Kings snap six-game skid, secure much-needed win

Dec 30, 2024, 10:01 PM | Updated: Dec 31, 2024, 7:20 am

Lead Editor & Kings Beat Writer

The Dallas Mavericks may have been without Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, and Klay Thompson on Monday night, but it didn’t matter for the Sacramento Kings.

A win is a win, and following a six-game losing streak, Sacramento desperately needed to get back in the ‘W’ column.

Interim head coach Doug Christie secured his first win as the Kings completed a much-needed 110-100 win at Golden 1 Center, a victory that resulted in the first lighting of the beam in nearly three weeks.

Sacramento (14-19) won a game for the first time since December 12th, much to the delight of 16,000-plus fans in attendance, as the Kings silenced some of the outside noise–at least for one night–by overcoming an early deficit and delivering down the stretch to half their slide in the Western Conference standings.

Fox flushes the lob from Monk ‼️

pic.twitter.com/DKEWCoWfMC

— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) December 31, 2024

Kings vs. Mavericks recap & takeaways

Even without the services of Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, Klay Thomson, Dereck Lively, and Naji Marshall, a short-handed Dallas team immediately applied pressure to Sacramento from the jump on Monday.

The Kings’ self-inflicted wounds (five turnovers over the first seven minutes of play) and a red-hot start from PJ Washington (19 points in the first quarter) put Sacramento in an early 18-point hole, causing boos and groans to be heard around Golden 1 Center.

As brutal of a start as it was for the Beam Team (especially on the defensive end), the Kings displayed signs of life in the second quarter, opening up the period on a 20-7 run thanks to contributions from De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis.

Fox ended the first half with 15 points, while Sabonis racked up 12 points, nine boards, and five assists to help lead Sacramento back from an 18-point deficit as the Kings trailed by four heading into the second half.

Domas 🤝 De’Aaron

pic.twitter.com/8CGYZbU2DM

— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) December 31, 2024

Foul trouble found Sacramento early in the third quarter as both Fox and DeMar DeRozan picked up their fourth fouls before the period’s midway point.

Battling foul trouble, the Kings benefited from a strong stretch of play from Malik Monk and Keon Ellis to keep themselves afloat while Fox sat on the bench. Once Swipa returned, Sacramento made its move.

The Kings erased a nine-point deficit by going on a 17-2 run to end the period, taking an 83-77 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Dallas was held to just 17 points on six-of-17 (35%) shooting from the field as a swarming Sacramento defense applied pressure to the Mavericks offense.

Trey Lyles’ presence on the perimeter and strong paint defense kept the Kings in front as play entered crunch time, and unlike last week’s devastating meltdown to the Detroit Pistons, a desperate Sacramento team would not be denied on Monday night.

Lyles drilled two of his three triples in the fourth in compliment ten points from Fox in the final period, and for the first time in 18 days, Kings fans chanted “Light The Beam” as the final seconds ticked off the clock.

“I missed this,” Domantas Sabonis said before lighting the beam at the halfcourt scorer’s table.

beaming into 2025 🟣🔦 pic.twitter.com/4azpMGUPMw

— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) December 31, 2024

It wasn’t a pretty win, especially against a shorthanded team, but it didn’t matter. After going through the shock of Mike Brown’s firing just 72 hours prior, it was important for Sacramento to stop the bleeding on Monday night and get back to basketball.

“We needed it bad,” Monk said of the win–and he wasn’t kidding.

The Kings were challenged early, and things looked bleak as the Mavericks hammered Sacramento on the perimeter. After being outscored by 14 points in the opening frame, the Kings held an 87-63 advantage over the final three quarters.

Interim head coach Doug Christie picked up his first win as an NBA coach, and the former defensive guard was tasked with calming down an emotional Fox during the second half. Christie pulled Fox as he argued with an official, saving him from being assessed a second technical.

During the following timeout, the players and coaches gathered around the Sacramento bench. The message, according to Christie, was to stick together. “It’s just us,” Christie said of the exchange during his postgame availability.

Following some foul trouble and a brief run by Dallas during the midway point of the fourth, it was all Kings down the final stretch.

Fox finished the night with a game-high 33 points (13-of-23 shooting), six rebounds, and six assists, while Sabonis finished with his NBA-leading 28th double-double of the season (17 points, 16 rebounds, seven assists).

all gas, no brakes. pic.twitter.com/MHDVyNGX2l

— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) December 31, 2024

Lyles provided Sacramento with a boost off of the bench, scoring 14 points on three-of-six shooting. Keon Ellis also gave Christie valuable bench minutes, swiping two steals and corralling a career-high five offensive rebounds (eight total boards) over 20 minutes.

It was one win, but with 49 games to go, the Kings are just 2.5 games out of the Play-In picture and five games back of a playoff spot in the tight Western Conference standings. For Sacramento, it’s one game at a time, and Christie wants his team to fight every night, no matter the circumstances.

“I just want them to fight. When they step inside those lines, it’s us versus them. And it’s always us,” Christie said. “We come here to win the ballgame, and we lock arms to do it together. When it’s business, we are getting after it, and that’s what I want our fans to feel. When they come to our arena, I want them to feel a sense of pride that we can deliver a product that they can be proud of.”

Now, we wait to see how the Kings respond to the end of the losing streak. Can they make Monday’s win the start of a new chapter to what has been a rough season? We’ll see once the calendar turns to 2025.

Injury Updates

Rookie guard Devin Carter (shoulder surgery recovery and return to competition reconditioning) was impressive in his G-League tune-up appearance over the weekend, scoring 29 points on six-of-nine shooting from three-point range, grabbing eight boards and swiping three steals on Saturday night.

Carter, the 13th overall pick in June’s NBA Draft, is close to making his debut with Sacramento and could be an option in the coming days.

When is the next Sacramento Kings game?

Sacramento will continue a three-game homestand on Wednesday night, ringing in the new year with a matchup against Paul George and the Philadelphia 76ers.

Last season, the King snapped a ten-game head-to-head losing streak against Philadelphia with a 108-96 win at Golden 1 Center on March 25th.

Be sure to catch all of the Kings vs. 76ers drama right here on Sactown Sports 1140 AM, with pregame coverage starting at 5:30 PM PT on Game Night before action tips off at 7:00 PM PT from downtown Sacramento.