Another Day, Another Loss: Kings Drop Seventh Straight
Apr 12, 2021, 8:50 PM | Updated: 8:54 pm
(Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
(Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
Sacramento nearly erased a 26-point deficit, but couldn’t capitalize late in New Orleans on Monday night
The losing streak continues.
De’Aaron Fox topped the 40-point mark for the third time this season but the Sacramento Kings could not complete the comeback on Monday night, losing their seventh-straight game by a final of 117-110 to the New Orleans Pelicans.
With the loss, the Kings (22-32) fall to a season-high 10 games under the .500 mark with 18 games remaining in the season.
The Sacramento offense would get off to a rough start on Monday night, with the Pelicans taking advantage of the sluggish start to take a 31-19 lead into the second quarter.
New Orleans would not let up, going on a 61-35 run from the midway point of the first quarter into the halftime break to take a commanding 68-45 lead after two quarters.
De’Aaron Fox scored 16 points in the first half, including Sacramento’s lone three-point field goal—a fadeaway, step-back triple to bring the Kings up to 1-of-15 shooting from beyond the arc in the first half.
Thanks to a scoring outburst by Fox to open up the second half (14 points), Sacramento was able to cut the deficit to 86-74 heading into the final period after outscoring the Pelicans 29-18 in the third quarter.
While the Kings would trail by seven points with over seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, free-throw shooting would be a glaring issue late.
Sacramento could not get going from the line, finishing the night 22-of-37 from the charity stripe.
While things would get interesting late after Harrison Barnes sunk three free-throw’s to cut the deficit to 114-110 with 18 seconds remaining, the Kings wouldn’t be able to pull off the miracle comeback.
Those opportunities would act as a huge factor in this game, with the Kings being unable to close the gap late to steal a win from New Orleans.
Rounding out the box score
De’Aaron Fox would flirt with a new career-high, just missing it by two points as he would finish with 43 points on 15-of-30 shooting from the field to go along with six rebounds and six assists.
The budding star guard once again was nearly unstoppable on Monday night, almost singlehandedly bringing his team back in the third quarter to make it a ballgame.
Harrison Barnes posted his sixth double-double of the season, scoring 16 points to go along with 11 rebounds and three steals in the loss.
Moe Harkless scored 12 of his 15 points in the first half, finishing the night five-of-11 from the field to go along with five assists and two steals.
Tyrese Halliburton and Delon Wright both finished with 12 points each to round out the scoring for Sacramento.
The Kings established a new season-high in steals, swiping 14 steals on Monday night. Wright would lead all Sacramento players with four steals over 23 minutes of action.
Injury notes
After going scoreless in the first half over 16 minutes of action, Richaun Holmes did not return for the second half due to hamstring tightness.
Holmes is considered day-to-day and his status will be updated as more information is provided by the team.
Buddy Hield (illness) missed his first game of the season, snapping a 272-game streak of consecutive appearances that dated back to November 20, 2017.
Hield’s absence was not COVID-19 related, per Gary Gerould of Sports 1140 KHTK.
Welcome back, Kings fans!
At long last, Sacramento Kings fans will get the opportunity to watch some games in person to close out the 2020-21 season.
The team announced on Monday that they will begin admitting fans on April 20th, by honoring “approximately 1,600 frontline workers preselected in collaboration with local nonprofits and corporate partners”.
From April 21st and on, fans will be able to find and purchase tickets starting this week.
Per the release from the Kings:
Prior to entry, fans will need to show proof of vaccination (showing receipt of both doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine at least seven days prior to the event or the Johnson & Johnson vaccine at least 14 days prior to the event) or a negative COVID-19 PCR or Antigen test completed within 72 hours of the event. Fans will then take part in a verbal health screening with a Golden 1 Center Ambassador.
Sacramento Kings – April 12, 2021
For more information on how to find and purchase tickets to the remaining Sacramento Kings home games at Golden 1 Center, click the link provided in the embedded tweet above this paragraph.
Coming Up
Sacramento will return to Golden 1 Center on Wednesday night for a matchup with Bradley Beal, Russell Westbrook and the Washington Wizards.
In the only meeting between the two teams this season back on March 17, De’Aaron Fox’s go-ahed jumper with 1.3 seconds remaining would give the Kings a 121-119 win.
You can find all of your Kings vs Wizards action right here on Sports 1140 KHTK, starting with pregame coverage at 3:00pm PST on The Jason Ross & Doug Christie Show prior to a 7:00pm PST tip-off.
Upcoming Sacramento Kings Schedule
- April 14 vs Washington Wizards
- April 15 @ Phoenix Suns
- April 18 @ Dallas Mavericks
- April 20 vs Minnesota Timberwolves
- April 21 vs Minnesota Timberwolves
