held the Grizzlies to just 32 points in the paint. As this pushed the Grizzlies to look outside, the Kings held them to shooting just 12-40 from deep. Sacramento’s defensive rotations, recoveries, and rebounding were honed and focused, allowing Memphis just 1 offensive rebound all night. Domantas Sabonis went to work early, challenging Jaren Jackson Jr. every chance he got. Sabonis finished with a triple double of 13 points, 21 rebounds, and 12 assists. Read that again if you must, because it is pretty insane.
The King of Kings
Malik Monk got to show out for a large group of his family and friends who were in the arena to support him tonight. Monk, of course, did not disappoint. He finished with 27 points and 5 assists on an incredibly efficient 10-13 from the field. And it wouldn’t be a Malik Monk game without a Malik Monk slam:
high-flying ‘Lik is 𝐒𝐎𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 into 2024! pic.twitter.com/gK8d48MWI9
— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) January 1, 2024
Up Next
Tuesday, January 2nd vs. Charlotte Hornets – 7:00 P.M. (PT)
