Marvin Bagley is on a roll. Why that could stall as the Kings fall to the Clippers

Here are three takeaways from the Kings’ 133-121 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday at Golden 1 Center:

Steady Bagley exits early

Marvin Bagley III has been on a tear lately. The only thing that stopped him Thursday was an injury.

Before leaving early in the fourth quarter with tightness in his back, the rookie forward collected the third double-double of his career, finishing with 18 points and 10 rebounds in 27 minutes off the bench. His status for Saturday’s home game against the Indiana Pacers is unknown.

Bagley is averaging 16.3 points and 10 rebounds while shooting 54.2 percent over his last six contests.

“He does what he does. He’s active,” said Kings coach Dave Joerger, who added that the No. 2 overall pick still has a long way to go in terms of experience. “He wants to learn and he wants to do well and he wants to win. Those are fun guys to coach.”

A first this season

The Kings will enter December at 10-11, a record which is still better than what many predicted and one Joerger said he was “very proud” of after the loss.

However, for the first time this season, Sacramento has lost three in a row. That includes a tough, one-point loss at Golden State followed the next day with a rout at home against the Utah Jazz.

Kings guard De’Aaron Fox said there’s one aspect the team must improve on.

“For us this year, it’s been defense,” he said. “That’s the end of the court that we have to be able to get better at. If we do, I think it will be a surge in the team. When our defense is up, our offense picks up even more.”

The Kings allowed 133 points for the second consecutive home game. That’s the highest total scored at Golden 1 Center this season.

Sacramento opens the month with a home game Saturday against the Indiana Pacers before embarking on a four-game trip.

The 3s don’t fall

The Kings came into the game leading the league in 3-point accuracy, but shots from beyond the arc weren’t falling as a national television audience watched.

In their only game scheduled on TNT this season, Sacramento shot just 7 of 24 from 3 for 29.2 percent Thursday, which is 9.4 percent lower than their season average.

Bogdan Bogdanovic — who led the Kings with 26 points off the bench — hit 3 of 6 and Justin Jackson was 2 of 3, but Buddy Hield couldn’t find the touch from outside, finishing 0 of 7.

Meanwhile, the Clippers — who at 15-6 have the best record in the Western Conference — were 12 of 28 (42.9 percent), including a 3-of-5 night for Tobias Harris, who led all scorers with 28 points.

This story was originally published November 29, 2018 at 10:46 PM.