Sweet, Sweet Victory: Kings Snap Seven-Game Skid With Win Over Nets
Feb 2, 2022, 9:51 PM | Updated: 9:51 pm
(Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
(Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
The losing-streak has finally come to an end for the Sacramento Kings
After 19 days, the Sacramento Kings have done it.
It took seven games and a brutal five-game road-trip, but the Kings are finally back in the win column.
Davion Mitchell continued to shine in a starting role, Buddy Hield caught fire from the bench and Tyrese Haliburton posted another double-double as Sacramento was able to snap a seven-game losing streak on Wednesday night during a 112-101 win over the Brooklyn Nets.
With just over a minute remaining in regulation and the game out of reach for Brooklyn, fans in attendance at Golden 1 Center rose to their feet to give the Kings an ovation that hadn’t been heard in quite some time as Sacramento put the finishing touches on the win.
Sacramento (19-34) snapped a seven-game losing-streak and defeated the Nets for the first time since March 1, 2018, snapping a six-game skid against Brooklyn in that time-span.
Thanks to strong play from star guard Kyrie Irving (10 points) and center Nic Claxton (11 points), the Nets were able to end the first quarter on an 11-0 run to take a 32-23 lead into the second.
Sacramento was able to create consistent offense during the second quarter, but the defense continued to lay down as Brooklyn was able to maintain an eight-to-10-point lead for a majority of the period.
Harrison Barnes led all Kings scorers with 12 points (four-of-seven from the field) during the first half, but the Nets took a 62-54 lead into the break as Sacramento was unable to convincingly trim the deficit.
Claxton nearly established a new career-high in the first half alone on Wednesday as the center scored 17 points on six-of-eight shooting from the field–just one point shy of tying the highest scoring output of his career.
Davion Mitchell was the driving force behind a solid third quarter from the Kings as the Brooklyn lead was reduced to 86-83 entering the fourth period. The rookie guard topped the 15-point mark for the fourth-straight game to help bring Sacramento to within striking distance.
During the opening 99 seconds of the fourth quarter, Tyrese Haliburton and Buddy Hield combined to score eight-straight points to give the Kings its first lead since the early minutes of the game at 91-86 with 10:21 remaining.
Thanks to strong play from Haliburton and Hield down the closing stretch, Sacramento was able to finally pick up a win–the team’s first since January 14th–as they turned the tables to hand Brooklyn its sixth-straight loss (how the tables have turned).
Sacramento outscored the Nets 29-15 in the fourth quarter as the closing lineup of Tyrese Haliburton, Davion Mitchell, Buddy Hield, Moe Harkless and Damian Jones completely shut down a Brooklyn offense that normally scores 111.6 points per game.
The presence of Harkless and Jones in particular helped the Kings out in-and-around the paint as the Kings were able to slow down Claxton late and completely take James Harden out of the game.
Mitchell also had a hand in slowing down the former MVP as Harden’s four-point night was the lowest scoring output that the guard has had since January 19, 2011.
The Kings won’t have much time to relish tonight’s win as they will travel to the Bay Area on Thursday to complete the second-game of a back-to-back against the Golden State Warriors.
Still, it feels good to be on the positive side of things–even if it was just for one night.
Rounding Out The Box Score
Tyrese Haliburton posted his 13th double-double of the season on Wednesday, scoring 12 points to go along with 11 assists and four steals over 39 minutes of play. The second-year guard didn’t turn the ball over once en route to another double-double.
Only Chris Paul, James Harden, Trae Young, Dejounte Murray, Luka Doncic and Darius Garland have more point-assist double-doubles this season.
Buddy Hield scored 18 points in the win, while Harrison Barnes led all Kings scorers with 19 points while only taking nine shots.
For the fourth-consecutive game, Davion Mitchell scored 15 points or more as the rookie guard looks better on a daily basis in his starting role.
Over 35 minutes, Mitchell scored 18 points, grabbed five rebounds and dished out three assists in the win. Mitchell said postgame that he enjoys playing with Tyrese Haliburton in the backcourt, stating that Haliburton helps make things easier for him on both ends of the floor.
Chimezie Metu notched his fifth double-double of the season during the win, scoring 11 points to go along with 12 rebounds. Damian Jones scored 12 points and grabbed eight boards, while Moe Harkless finished with 10 points to round out Sacramento’s key contributors.
Injury Updates
- After being listed as questionable prior to Wednesday night’s game, De’Aaron Fox was labeled as a game-time decision by head coach Alvin Gentry. Shortly before tip-off, Fox was ruled out for the sixth-consecutive game.
- Marvin Bagley III missed his second-straight game due to a sprained left ankle. Bagley is considered day-to-day.
- Terence Davis underwent successful surgery to repair a right wrist ECU tendon injury on Tuesday and will be re-evaluated in approximately three months.
Coming Up
Sacramento will play the second game of a back-to-back on Thursday night when they travel down I-80 to face Klay Thompson and the Golden State Warriors.
The Warriors have defeated the Kings in both meetings thus far this season, with the most recent matchup taking place on December 20th at Chase Center–a 113-98 blowout win for the Warriors.
Be sure to get all of your Kings vs Warriors coverage right here on Sports 1140 KHTK beginning at 5:30pm PST on Game Night with Scott Marsh and Henry ‘The High Flyer’ Turner prior to a 7:00pm PST tip-off from downtown San Francisco.
Upcoming Sacramento Kings Schedule
- February 3rd @ Golden State Warriors
- February 5th vs Oklahoma City
- February 8th vs Minnesota Timberwolves
- February 9th vs Minnesota Timberwolves
- February 10th: NBA Trade Deadline – 12:00pm PST
- February 12 @ Washington Wizards
