Flipping The Script: Kings Use Huge Third Quarter To Defeat Clippers
Dec 1, 2021, 10:15 PM | Updated: 10:54 pm
(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
A win is a win for the Sacramento Kings
During Tuesday night’s horrifying loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, things got out of hand for the Sacramento Kings during a third-quarter performance that will live in Golden 1 Center infamy.
Not even 24 hours later, the Kings were the ones causing the damage in the third quarter.
Sacramento outscored the Los Angeles Clippers 37-24 in the third en route to building a sizable lead heading into the fourth, a lead that they would not relinquish as the Kings snapped a two-game losing streak with a 124-115 win at the STAPLES Center.
With the win, the Kings (9-14) improved to an even 6-6 on the road before heading back to Golden 1 Center for another matchup with the Clippers on Saturday night.
Los Angeles set the tone early by taking a 14-9 lead early in the first before the Kings answered back with an 11-0 run to take a 20-14 lead with just over two minutes remaining in the period.
Davion Mitchell’s eight-point quarter would lead all scorers while Chimezie Metu (six points) helped lead Sacramento to a 29-21 lead heading into the second in what was a much-needed start following last night’s abysmal finish against the Lakers.
Mitchell and Metu each scored 13 points in the first half to pace the Kings to a 62-52 lead at the halftime break. Sacramento led by as many as 20 points, but the Clippers ended the half on a 20-10 run to cut the deficit in half and limit the damage.
Sacramento jumped out to an 8-0 run in the opening moments of the second half to create some space between themselves and the Clippers and never looked back as they would go on to outscore Los Angeles 37-24 in the period to take a comfortable 23-point lead into the fourth.
Not even a 14-0 Clippers run in the closing minutes of the fourth could de-rail a valiant effort from the Kings, as De’Aaron Fox knocked down a pair of free-throws in the final 90 seconds to keep the game out of reach..
Thanks to superb play from Davion Mitchell, Terence Davis, Tyrese Haliburton, Richaun Holmes and Fox, Sacramento was able to avoid another late meltdown as they knocked off the Clippers for a much-needed win.
As a team, the Kings offense was firing on all cylinders during the win, shooting 52-percent from the field and just a tick under 40-percent from three-point land. Limiting turnovers was a large aspect of Wednesday’s win, with Sacramento only turning the ball over 11 times versus their 28 assists.
Was it a perfect win? Absolutely not.
But hey, there is plenty of basketball left to be played this season. Kings fans know that you can’t discriminate against wins. Whether it be a 20-point blowout, buzzer-beating thriller or nine-point win, only one thing matters:
A win is a win. And this team needs wins any way that they can get them right now.
Rounding Out The Box Score
De’Aaron Fox led all Kings scorers with 24 points on seven-of-14 shooting from the field to go along with three rebounds, five assists and three steals. Fox’s free-throw shooting has been a huge positive as of late, as the talented guard has converted 34-of-40 (85%) free-throws over the past seven games.
Terence Davis caught fire against Los Angeles, displaying his ‘microwave’ skillset during a season-high 23-point (nine-of-14 from the field and five-of-nine from three-point land) performance.
Tyrese Haliburton tallied his second double-double of the season in the win, scoring 12 points and dishing out a season-high 11 assists over 40 minutes.
Joining Haliburton on the double-double front was Richaun Holmes, who posted his eighth of the season during a 16-point, 11-rebound performance. Davion Mitchell eclipsed the 20-point mark for the second time in his career, while 13 points and six rebounds in the win.
All five of Sacramento’s starters finished in double-figures on Wednesday night.
Injury Updates
- Harrison Barnes (right foot sprain) missed his fourth-consecutive game on Wednesday night, but the forward is not expected to be out for an extended period of time. Barnes was listed as out prior to tip-off and is considered day-to-day moving forward. Sacramento plays just one game over the next seven days, giving the forward plenty of time to heal up.
- Moe Harkless (left knee soreness) was listed as questionable before the Kings took the floor against the Clippers. The 28-year-old was ruled out shortly before tip-off and is considered day-to-day.
- Marvin Bagley III (non-COVID illness) was unavailable against the Lakers on Tuesday after leaving morning shoot-around. The young forward was ruled out for Wednesday’s matchup, with head coach Alvin Gentry sharing that Bagley’s illness isn’t expected to sideline him much longer.
Coming Up
The Kings and Clippers won’t have to wait long for a rematch as both teams will travel to Sacramento on Saturday night for a matchup at Golden 1 Center.
Sacramento is looking to defeat the Clippers on its home floor for the first time since March 19, 2013. The Kings have never defeated Los Angeles at Golden 1 Center, having lost 14-straight home games to the Clippers dating back to the days of Sleep Train Arena.
You can get all of your game coverage right here on Sports 1140 KHTK starting at 5:30pm PST on on Game Night with Scott Marsh and Henry ‘The High Flyer’ Turner at 5:30pm PST prior to a 7:00pm PST tip-off from Golden 1 Center.
Upcoming Sacramento Kings Schedule
- December 4th vs Los Angeles Clippers
- December 8th vs Orlando Magic
- December 10th @ Charlotte Hornets
- December 11th @ Cleveland Cavaliers
- December 13 @ Toronto Raptors
