LaVine records season-high 43, DeRozan adds 37 as Kings defeat Detroit 127-117

LaVine tallied a season-high 43 points while DeRozan added 37 as the Sacramento Kings ended their final road trip with a 127-117 win in Detroit.

BY BRENDEN NUNES

Apr 7, 2025, 6:43 PM Updated: 7:22 pm

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One day after completing a season sweep over the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Sacramento Kings ended their six-game road trip with a 127-117 win over the Detroit Pistons.

LaVine had 43 points, four assists, and three rebounds on 16/28 shooting, 8/11 from three, including a stretch where he scored 16 consecutive. DeRozan wasn’t far behind with 37 points on 14/26 shooting, finding his way to the charity stripe.

Sabonis recorded his 10th triple-double of the season with 37 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 assists as the Kings converted 51.6 percent from the field and 40.7 percent from three (11/27).

The Kings end their final road trip of the regular season 3-3, improving to 39-40 with three games remaining.

Fighting to remain in the ninth seed, which would secure the right to host the first play-in game, putting together consecutive wins in a tough environment is a welcome sight.

Kings at Pistons Injury Report

Sacramento

Keegan Murray – OUT (back soreness)
Jake LaRavia – OUT (left thumb, bone contusion)
Mason Jones – OUT (G-League)
Isaiah Crawford – OUT (G-League)

Detroit

Ron Harper Jr. – OUT (G-League)
Tobias Harris – OUT (right heel)
Jaden Ivey – OUT (left fibula)

Sacramento’s Starters: Keon Ellis, Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, Trey Lyles, Domantas Sabonis

Detroit’s Starters: Cade Cunningham, Dennis Schroder, Tim Hardaway Jr., Ausar Thompson, Jalen Duren

Kings at Pistons Game Notes

Riding high after completing a season sweep of the Eastern Conference-leading Cleveland Cavaliers, the Sacramento Kings played the Detroit Pistons in Little Caesars Arena on their second night of a back-to-back.

Lyles got the start again as Murray missed his second consecutive showing. It was an offensive showcase early, with both teams converting tough buckets at a high pace. LaVine and DeRozan, who combined for 21 points in the first and carried over from Sunday’s victory.

DeRozan was 4/4 from the free-throw line, with Sacramento 9/9 as a team in the opening frame. Converting 54.2 percent of their shots only led to a one-point lead (38-37) as the Pistons shot 57.7 percent, led by Hardaway Jr.’s 11 points on 4/5 FG.

The Kings slowed down from there, while the hometown Pistons kept their pace. A 25-8 run that extended from the final seconds on the first until the 6:32 mark of the second left them facing a 61-46 deficit in a hurry.

Looking for answers, interim head coach Christie rolled out veteran sharpshooting forward Doug McDermott. It was his first significant minutes in weeks.

It was unclear when the injury took place, but the team announced that Monk (left calf) would not return Monday night. While their pace significantly halted when Sabonis went to the sidelines, Jonas Valanciunas put up six points and nine rebounds in four minutes.

Bouncing back from Detroit’s run, the Kings responded by cutting the lead to 10 going into halftime. DeRozan led Sacramento with 22 points on 7/11 shooting, including 8/10 from the free-throw line.

DeMar has 22 first-half points 🔥 pic.twitter.com/s6ihXuMyow

— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) April 8, 2025

It was a team-wide effort for the Pistons up to that point, with four players in double-digits as they led 72-62. Scoring 16 points off 8 Kings’ turnovers while only committing one of their own heavily played into their favor.

With Monk’s absence, Christie turned to rookie Devin Carter. The guard played his usual aggressive style of basketball, forcefully attacking the rim with mixed results.

DeRozan added to his absurd career scoring total, surpassing Jerry West yesterday to become the 26th all-time leading scorer.

He recorded seven points in the frame, but LaVine ended it emphatically with an acrobatic high floater that was followed up by a tough contested triple over Malik Beasley.

Zach LaVin3 for the lead 😤 pic.twitter.com/1hWcDk0dy5

— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) April 8, 2025

Up 97-94 with 12 minutes remaining, it was Sacramento’s largest lead of the night. LaVine was visibly fired up and carried that into the final frame.

Starting from the third, LaVine scored 16 straight points for the Kings. They were giving him the ball and letting him get to work — and it was working in their favor.

ZACH LAVINE CAN’T MISS 🤯 pic.twitter.com/4J9kGHjFzy

— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) April 8, 2025

Cunningham battled him, scoring 11 points in the first five minutes of the quarter. Maintaining a narrow lead, the Kings were up 113-108 with 6:65 remaining. LaVine extended his total to 38 points by that time, compared to Cunningham’s 32.

As usual, DeRozan started to take control for stretches as clutch time arrived. Chirping with their opponents, it was a battle late. Ellis stripped Cunningham, leading to DeRozan hitting a contest mid-range jumper over Schroder, hitting him with the “too small” celebration afterwards.

As the shot was going in, Isaiah Stewart threw Sabonis to the ground, fighting for boxout positioning. That sent the Sacramento big to the free-throw line where he converted both to give the Kings a 122-112 lead with just over two minutes remaining.

In fitting fashion, LaVine put the finishing touches on their second win in as many nights. They end their final road trip of the regular season 3-3, improving to 39-40 with three games remaining.

LaVine had 43 points, four assists, and three rebounds on 16/28 shooting, 8/11 from three. DeRozan wasn’t far behind with 37 points on 14/26 shooting, finding his way to the charity stripe.

Sabonis also recorded his tenth triple-double of the season with 19 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 assists as the Kings shot 51.6 percent from the field in their 127-117 win over the Pistons on Monday night.

They return to Golden 1 Center for their final three games of the season, beginning on Wednesday when they’ll host the Nuggets.

Upcoming schedule for the 2024-25 Sacramento Kings

Wednesday, April 9th vs. Denver Nuggets – 7:00 PM PT
Friday, April 11th vs. Los Angeles Clippers – 7:00 PM PT
Sunday, April 13th vs. Phoenix Suns – 12:30 PM PT (Final game of regular season)

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