Sacramento Goes Wire-To-Wire In Rout Of Suns
Dec 5, 2018, 12:00 AM | Updated: Jan 4, 2019, 11:37 am
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
by Franklin Cartoscelli – Sports 1140 KHTK
The Sacramento Kings love to score the ball at a highly efficient pace.
And that’s exactly what they did on Tuesday night in Phoenix.
After jumping out to a 20-6 lead in the first quarter, Sacramento didn’t look back on their way to a 122-105 win against the league-worst Phoenix Suns.
Scoring came early and in bunches on Tuesday night, as the Kings led 36-9 after the first quarter. The 9 points allowed were the fewest Sacramento had surrendered in a quarter since at least 1954, with the previous low being 10 points allowed in 1955 against the Philadelphia Warriors.
Sacramento took a 68-40 lead into the half, their biggest halftime lead since March 13, 2013 against Chicago.
Fox. Too. Fast 💨 pic.twitter.com/pVkIrzWSkg
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 5, 2018
“The Scores Are Back In Town”
The Iman Shumpert-dubbed “Sacramento Scores” came to play in Phoenix on Tuesday night, as seven Kings ended in double figures.
Buddy Hield scored the ball at an incredible rate, finishing with 20 points in only 18 minutes on 7-of-13 from the field.
De’Aaron Fox pitched in with 16 points and 7 assists in 27 minutes, the most minutes played by any King tonight as Dave Joerger went to the bench for the fourth quarter.
Harry Giles and Troy Williams were nice sparks off the bench, combining for 24 points on 9-of-11 shooting, including a high-flying display from Williams to push the Kings lead to 31 late in the third period.
Tro✈️ with the steal and flush! pic.twitter.com/x5pE99CJ04
— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) December 5, 2018
The seventh best offense in the NBA scored over 120 points for the seventh time this season, and did so without rookie Marvin Bagley III, who missed his second straight game with lower back stiffness.
Bagley III underwent an MRI on Tuesday, with results showing “nothing of concern”.
He is considered questionable for Friday’s game in Cleveland.
Party Like It’s 2006
It’s been over 12 years since the Sacramento Kings held a winning record after 23 games.
Through 23 games, the Kings are 12-11.
The last team to start over .500 this late into a season was the 2005-06 squad, the last Kings team to appear in the postseason.
While the season is only a little over a quarter of the way through, the optimism is through the roof for this Kings team. Not only have they weathered the ninth hardest strength of schedule in the league, but they have done so with a winning record.
If the Kings want to take that next step towards competing for a playoff spot, they need to take care of business against the lowly teams of the league, just like they did on Tuesday against a 4-20 Suns team.
Winning games against sub-.500 teams is Sacramento’s strength so far this season, holding an 8-2 record.
Next up on this road trip, the Kings will face the Cavaliers (5-18), Pacers (13-10), and Bulls (5-19).
Action kicks off Friday right here on Sports 1140 KHTK, starting with Kings Live Pregame at 4pm.
