Sacramento Kings guard Terence Davis stars off bench in blowout win over Brooklyn Nets
Kings swingman Terence Davis didn’t even get off the bench against the Cleveland Cavaliers during the first game of the team’s current four-game winning streak.
He had a starring role Tuesday night, providing energy on both ends of the floor as the Kings embarrassed the Brooklyn Nets, 153-121, at Golden 1 Center.
Davis came into the night averaging just 12.6 minutes per game, but he offered Kings’ coach Mike Brown instant energy when he entered Tuesday’s contest at the start of the second quarter.
Davis, known for being a scoring guard, had a block of 6-foot-8 forward Yuta Watanabe that led to a jump ball with the game tied at 40. Then there was a sequence when Davis hit a 3-pointer, grabbed a defensive rebound and hit another 3. He catalyzed a big Sacramento run as the Kings outscored the Nets 37-24 in the frame, leading to the blowout victory.
Davis had 10 points, five rebounds, three steals and one block in the second quarter. He was plus-15 in just under 11 minutes — nearly two minutes of playing time less than his average. And the route was on.
“TD was fantastic,” Brown said. “I coach all of our guys pretty hard ... and he gets it from me, and he’s the most responsive guy that I’ve been around because I’ll go at him and he’ll say, ‘Yes, coach. Stay on me, coach.’”
Davis said he welcomes Brown’s teachings.
“I’ll tell coach, ‘Man, tough love is the best love,’” Davis said. “He embraced it, too, and he lets me know how hard he is on me. I enjoy it, man, because anytime a coach is like that, he just wants the best. He wants the best out of you and he wants you to perform well. It’s major, for sure.”
Davis’ final stat line: 31 points, nine rebounds, four assists, three steals, one block and plus-35 in 26 minutes. He shot 12 of 16 from the floor and made 7 of 10 from 3-point range. He also had the chance to light the beam atop of Golden 1 Center after the game.
“He created the separation,” Brown said. “And he just helped everybody have an easy game with his defense, with his offense, just with his presence out there. I’m happy for him. It’s a fantastic game he played on both ends.”
It continues a trend for the Kings’ reserves who have played well throughout the season, particularly during the team’s run of winning seven of nine games.
“We got a deep team, to be honest. We knew that right away in training camp,” guard Kevin Huerter said. “I’ve said it before: You need to be deep to be a team that’s going to have a really good record.”
Off the bench recently for Sacramento: Malik Monk had 24 points in a close loss to the Warriors on Nov. 7. Trey Lyles had games of 15 and 16 points off the bench in Orlando and at home against Cleveland, respectively. Backup point guard Davion Mitchell has been a positive in the plus-minus column in four consecutive games, including a plus-26 in nearly 17 minutes Tuesday.
“It’s a great feeling,” Brown said. “We’ve had guys contribute on multiple nights that may not have played for a while, or been playing sparingly, and all of a sudden they step up and they step up big for us. The sky’s the limit when you start to have that happen.”
So while the Kings’ marquee starters — De’Aaron Fox (14 points, nine assists), Huerter (19 points, 5 of 7 from 3), Domantas Sabonis (17 points on 6-of-6 shooting) on Tuesday — have led the way during the current hot spell, they’ve gotten complementary production from a bench that came into the game ranked seventh in the NBA in scoring, and first in 3-pointers made per game with six.
Brown’s bench had 83 points on Tuesday — 45 excluding the garbage time in the fourth quarter — and drilled 12 3s. The Utah Jazz came into the night leading the NBA in average bench points with 44.3.
“I think we have a deep team,” Fox said. “Everybody’s not going to have a good night. But I think that we can always count on someone coming off the bench and having a good game. I don’t think there’s been too many games where we haven’t had a major contributor off the bench. And I think that’s just a testament to how deep this team is.”
That depth could get tested over the next few games. Rookie forward Keegan Murray left the game in the first quarter and immediately went to the locker room. The Kings said he was dealing with back tightness and he’ll be re-evaluated on Wednesday. Davis got the nod to play with the starters at the beginning of the second half and added 11 more points in just under six third-quarter minutes.
Losing a starting forward would test Brown and his rotations, which have changed significantly during the first 13 games of the season. Along with inserting Davis, which would move Harrison Barnes into the power forward slot, Lyles could be an option. He finished Tuesday with 12 points and three 3-pointers made. He went 0 for 6 from the floor in the previous two games and played less than six minutes Sunday against the Warriors.
Lyles has started 126 games and come off the bench in 333 others over his eight seasons, which means he’s used to having a sporadic role like many of his Kings teammates whose minutes have been inconsistent.
“You just got to try and stay positive and just be ready, be professional, be ready when your number’s called,” Lyles said. “Matchups one night could mean you’re not playing that much and then the next night you’re playing 20. You just got to be ready for those moments.”
This story was originally published November 16, 2022 at 12:11 AM.
