Not-So-Happy Valentine’s Day: Nets Snap 11-Game Skid With Win Over Kings
Feb 14, 2022, 7:14 PM | Updated: Feb 16, 2022, 10:29 am
(Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images)
(Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images)
Sacramento’s two-game winning streak was snapped during Monday’s loss
There wasn’t much love in the air in Brooklyn on Monday when the Sacramento Kings took the floor against the Nets.
The Kings did not have an enjoyable Valentine’s Day evening as the short-handed Nets snapped an 11-game losing-streak with a 109-85 win over Sacramento at Barclays Center.
Sacramento (22-37) had a two-game winning-streak snapped as they are still looking for their first win in Brooklyn since December 20, 2017.
As was the case during Sacramento’s two most-recent games against Minnesota and Washington, the Kings quickly found themselves in a big hole early.
Brooklyn led by as many as 19 points during a first quarter that saw the Kings shoot just 25-percent from the field as the Nets took a 35-24 lead into the second period.
After knocking off the offensive rust and turning up the defensive intensity, Sacramento was able to chip into Brooklyn’s lead during the second quarter. De’Aaron Fox finished the half with 17 points (six-of-11 from the field) as the Kings trimmed a once-19-point deficit to just 55-48 at the break.
A 6-0 Kings run to open up the second-half would trim Brooklyn’s lead to just one points, but the Nets immediately responded with a 25-7 run to regain a 19-point lead. Once again, the offense looked stagnant as Sacramento opened up the fourth quarter staring at a 14-point deficit.
Brooklyn would finally get to enjoy a victorious effort as they brought the hammer down in the fourth quarter to pick up their first win since January 21st.
The offense was never truly clicking for the Kings, aside from a strong stretch of play during the end of the second quarter that lasted into the beginning of the third period.
When you finish the game shooing 34-percent from the field and 25-percent from the three-point line, you probably aren’t going to leave any game with a win. Sacramento’s poor shooting and sloppy play (18 turnovers) cost them on Monday as De’Aaron Fox (26 points) was the only King to score over 13 points.
After scoring 20 points or more in five-straight games, Harrison Barnes struggled to find his offense in Brooklyn. The veteran forward finished with just six points on three-of-nine shooting over 30 minutes.
The blame doesn’t just fall on Barnes, of course.
Besides Fox’s 26-point effort, the rest of the Kings starters combined to score 23 points on 10-of-34 shooting. Davion Mitchell (13 points) and Donte DiVincenzo (12 points) did damage off of the bench on both ends of the floor, but the rest of the offense was nowhere to be seen.
Following the game, Domantas Sabonis admitted that he “could have been way more aggressive” on the offensive end during the loss, while adding that he is looking to pass more than get his own shots off.
“I don’t want to step on anyone’s toes,” Sabonis said following a 9-point, 9-rebound performance.
There was bound to be a learning curve for this team and its upgraded roster.
One just has to hope that this learning curve won’t take more than one game to get things right as Sacramento looks to remain in the thick of the Western Conference Play-In race.
Shots weren’t falling on Monday, Domantas Sabonis was pulling his punches and Harrison Barnes finally cooled off.
You’d like to imagine that all of those things will not continue to happen concurrently, but anything can happen in the game of basketball.
With just one game remaining until the All-Star break, Sacramento will have to lock in for a tough matchup against the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday.
Kings of the Night
De’Aaron Fox scored 26 points on nine-of-18 shooting from the field in what was the guard’s fifth-straight game with 26 points or more.
Donte DiVincezo swiped a career-high five steals while also scoring 12 points, grabbing eight rebounds and dishing out two assists.
Injury Report
- Jeremy Lamb was listed as questionable due to left ankle soreness before being ruled out shortly before tip-off.
- Terence Davis will be re-evaluated in two-to-three months after undergoing successful surgery to repair a right wrist ECU tendon injury.
Coming Up
Sacramento will finish a three-game road-trip on Wednesday night when they face a dangerous Chicago Bulls team in the final game before the All-Star break.
The Kings split a two-game set with the Bulls last season, with the Bulls claiming the most-recent matchup back on February 20, 2021–a 122-114 win at United Center.
Be sure to get all of your Kings vs Bulls coverage right here on Sports 1140 KHTK beginning at 3:30pm PST on Game Night with Scott Marsh & Henry ‘The High Flyer’ Turner prior to a 5:00pm PST tip-off from ‘The Windy City’.
Upcoming Sacramento Kings Schedule
- February 16th @ Chicago Bulls
- February 17th-23rd: NBA All-Star Break
- February 24th vs Denver Nuggets
- February 26th @ Denver Nuggets
- February 28th @ Oklahoma City Thunder
- March 2nd @ New Orleans Pelicans
