No ‘Off-Night’ For Davion: Kings Complete Comeback Behind Mitchell’s Big Performance

Oct 31, 2022, 7:12 PM | Updated: 7:18 pm

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - OCTOBER 31: Davion Mitchell #15 of the Sacramento Kings drives to the b...

(Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)

Editor & Kings Beat Writer

Once De’Aaron Fox exited Monday night’s game due to knee soreness, the Sacramento Kings were in dire need of a big performance from a member of the bench.

Five games into the season, second-year guard Davion Mitchell had yet to look comfortable in his role as the ninth-overall pick from the 2021 NBA Draft had averaged just 4.4 points on 34 percent shooting from the field and 16 percent from beyond the arc.

Thursday night’s game in Charlotte would be a much different story.

The Kings got a career night out of the ‘Off-Night’ as Mitchell’s 23 points off of the bench would come in handy during Sacramento’s 115-108 comeback win over the Hornets at the Spectrum Center.

Mitchell established a new career-high with five made three-point field goals (five-of-six from beyond the arc), finishing the game nine-of-11 from the field to go along with four boards and three steals over 31 minutes of action.

Davion coming in CLUTCH 🧊 pic.twitter.com/bwYIMC9pck

— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) November 1, 2022

Mitchell’s clutch buckets over the final 90 seconds of play were huge, but the defensive-minded guard came up with a clutch steal with 42 seconds remaining that kept a then-three-point lead intact to all but seal the win for Sacramento.

Thanks to a strong closing effort, the Kings claimed its first win at the Spectrum Center in over five years as they snapped a five-game road losing streak to the Hornets that dated back to the 2017-18 season.

Of course, things didn’t start off pretty for Sacramento as Charlotte got whatever they wanted on the offensive end en route to taking a 67-52 lead into the halftime break.

After allowing the Hornets to shoot 60 percent from the field and 53 percent from three-point range during the first half, Sacramento’s defense buckled down in the third quarter as they held Charlotte to just 18 points on 39 percent shooting in the period.

With Mitchell and fellow guard Kevin Huerter feeling it to begin the second half, the Kings mounted a 34-10 run to begin the third period and opened up play in the fourth quarter with a four-point lead.

Huerter was nails from beyond the arc once again during the win as ‘Red Velvet’ found his stroke late in the game. The 24-year-old drilled four of his five three-pointer field goals during the second half (two in the fourth) to help lead a late charge that included Mitchell, Keegan Murray, Harrison Barnes, and third-string point guard Matthew Dellavedova.

Sacramento needed somebody to step up with Fox sidelined, and more than one player roses to the occasion on Monday night.

Delly with a DIME to Huerter 🤝 pic.twitter.com/aYHpJfKe1k

— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) November 1, 2022

Huerter led all Kings scorers with 26 points–his second-straight game with 26+ points–on five-of-10 shooting from beyond the three-point line to go along with five assists and two steals. The fifth-year guard became the only player in the NBA this season to drill 5+ three-point field goals in four or more games.

For the second-consecutive game, Sacramento was forced to close out a game with Domantas Sabonis sitting on the sideline with six fouls. This time Fox was sidelined as well, yet the Kings made the necessary adjustments that were needed to erase a large deficit and win a basketball game.

Behind a cast of players that was led by Mitchell and Huerter, Sacramento outscored Charlotte 63-41 during the second half.

It might just be two games, but the fact that this team was able to win its past two matchups with one of both of their two best players on the bench–that is certainly noteworthy.

Notes & Takeaways

Domantas Sabonis fouled out with just over two minutes remaining in regulation as the Kings’ big man continued to struggle with staying on the floor late.

The two-time All-Star entered play on Monday in third place on the NBA’s fouls per game list at 4.40 fouls per contest. Following another six-foul outing, Sabonis is likely to jump into the second or top spot on Tuesday morning.

Sabonis registered a season-high 16 rebounds, nine points, and seven assists over 31 minutes of play before fouling out. The 26-year-old will need to work with the coaching staff on how to avoid continuously getting into foul trouble as Sacramento needs its franchise big on the floor during crunch time.

DOMAS WITH NO REGARD FOR HUMAN LIFE 😤 pic.twitter.com/3I6ZOZWopP

— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) November 1, 2022

Following a rough start to the season, Harrison Barnes continued to show that he is taking steps in the right direction as the veteran forward scored 16 points and grabbed nine boards during the win. Over his past three games, Barnes is averaging 15.6 points per contest.

Free-throws: Sacramento finished the night 24-of-28 (85%) from the foul line. The Kings are shooting 79% from the charity stripe over the past four games.

Injury Updates

De’Aaron Fox left Monday’s game with a bruised right knee after colliding with Hornets forward Nick Richards.

The 24-year-old attempted to return to the floor just minutes after suffering the injury but was clearly in discomfort upon re-entering. Fox hobbled and limped around the floor for a minute of action before eventually heading to the locker room.

Fox is considered day-to-day.

De'Aaron Fox has been ruled out for the rest of the game after sustaining a knee bruise on this play in the first half pic.twitter.com/qKh8j1Cr6w

— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) November 1, 2022

Coming Up

The Kings will hope to push its winning streak to three games when they face the Miami Heat on Wednesday evening.

Just a few days ago, Sacramento collected its first win of the season when they defeated the by a final of 119-113 on Saturday at Golden 1 Center.

Be sure to get all of your Kings vs Heat coverage on Sactown Sports 1140 starting at 3:00 pm PST on Game Night before action tips off at 4:00 pm PST from South Beach, Florida.

Also: check out our Sactown Sports Kings Recap Show on the Sactown Sports 1140 YouTube channel!

Sactown Sports Kings Recap Shows will be happening all season long, immediately following each Kings game!