Sacramento Kings wrap up Summer League with win over Bucks

Jul 15, 2023, 3:41 PM

(Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)

Editor & Kings Beat Writer

As teams begin to file out of the scalding hot desert to return to their respective NBA cities, the Sacramento Kings played its fifth and final Las Vegas Summer League game on Saturday afternoon.

Shortly before Saturday’s action tipped off, The Sacramento Bee’s Jason Anderson reported that Kings head coach Luke Loucks was sitting rookie guard Colby Jones, second-year guard Keon Ellis, high-scoring guard Jordan Ford, forward Kessler Edwards, and center Neemias Queta for the Summer League finale.

The short-handed Kings pulled out a thrilling 92-84 win over the Milwaukee Bucks at the Thomas & Mack Center thanks to a strong closing effort from its supporting cast.

For one last time until the fall, Sacramento Kings fans got to enjoy an exciting winning effort before entering the rest of the NBA offseason.

MIKE DAUM FOR 👌
@dauminator24 | #NBA2KSummerLeague pic.twitter.com/eUtRAQ9d1O

— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) July 15, 2023

With Sacramento’s entire starting five sitting out, the Kings gave players like Souley Boum, Jalen Slawson, and Mike Daum some extended minutes against Milwaukee.

After taking an 11-point lead into the halftime break thanks to 53 percent shooting from the field, the Kings fell apart during the third quarter.

Milwaukee trimmed its deficit to just one point after outscoring the Kings 22-12 during the third period, while the Sacramento offense converted just three of its 12 field goal attempts (25%).

Although the Bucks made the Kings sweat in the second half, Sacramento never relinquished its lead as they would go on to put enough space between themselves and Milwaukee late to depart from Las Vegas on a winning note.

The Kings’ defense held the Bucks to six-of-20 shooting from the field (30%) while the offense converted seven of its ten field goal attempts during the fourth quarter, with rookie forward Jalen Slawson’s emphatic slam acting as the game-sealing blow.

LET 'EM KNOW J-SLAW 🗣😤
@jalenslawson | #NBA2KSummerLeague pic.twitter.com/kMoCA9LZZm

— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) July 15, 2023

Slawson, who has struggled for most of Summer League, benefited from an expanded role on the offensive end during Saturday’s action.

The second-round pick from last month’s NBA Draft finished with 17 points, seven rebounds, four assists, two steals, and one blocked shot while shooting four-of-six from the field over 29 minutes.

Souley Boum, college teammate of Kings’ 34th overall pick Colby Jones at Xavier, provided Sacramento with a boost during the win, scoring 16 points on four-of-seven shooting over 22 minutes.

Mike Daum added 14 points and seven rebounds during the win, while Alex O’Connell added 12 points and four assists on three-of-five shooting from three-point range.

With the win, the Kings finished its summer slate with a 5-2 record–2-0 at the California Classic and 3-2 during the Las Vegas Summer League.

Next Up

The dead portion of the NBA offseason is near as all 30 teams will depart from Las Vegas on Monday and return to their respective cities for the dog days of the summer.

Sometime during August, the NBA will release the 2023-24 season schedule, but the remaining months of the offseason will revolve around the impending trade statuses of Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard and Philadelphia 76ers star James Harden.

As for the Sacramento Kings, general manager Monte McNair has two full roster spots and one two-way contract to fill before training camp opens in late September.

While McNair and the Kings have had a successful offseason thus far, there is always the possibility that McNair has more tricks up his sleeve during the rest of the offseason.