Kings beat Suns to close home stand; why you won’t see them in Sacramento for a while

It was a successful run at home for the Kings.

The Kings closed a season-long, six-game home stand with a 117-104 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Sunday at Golden 1 Center.

Sacramento never trailed and led by as many as 25.

Rookie big man Marvin Bagley III scored a career-high 32 points to lead the Kings (30-26). Five other players were in double figures.

The Suns (11-47) attempted to rally in the fourth quarter but could only get as close as 13. Devin Booker led Phoenix with 27 points.

Sacramento went 5-1 in front of its fans. The loss was to the Houston Rockets on Wednesday, the day the team traded Iman Shumpert and Justin Jackson in separate deals, which brought Harrison Barnes and Alec Burks to the Kings.

“To go 5-1 on this home stand is terrific,” coach Dave Joerger said of the Kings, who are 19-11 at home this season. “We had some special performances over this home stand and again tonight by Marvin Bagley, who’s finding his way.”

Kings center Willie Cauley-Stein says the team is just handling business at home.

“That’s what we’re supposed to do. We expect to do that,” said Cauley-Stein, who had 10 points and a career-high-tying five blocks. “It is what it is – that’s what we’re here to do is try to get wins. That’s what we’re doing, taking care of it.”

It will be a while before Kings fans see their team play at home — 17 days to be exact. It’s the longest period between home games this season, one day longer than when the Kings went on a season-long, six-game trip last month that started in Charlotte and ended against the Los Angeles Clippers.

Sacramento has one more game before the All-Star break, Wednesday against the Nuggets in Denver. After the break, the Kings play three road contests before returning home Feb. 27 face the Eastern Conference-leading Milwaukee Bucks.

This story was originally published February 10, 2019 at 6:20 PM.