Celtics Embarrass Kings In 50-Point Laugher
Jan 25, 2022, 6:54 PM | Updated: 7:33 pm
(Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
(Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
Yikes.
Sad. Pathetic. Embarrassing.
How else would you describe Tuesday’s showing from the Sacramento Kings?
Not only did the Kings lose to the Boston Celtics, but they got completely dismantled as the Celtics held Sacramento to just 30 points during the first half en route to a 128-75 laugher at TD Garden.
The 53-point loss was the team’s most lopsided since November 2, 1991 when they suffered their worst loss in franchise history (62 points) to the Golden State Warriors.
With the (embarrassing) loss, the Kings (18-31) have now lost four-straight games and nine-straight road games.
There isn’t a better way to describe the first quarter of Tuesday’s game than two sad, simple words: completely miserable.
All-Star duo Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown paced a 27-3 run to lead by as many as 26 points as Boston made the Kings look like an elementary school team. Once play entered the second period, Boston had taken complete control of the game by taking a 38-13 lead after 12 minutes of play. The 13-point quarter was Sacramento’s lowest scoring output in a quarter this season.
Sacramento shot a horrifying five-of-29 (17%) from the field and one-of-12 (8%) from three-point range during a first quarter that was undoubtedly the team’s most pathetic single period of the season.
Well, if you were hoping that the Kings would respond in the second quarter, you would be very disappointed as Boston extended their gargantuan lead to 63-30 at the half–the lowest scoring half by the Kings since the 2015-16 season.
Boston’s lead quickly eclipsed the 40-point mark in the early minutes of the second half to put the finishing touches on the Kings before we even reached the eight-minute mark of the third quarter.
Entering the fourth quarter, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown had combined to outscore the entire Sacramento offense on their own (66-55) to take a 97-55 lead into the fourth.
The final period was a bench vs bench affair for both teams as Boston put the finishing touches on the Kings’ worst loss of the 2021-22 season. When the marathon of sorrow finally came to a close, Sacramento had ended the night with just 75 points on 29-of-95 (30%) shooting from the field and six-of-33 (18%) shooting from beyond the arc.
Sure, De’Aaron Fox wasn’t playing. Sure, the Kings are an awful defensive team. Sure, the team has struggled as of late.
But trailing by 60 points and losing by 53…?
An absolutely historic franchise like the Boston Celtics, a team that has won 17 championships, nearly posted their largest margin of victory in franchise history on Tuesday night (56 points in 2018-19).
There is absolutely zero–and I mean zero–excuse to lose an NBA game the way that the Sacramento Kings did on Tuesday night. Zero heart. Zero effort. Zero sense of urgency. By the time the first quarter ended, it was clear that the game was over.
The fans of Sacramento deserve so much more. A team with heart, a team with undoubted effort. The fans at least deserve that.
Period.
Injury Updates
- De’Aaron Fox (left ankle soreness) was listed as questionable prior to Tuesday’s matchup prior to being ruled out by head coach Alvin Gentry during his pregame media session. Gentry told the media that Fox’s injury is “just soreness” and added that the guard would be able to play if it was a playoff-type of situation. With Sacramento set to play the second game of a back-to-back on Wednesday, the team is erring on the side of caution.
- Chimezie Metu (knee soreness) was ruled out prior to tip-off. Gentry told the media that Metu, like Fox, would have been able to play if it was a pressing situation.
- Damian Jones (left ankle soreness) was listed as questionable before Tuesday’s game prior to being ruled active.
- Terence Davis injured his wrist on a drive to the basket during the second quarter and exited the game following his free-throw attempts. Davis was ruled out for the remainder of the game and is considered day-to-day.
Coming Up
See you all tomorrow!
The Kings will play the second game of a back-to-back on Wednesday afternoon when they face Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks.
A short-handed Hawks team bested the Kings back on January 5th at Golden 1 Center, even without the services of Trae Young, John Collins and Bogdan Bogdanovic during a 108-102 win.
Be sure to get all of your Kings vs Hawks coverage right here on Sports 1140 KHTK beginning at 3:00pm PST on Game Night with Scott Marsh and Henry ‘The High Flyer’ Turner prior to a 4:30pm PST tip-off from Atlanta.
Upcoming Sacramento Kings Schedule
- January 26th @ Atlanta Hawks
- January 29th @ Philadelphia 76ers
- January 31st @ New York Knicks
- February 2nd vs Brooklyn Nets
- February 5th vs Oklahoma City
