How the Bagley vs. Ayton matchup turned into the Ferrell show in the Kings’ victory

The focus was expected to be on two big men, but a guard who came off the bench stole the show.

Yogi Ferrell scored a game-high 26 points to help the Kings defeat the Phoenix Suns 106-102 Monday in the preseason opener for both teams.

“We won, feels great,” said Ferrell, who was 6 for 9 for Sacramento, which shot 44 percent (11 for 25) the 3-point line.

“Our guards did a great job getting me the ball,” Ferrell added, referring to the play from De’Aaron Fox and Frank Mason III. “I was the open man. Luckily they found me.”

The third-year guard said his big night from outside wasn’t part of the game plan, but “I was really just feeling the moment.”

Ferrell, who signed as a free agent from the Dallas Mavericks during the offseason, has said on multiple occasions that he likes the Kings’ style of play.

He said on “The Jim Rome Show” in July that playing uptempo suits him, something coach Dave Joerger said on Media Day he wants to do. Ferrell reiterated that sentiment last week during training camp.

But it’s not just about offense for Ferrell. He said having an impact on both sides of the floor could lead to more minutes.

“I feel like I’m built for this,” said Ferrell, who also wants to help the team on defense. “That’s why I’m out there talking to (my teammates) exactly what we need to defensively.”

That effort showed Monday.

While the Kings shot well from the 3-point line, the Suns did not. Phoenix was 3 for 22 — and the 13.6 percent was well below the 37.7 percent Sacramento allowed last season. Only the Denver Nuggets gave up a slightly higher percentage each night in 2017-18.

Ferrell’s showing took some of the luster off what was a matchup of the NBA’s top two draft picks in the Suns’ Deandre Ayton and the Kings’ Marvin Bagley III.

Although they didn’t cross paths in their lone collegiate season, Ayton (No. 1, Arizona) and Bagley (No. 2, Duke) weren’t strangers coming in. They played against each other in this year’s Las Vegas summer league opener and were high school teammates in Phoenix for a short time in 2015.

On Monday, Ayton had the better game. He led the Suns with 24 points, including three dunks, to go with nine rebounds and three blocks. As for Bagley, he scored just seven points on 2-of-7 shooting.

Ayton’s team lost, but he didn’t seem too concerned with the final score.

“(Coach Igor Kokoskov) just really wanted us to get a feel for the game,” Ayton said. “So I just took up the energy from all the points and ran the floor and I had a lot of fun.”

Joerger was impressed with Ayton, saying, “He’s going to be a tough deal for 10 to 12 years.” He added that Ayton’s skills in defending the pick and roll will make things harder on opposing teams. “He’s going to be a handful in areas that not a lot of people are talking about.”

Willie Cauley-Stein was also complimentary of Ayton, but the Kings’ center was solid on Monday, too.

Cauley-Stein hit double digits in rebounds before halftime and shot well in the game, going 7 for 11 on a mix of attempts in the paint and midrange jumpers. He had 14 points and a game-high 12 rebounds despite not playing in the final quarter.

He said he just wanted to set a tone for the younger players and pointed out that some of his teammates are doing this for the first or second time while this is his fourth NBA preseason.

Cauley-Stein said it will be fun to play against Ayton over the years.

“He’s got a lot of hype around him and he’s going to have a lot of attention,” he said. “For us, it’s a good matchup because when you have to guard that type of big (Ayton is 7-foot-1 and 250 pounds), you new learn things.”

The Kings’ next matchup comes Thursday in a meeting against LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center. Cauley-Stein doesn’t seem concerned about the matchup. He says the focus is all the Kings getting better.

“We’re just trying to work on ourselves, that’s what preseason is for. We’re trying to win ... but we’re also trying to figure out our flaws and what we need to work on before that first real game.”

This story was originally published October 2, 2018 at 3:55 AM.