How Bagley’s return and a solid paint presence helped the Kings snap a four-game skid

The Kings defeated the Orlando Magic 111-95 on Monday at Golden 1 Center to snap a four-game losing streak. Here are three takeaways from the game:

Welcome back, Bagley

It wasn’t wire-to-wire, but the Kings controlled the game for most of the night. Because of that, the amount of loud cheers seemed a bit low over the course of the night.

One of the loudest from the home crowd came at the 4:03 mark of the first quarter, when Marvin Bagley III entered the game for the first time. The rookie big man returned to action for the first time since suffering a left knee bone bruise Dec. 14 in a loss to the Golden State Warriors at Golden 1 Center.

Bagley, who missed the last 11 games, got on the scoreboard by making one of two free throws and later knocked down a mid-range fadeaway for his first basket. He didn’t shoot well, going just 2 for 7 for eight points, but he pulled down six boards, including the 100th defensive rebound of his career, and had an assist and a block.

“I feel great,” Bagley said. “The first couple of times getting up and down the court I was a little tired. As the game went on and we started going up and down more, I felt normal, a lot like I was before I was hurt. ... It will just take a game or two to get back in the flow of things.”

Before the game, Kings coach Dave Joerger said the No. 2 overall pick would be on a minutes restriction but wouldn’t say what that number was. Bagley played 20 minutes, three fewer than his average.

Down-low domination

The Kings (20-20) often give up a lot of points in the paint. Although they score there well (52.3 per game, fifth in the NBA), they’re 27th in what they allow (52 per game).

They were dominant on both sides of the floor in this one.

The Kings outscored the Magic 64-24 in the paint. It started with their first eight points, which came on dunks and a layup. Sacramento scored 20 of its 29 first-quarter points in the paint.

“We wanted to try to run into their length, try to negate it with speed,” Joerger said.

De’Aaron Fox, who led the Kings with 20 points and five steals, had at least four dunks, including a one-hand hammer over Magic center Nikola Vucevic in the third quarter for his final points. It also led to him getting a technical foul.

“I really said something nice to him, but (referee) Mike (Callahan) didn’t hear it,” Fox said. “He just saw me talking and I was like, ‘Mike, you didn’t even hear what I said.’ But it’s all right.”

Back in the win column

The Kings entered the game on a season-long four-game slide. They showed early that it would not allow that skid to reach five.

Sacramento led by just four after the opening quarter but continued to extend the lead in each period. The Kings led by 16 at the break and 28 after three. Bogdan Bogdanovic was the only starter to play in the fourth quarter and while Orlando got as close as 15, the result was never in doubt.

Terrence Ross scored 15 of his 20 points in the second half to lead Orlando (17-23).

The Kings are on a stretch in which they play several teams with losing records. It began with the Magic, who were one of seven opponents over eight games who are under .500 entering Tuesday. Only the Portland Trail Blazers (24-17), who beat the Kings at Golden 1 Center on Jan. 1, have a winning mark among teams in this stretch.

This story was originally published January 7, 2019 at 10:46 PM.