Kings set franchise three-point record during blowout win over Magic

Jan 9, 2023, 10:35 PM | Updated: 11:05 pm

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 09: Domantas Sabonis #10 and Harrison Barnes #40 of the Sacramento...

(Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)

Editor & Kings Beat Writer

Coming into Monday night’s game against the Orlando Magic, one glaring question needed to be addressed as the Sacramento Kings continued its five-game home stand:

Can this team defend its home floor?

After dropping two games to below .500 opponents in the Atlanta Hawks and Los Angeles Lakers, the Kings had an opportunity to silence some doubts against a Magic team that entered play with a 15-25 record.

Not only did Sacramento defend Golden 1 Center on Monday, but they also brought the hammer down on Orlando by establishing a new franchise record in made three-point field goals during a 136-111 blowout win.

The Kings (21-18) locked in on both ends of the floor to increase their lead as the top team in the Pacific Division–a surprising development that many NBA fans didn’t expect to see this season.

"Light the Beam" chants with six minutes left 🟣🔦 pic.twitter.com/eodKvn6NTU

— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) January 10, 2023

Sacramento burst out of the gates with a 41-point first quarter while shooting a blistering 71 percent from the field and 64 percent from three-point land during the first 12 minutes of play.

As we have seen from this team several times this season, the Kings would get sloppy and fail to retain a big lead as their 15-point lead was cut to 50-44 with five minutes remaining in the half. That’s where Orlando’s momentum would come to a complete stop on Monday night.

Harrison Barnes (17 first-half points) scored eight points during the final four minutes of the second half as Sacramento ended the second quarter on a 22-8 run. With a 72-52 lead in hand to begin the second half, the Kings were well on their way to a comfortable win.

Instead of playing with their food during the third quarter, Sacramento pushed its lead to 107-84 entering the fourth, meaning that Domantas Sabonis and De’Aaron Fox would get a chance to spend a majority of the final quarter on the bench and rest while the rest of the bench finished this one out.

Three-point shooting was the main story on Monday as the Kings established a new franchise record for made three-point field goals in a single game.

Sure, players like Barnes, Keegan Murray, and Kevin Huerter each finished the night with multiple triples, but the player that sealed the record was none other than Matthew Dellavedova, who drilled the team’s 23rd long-ball of the night with two minutes remaining.

The squad is so happy for Delly 👏 pic.twitter.com/usPyrhwPX2

— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) January 10, 2023

The offense was firing on all cylinders for the Kings, as they finished the night 23-of-46 (50%) from three-point range and 52-of-97 from the field (53%) while outscoring the Magic in the paint as well (46-42).

Sacramento has struggled to defend the paint this season, and the fact that the Kings were able to hold Orlando to 42 points in the paint during the win was the main takeaway from head coach Mike Brown.

“You guys will have to ask your question fast, because I’m going to head to a local food mart and put numbers down for the power ball. 42 for each number. 42, 42, 42, 42.” Brown said with a smile about his team’s defensive effort in the paint.

Brown, who highlighted how poor that his team had been performing on the defensive end following Saturday’s loss to the Lakers, was pleased following Sacramento’s latest effort as the Kings allowed 111 points on Monday—the least an opponent has scored since December 9th (Cleveland, 95 points).

Between Sacramento’s record-setting three-point shooting, season-high in assists (39), and improved paint defense, this was a fun win for the Kings as they needed to wash away the previous two losing efforts.

Nearly halfway through the 2022-23 season, the Kings sit atop the Pacific Division as they hold a 1.5-game lead over the Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors.

Now is the time to get greedy as Sacramento could really put themselves in a strong position if they can take care of business on Wednesday and Friday when they face the Western Confernce-worst Houston Rockets (10-30) in a two-game set to conclude the home stand.

Black Falcon Spreads His Wings

Sometimes you have to ride the hot hand, and Harrison Barnes did not shy away from letting it fly on Monday night.

Barnes poured in 17 points (season-high for points in a single half) on a perfect seven-for-seven shooting performance during the first half to help lead the Kings to a huge lead at the break, and ‘Black Falcon’ wouldn’t stop there.

The veteran forward added another 13 points during the second half to finish the game with a season-high 30 points on 11-of-13 shooting from the field and six-of-seven from beyond the arc.

"Hotter than fish grease!" 🐟@MarkJonesESPN pic.twitter.com/IpjTK6LwYz

— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) January 10, 2023

On a night that Domantas Sabonis and De’Aaron Fox combined for just 23 points, Barnes took over as the team’s go-t0 guy on Monday while the rest of the supporting cast helped carry the load while the two stars enjoyed a fourth quarter on the sideline.

Domas Does It Again

Domantas Sabonis racked up his 17th-straight double-double, becoming just the fifth player over the past 11 years to do so:

Players to post 10+ PTS & 10+ REB in 17-straight games or more since the start of the 2011-12 season:

J. Embiid – 22 games (2019)
G. Antetokounmpo – 20 (2020) & 19 (2019)
A. Drummond – 19 (2019) & 18 (2018)
R. Westbrook – 17 (2021) & 17 (2019)
D. Sabonis – 17 (2023) 👑

— Frankie Cartoscelli (@FCartoscelli3) January 10, 2023

The big man finished the night with 12 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists over 32 minutes of action. Sabonis has posed 10+ points, 10+ rebounds, and 5+ assists in a single game on 26 occasions this season. Chris Webber posted 10-10-5 in a game 31 times during the 2002-03 season, which is a Sacramento-era record.

Sabonis might set a new record before the end of this month with the way he is currently playing.

Three-gan Murray

Fourth-overall pick Keegan Murray drilled five of his six three-point attempts during a 15-point outing on Monday night.

The 22-year-old has made five or more three-point field goals in four games this season, which is the most out of any player in the 2022 rookie class.

Murray is shooting 14-of-21 (66%) from three-point land over the past four games.

Keegan Murray is feeling it 🔥

Murray has 15 points and is 5/6 from three-point range tonight.

The forward has hit 5+ three-pointers in a game on four occasions this season, which leads the 2022 rookie class.pic.twitter.com/rmdg3d7fLn

— Frankie Cartoscelli (@FCartoscelli3) January 10, 2023

The Return of Mezzie

After some rough outings from Richaun Holmes to begin the home stand, Brown opted to re-insert Chimezie Metu into the backup center role against Orlando.

Metu finished the night with 11 points and nine rebounds (three offensive) over just 14 minutes as the 25-year-old made a significant impact off the bench. Not only was Metu awarded with the Defensive Player of the Game chain following the win, but he also got to light the beam in front of an amped up Golden 1 Center.

During his postgame media availability, Metu had a question: Among the recent storm surge in the area that has caused blackouts all over Sacramento, how did Golden 1 Center have enough power to light the beam?

“Somebody needs to talk to SMUD,” Metu joked.

Chimezie Metu was tonight’s recipient of the Defensive Player of the Game chain AND he got to light the beam 🟣🔦

“It’s kind of weird, because the power has been out. I don’t know how we had enough power to light the beam. Somebody needs to talk to SMUD.” pic.twitter.com/CkvTNXBNb4

— Frankie Cartoscelli (@FCartoscelli3) January 10, 2023

Notes

Seven members of the Kings finished with 10+ points during the win
Golden 1 Center’s sell-out streak came to an end on Monday night after 10-straight games. 16,499 fans were in attendance for Sacramento’s game against the Magic (94% full).
Trey Lyles scored 8 of his 14 points during the fourth quarter
Malik Monk returned from a one-game absence and did a bit of everything on Monday: 14 PTS | 7 REB (season-high) | 6 AST | 6/11 FG