Jokic, Nuggets outlast red-hot Kings’ three-point shooting

Fresh off of punching their tickets to the postseason, the Sacramento Kings fell victim to a team trying to avoid a similar path as the Beam Team: The Play-In Tournament.

Entering play on Wednesday night, the Denver Nuggets–not even 48 hours removed from the firing of their head coach Michael Malone–needed a win to improve their chances of remaining among the top six seeds in the Western Conference. The third through eighth seeds started the night separated by just 1.5 games, leaving no room for error with just three games remaining.

Sacramento (39-41) challenged the Nuggets down to the final minutes of the fourth quarter, but Denver (48-32) did just enough to hold off the Kings and secure a 124-116 win at Golden 1 Center.

The Nuggets’ win lifted them a half-game ahead of the seventh-seed Golden State Warriors, while Sacramento fell short of clinching home court for next Wednesday’s single-elimination ninth vs. tenth-seed showdown.

Although they fell short in this one, the Kings need one more win–or one loss by the Dallas Mavericks–over the next two games to clinch the ninth seed.

LaVine for 3!

Kings cut the lead to 4, close finish on ESPN 👀 pic.twitter.com/FoVaFiLvUq

— NBA (@NBA) April 10, 2025

Kings vs. Nuggets recap & takeaways

Even though Denver was without starting point guard Jamal Murray (hamstring), the Nuggets used a strong start from another member of its starting backcourt to apply pressure to Sacramento early.

Christian Braun was cooking in the first quarter, scoring 12 points on four-of-five shooting as Denver jumped out to an early eight-point lead.

With Malik Monk (calf strain), Keegan Murray (back soreness), and Jake LaRavia (left thumb; incomplete scaphoid fracture) sidelined, the Kings’ rotation was extra thin on Wednesday night, causing interim head coach Doug Christie to reach deeper into his bench.

Doug McDermott, who has put on a show in late-game scenarios this season, took advantage of his early call by immediately knocking down two quick triples during his first three minutes of action to close the gap and bring Sacramento within striking distance. ‘Dougie McBuckets’ drilled another long-ball for good measure, scoring nine points in the second quarter to provide the Kings with a much-needed boost.

McDermott’s three-point shooting was contagious, especially for Keon Ellis (three-of-four) and the rest of the Sacramento offense, as the Kings converted eight of their 17 (47%) attempts from deep during the first half.

Although Sacramento got hot from beyond the arc, Denver caused their damage in the paint (34-24) to take an eight-point advantage into the break.

back-to-back threes from 7️⃣ 🔥 https://t.co/XFdnYWIie6 pic.twitter.com/TeSuVRPxtF

— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) April 10, 2025

The short-handed Kings did their best to hang with the Nuggets during the first half, but things took a turn for the worse in the third quarter.

A quick 7-0 Denver run to begin the second half put Sacramento behind by 15 points, with the Nuggets leading by as many as 16 points as it appeared the game was on the verge of getting out of hand.

Zach LaVine put the Kings on his back during wins in Cleveland and Detroit, and the star guard scored 11 points in the third quarter to keep Sacramento within ten points heading into the fourth.

The Kings made things interesting for a few minutes late, trimming Denver’s once 16-point lead down to four with five minutes to play with LaVine continuing to knock down big shot after big shot–challenging shots at that, too.

In the end, Nikola Jokic made a series of clutch plays down the final stretch en route to a 20-point, 12-rebound, 11-assist triple-double as the Nuggets did just enough to outlast Sacramento’s big night from three-point land.

AG BRINGING THE ENERGY ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/cLXdHlHOkh

— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) April 10, 2025

LaVine posted a double-double for the Kings, scoring 27 points (10-of-20 from the field and four-of-eight from deep) to go along with 11 assists in the losing effort.

Keon Ellis, who entered the night ranked second in the NBA in three-point field goal percentage, scored 20 points on six-of-11 shooting from beyond the arc to go along with six rebounds, two blocks, and one steal over 32 minutes.

DeMar DeRozan entered the night averaging just under 30 points per game over his past five contests, but the future Hall of Famer struggled from the field against Denver. DeRozan finished the night eight-of-26 (32%) from the field, including 0-of-five from three-point range.

As for Sacramento’s postseason implications, they are still one game (a win or Mavericks loss during the final two games) from hosting next Wednesday’s Play-In game.

After posting winning seasons in back-to-back campaigns, the Kings will fall short of a winning record in 2024-25. Sacramento must win both remaining games to finish with a record of 41-41.

Injury Updates

Malik Monk (left calf strain) will be out for at least two weeks, meaning he will miss next week’s Play-In Tournament. Monk could return if Sacramento advances to the first round of the NBA Playoffs.

Keegan Murray (low back soreness) is considered day-to-day.

Jake LaRavia (left thumb; incomplete scaphoid fracture) was seen getting up shots–with his left hand taped–during pregame warm-ups and continues to progress towards a return to game action. An update on LaRavia is expected to come before the end of the regular season.

When is the next Sacramento Kings game?

The Sacramento Kings will face the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night as both teams inch closer to concluding the regular season portion of their schedules.

Los Angeles is currently in a fight to avoid the Play-In Tournament, as second-through-eighth seeds are presently separated by two games or less in the Western Conference standings.

Be sure to catch all of the Sacramento Kings vs. Los Angeles Clippers drama right here on Sactown Sports 1140 AM, with pregame coverage starting at 5:30 PM PT on Game Night before action tips off at 7:00 PM PT from downtown Sacramento.

Upcoming schedule for the 2024-25 Sacramento Kings

• Friday, April 11th vs. Los Angeles Clippers – 7:00 PM PT
• Sunday, April 13th vs. Phoenix Suns – 12:30 PM PT (Final game of regular season)
• Wednesday, April 16th – TBD (Western Conference Play-In Tournament – 9th vs. 10th seed game)

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