Strong fourth quarter lifts Kings over Raptors

Nov 6, 2024, 9:48 PM | Updated: 11:35 pm

SACRAMENTO, CA - NOVEMBER 6: DeMar DeRozan #10 and Malik Monk #0 of the Sacramento Kings talk durin...

(Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images)

Lead Editor & Kings Beat Writer

Through the first three-plus quarters of action on Wednesday night, the Sacramento Kings appeared to be on their way to a disappointing loss on its home floor.

Thankfully for the Kings, they flipped the switch just in time to avoid another loss to the Toronto Raptors, winning by a final of 122-107 at Golden 1 Center.

DeMar DeRozan came up big in crunch time (again), Domantas Sabonis posted a triple-double (again), and Sacramento improved to 5-3 on the season–the franchise’s best eight-game start since the 2018-19 campaign.

Following an 0-2 start, the Kings have won five of their past six games as they continue to pick up steam during the opening stretch of the regular season.

A Sabonis putback has G1C going WILD 🙌 pic.twitter.com/EtTyTk83W1

— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) November 7, 2024

Kings vs. Raptors recap & takeaways

Keegan Murray has been Sacramento’s second-best rebounder this season (7.7 per game), and the third-year forward made an impact early on Wednesday night.

Murray scored 12 points (five-of-seven shooting from the field) and pulled down five rebounds (three offensive) during the first quarter to help the Kings brush off a rough start that saw Toronto shoot 56 percent while scoring ten points off four Sacramento turnovers.

Toronto, the second-best paint-scoring team in the NBA (60.3 points per game), flexed its interior offense early by outscoring the Kings 36-20 during the first half as Sacramento fell behind by nine points early in the second quarter.

Thanks to a solid first half from Murray (14 points and seven rebounds) and nine first-half assists from Domantas Sabonis, the Kings ended the first half on a 27-15 run to take a three-point lead into the break.

Keegan Murray from downtown 👌 pic.twitter.com/GaIYtA5thp

— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) November 7, 2024

Struggles from the perimeter and sloppy turnovers opened the door back up for the Raptors, who pushed its lead to eight points midway through the third quarter as Sacramento continued to search for consistency on the offensive end.

Each Kings run was immediately extinguished by a motivated Toronto offense that went 14-of-20 (70%) from the field during the third quarter.

With twelve minutes remaining, Sacramento was staring at a four-point deficit and a regular season series sweep at the hands of the Raptors. Then, at long last, the Kings woke up.

DeMar DeRozan has been clutch in crunch time to begin his brief Sacramento tenure, and the future Hall of Fame forward got his offense going in the fourth quarter to help pace a 12-3 run that put the Kings back in front after falling behind by six early in the period.

With DeRozan locked in late (11 points in the fourth quarter), Sacramento’s offense–paired with a heightened level of intensity on the defensive end–finally created some space from Toronto by opening the fourth on a 29-9 run. When the clock hit zeroes, it seemed as if this game was never within reach for the Raptors.

The Kings outscored Toronto 33-14 in the fourth quarter while holding the Raptors to six-of-20 (30%) from the field.

“In the fourth quarter, our team defense was really, really good,” Kings head coach Mike Brown said of his team’s effort in the final period. “It was at an extremely high level. When we’re able to defend, it’s going to make the game a lot easier for us, because we’re going to score.”

Keegan’s 3 extends the Kings’ lead 👌 pic.twitter.com/Ou844Knv57

— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) November 7, 2024

Aside from another 20-point effort from DeRozan (27 points on 11-of-21 shooting), Murray was a focal point for Sacramento during the win as the Iowa product racked up his fourth double-double of the season.

Murray corraled a career-high seven offensive rebounds while scoring 22 points on nine-of-17 shooting, finishing the night with a team-high 12 boards over 35 minutes.

“I’ve never seen anything like that from him,” Brown said of Murray. “The sky is the limit going forward for him.”

Murray hitting the glass at a higher rate this season has provided back-to-back NBA rebounding champion Domantas Sabonis with some relief in that regard, but the talented center still was able to pull down his fair share of boards en route to another triple-double performance.

Sabonis racked up his third triple-double (and seventh consecutive double-double) during the win, scoring 17 points (six-of-six shooting), 11 rebounds, and 13 assists while finishing the night without turning the ball over once.

The 27-year-old joined franchise legend Chris Webber (March 2000) as the only Kings players in the Sacramento era (1985-present) to post a triple-double without a turnover.

Domantas Sabonis becomes the first player since 1977-78 with…

✅ a triple-double
✅ NO turnovers
✅ NO missed shots
✅ NO missed free throws

Flawless night from the Kings center! pic.twitter.com/k08WUHHdSp

— NBA (@NBA) November 7, 2024

The Struggles From Deep Continue

Three-point shooting has been an early struggle for Sacramento this season, as the Kings entered the night having shot 33.1 percent from three-point range (24th in the NBA) during its 4-3 start.

Not only has Sacramento failed to match its perimeter success from past seasons on the offensive end, but they have also allowed opponents to shoot 37 percent from deep (19th in the NBA), including Saturday’s poor showing in Toronto, in which the Raptors shot an early-season-best 17-of-37 (46%) from beyond the arc.

The Kings’ struggles from deep continued against the Raptors as Sacramento finished the night 10-of-35 from downtown.

Over eight games, Sacramento has shot under 30 percent from deep in three games. Last season, the Kings had 17 similar games, posting a record of 6-11 when shooting under the 30 percent mark.

The fact that Sacramento has been able to overcome poor shooting multiple times this season and find ways to win is a good sign moving forward because this team possesses too many strong shooters to continue its poor performance from long distance.

Welcome Back, Davion

Raptors guard Davion Mitchell made his first appearance as a visitor at Golden 1 Center on Wednesday night, and the former King received a warm ovation during player introductions.

Mitchell, whom Sacramento selected with the ninth pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, spent three seasons with the Kings before being traded to Toronto in June. The move also sent forward Sasha Vezenkov to the Raptors as Sacramento looked to create roster and cap room for DeMar DeRozan in free agency.

Over 32 minutes, Mitchell scored 20 points (eight-of-11 shooting) and handed out six assists in the loss.

Davion Mitchell gets a nice ovation in his return to Sacramento: pic.twitter.com/87jZQhzn1Y

— Frankie Cartoscelli (@FCartoscelli3) November 7, 2024

Notes

Keegan Murray has grabbed 5+ rebounds in six straight games. It’s the second-longest such streak of his NBA career (7 games).
DeMar DeRozan posted his eighth straight game with 20+ points to begin the season with the Kings, passing Chris Webber (7 games, Feb. 5-17, 1999) for the longest 20-point streak to start a tenure with the franchise.
Alex Len swatted four shots and pulled down six rebounds en route to securing Defensive Player of the Game honors.

When is the next Sacramento Kings game?

Sacramento will conclude a brief two-game homestand on Friday night at Golden 1 Center against James Harden and the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Clippers have a new look this season following the departure of star forward Paul George, and they will also be without Kawhi Leonard (knee) for the foreseeable future.

Be sure to catch all of the Kings vs. Clippers action right here on Sactown Sports 1140 AM, with pregame coverage starting at 2:00 PM PT on The Drive Guys before action tips off at 7:00 PM PT from downtown Sacramento.