Sacramento ends regular season with loss in Denver, shifts attention to playoffs
Apr 9, 2023, 4:09 PM | Updated: 4:13 pm
(Photo by Grace Bradley/Getty Images)
(Photo by Grace Bradley/Getty Images)
A memorable regular season came to a close in Denver, Colorado on Easter Sunday as the Sacramento Kings played its final tune-up game before opening up postseason play next weekend.
Sacramento’s starters played limited minutes against a top-seed Denver Nuggets team that sat its entire starting lineup as both teams prepare for appearances in the first round of the NBA Playoffs.
Even without its core, the Nuggets’ bench picked apart the Kings’ third unit as Denver came away with a 109-95 win that capped off regular season play.
Sacramento (48-34) will now turn its attention toward its neighbors located just over 80 miles away in the Golden State Warriors as they prepare for a first-round matchup with several storylines to follow.
Malik said "It's my turn!" 😈 pic.twitter.com/vwbUyTtZMr
— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) April 9, 2023
While Sunday’s game didn’t have much importance from a win-loss standpoint, here are some observations from the action before we all shift into playoff mode.
A Strong First Half
Unsurprisingly, the Kings played well with its starting unit on the floor.
Thanks to strong starts from Harrison Barnes, Domantas Sabonis, and De’Aaron Fox, Sacramento jumped out to a 27-12 lead while shooting over 60 percent from the field during the first quarter.
Fox (13 points), Sabonis (14 points, nine rebounds, and five assists), and Barnes (17 points) did not play after the halftime break, but head coach Mike Brown got what he wanted from his starters.
Sacramento would get outscored 50-28 during the second half while players like PJ Dozier, Keon Ellis, and Chimezie Metu finished the remainder of the game.
Mr. Reliability
If there were one word to describe Harrison Barnes, “reliable” would have to be near the top of the list.
The veteran forward logged his 82nd game of the season, marking the second time in his 11-year NBA career that Barnes has played in an entire 82-game season.
Barnes got off to a hot start on Sunday, scoring 14 points on four-of-four shooting from three-point land over 11 minutes of playing time during the first quarter, ending the game with 17 points over just 17 minutes of playing time.
"The best ability is availability."
After starting today's game, Harrison Barnes has played in all 82 games this season.
Over five seasons with the Sacramento Kings, Barnes has played in 317 of 336 possible games (94.3%).
Now that's reliability. pic.twitter.com/LxCHWlxVIE
— Frankie Cartoscelli (@FCartoscelli3) April 9, 2023
Keegan Did WHAT!?
One aspect of Keegan Murray’s game that the rookie can expand in the future is his aggressiveness toward attacking the basket.
While the rookie had a historic season from beyond the arc (206 made three-point field goals, sixth all-time in Sacramento franchise history), there weren’t many instances of Murray driving the lane and dropping a hammer this season.
It might have taken until the final game of the regular season, but Murray reached into his bag of tricks and delivered his best dunk of the year on Sunday.
Miss the Keegan Murray poster? We got you! pic.twitter.com/KyyHrFGR61
— Sactown Sports 1140 (@Sactown1140) April 9, 2023
Murray finished the game with 14 points on six-of-12 shooting over 25 minutes in what was a solid showing during his final game of the season–regular season, that is.
The rookie’s next game will take place on Saturday when the Kings open up the first round of the NBA Playoffs at home against the Golden State Warriors.
Notes
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With his second 3-point field goal at the 9:21 mark of Q1, Kevin Huerter has knocked down 205 3s this season. He has the sixth-most 3s in a single season in franchise history, passing Mitch Richmond (1996-97: 204) and Keegan Murray (2022-23: 204).
- The Kings have set a single-season franchise record for points scored, passing the 1961-62 Cincinnati Royals (9,845).
Stats courtesy of Sacramento Kings PR.
Next Game
The time has finally come.
Sacramento’s next game will take place on Saturday night when they host Game 1 of the NBA Playoffs at Golden 1 Center against the NorCal rival Golden State Warriors.
Sactown Sports 1140 will have all of your Kings vs. Warriors coverage starting on Monday at 6am on The Carmichael Dave Show with Jason Ross. We will be bringing you 12-hour coverage every day this week from 6 AM PST until 6 PM PST as we prepare for the biggest week in recent Sacramento Kings history.
For Game 1, special pregame coverage of Kings vs. Warriors will begin at 2 PM PST with Jason Ross before Game Night featuring Scott Marsh and Henry Turner begins at 4:00 PM PST.
Tip-off for Game 1 will take place at 5:30 PM PST at Golden 1 Center.
The Battle for NorCal begins in Round 1 on April 15 at 5:30PM PST on @ABCNetwork 👑
Presented by @dialpad pic.twitter.com/UIeWSowplI— P – Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) April 9, 2023
Upcoming Sacramento Kings Schedule
NBA Western Conference Playoffs – First Round
- Game 1 | Saturday, April 15th – Sacramento Kings vs. Golden State Warriors – 5:30 PM PST
Upcoming NBA Postseason Schedule
NBA Play-In Tournament takes place April 11-14th
- Tuesday, April 11th – Atlanta Hawks (8) vs. Miami Heat (7) – 4:30 PM PST
- Tuesday, April 11th – Minnesota Timberwolves (8) vs. Los Angeles Lakers (7) – 7:00 PM PST
- Wednesday, April 12th – Chicago Bulls (10) vs. Toronto Raptors (9) – 4:30 PM PST
- Wednesday, April 12th – Oklahoma City Thunder (10) vs. New Orleans Pelicans (9) – 6:30 PM PST
- Friday, April 14th – Matchups TBD
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