Kings’ historic fourth-quarter collapse against Nets is way more than ‘just a bad loss’

Maybe you think this makes me the bearer of more bad news, but no profanity-laden tirades erupted in the Kings’ locker room following the most awful fourth-quarter collapse in franchise history Tuesday night at Golden 1 Center.

You heard no cursing. No angry outbursts. Nobody threw a chair and I don’t remember hearing a single word we can’t print in the newspaper.

“It’s just a bad loss,” Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox said.

No, it was way worse than that, but maybe it’s better if we give the Kings time to quietly seethe over this one for a while. They led by 28 points late in the third quarter, carried a 25-point lead into the fourth and still led by 20 with less than nine minutes remaining. And then they lost, falling 123-121 to the Brooklyn Nets after D’Angelo Russell scored 27 of his career-high 44 points over the final 9:06.

It was only the second time the Kings have blown a 28-point lead in franchise history. It was the largest fourth-quarter lead they’ve ever lost, far surpassing the 17-point advantages they squandered against the Charlotte Hornets on Nov. 23, 2015, and the Golden State Warriors on March 12, 1978.

This wasn’t just a bad loss. It was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad loss. There are lots of other words you could use to describe it instead – and many of you probably uttered a few – but that wasn’t what you heard from the Kings.

You wanted to see coach Dave Joerger kick the door open on his way into the postgame news conference, answer every question in 22 heavily censored syllables or less and then punt the microphone across the room. Instead, he came in calmly, offered some measured opening remarks and thoughtfully answered several questions from reporters.

He acknowledged this kind of loss “certainly can be a tough one.” He talked about “silly fouls.” He called it a “good opportunity for our guys to learn” and said it was a “good experience” that will make the team “better for having gone through this.”

You wanted to see him overturn a table or mess up his hair or something, but you know what? He was right. The Kings learned how good and how bad they can be, how much effort will be required to become a playoff team and the painful cost of complacency, all in a span of about an hour.

Those first three quarters were special. The Kings were cutting, passing and scoring with ease. Fox was driving, dishing, dunking and draining 3-pointers. Rookie forward Marvin Bagley III looked unstoppable, making 11 of his first 12 shots before finishing with 28 points.

You watched those first three quarters and you started to wonder. What if Bagley hadn’t missed 19 games due to injuries? What if the Kings hadn’t squandered a few games along the way? What if their record was a little better and there was still a chance for them to make the playoffs for the first time since 2006?

Then they completely fell apart and you realized they just aren’t ready. They stopped cutting, passing and scoring with ease. They stopped defending. They stopped winning.

The Kings were still leading by 20 with almost 10 minutes left when Joerger called a timeout because he could see what was happening. As the players walked off the floor and headed for the huddle, guard Buddy Hield clapped his hands at his teammates and repeatedly delivered the same warning.

“We’re too relaxed,” he said. “We’re too relaxed.”

They had 10 minutes to find a solution. That never happened.

The Nets cut the deficit to two on a 3-pointer by Russell with 2:08 to play and went up 121-119 on a 3-pointer by Jared Dudley with 1:11 remaining. The Kings tied the game on two free throws by Fox, but Brooklyn won it on Rondae Hollis-Jefferson’s circus layup with 0.8 seconds to go.

That basket completed the biggest comeback in Nets’ history and the Kings’ largest fourth-quarter collapse. When it was over, the Kings didn’t scream or shout. Nobody cussed. Nobody kicked open any doors.

They just walked away quietly – the anger and frustration bubbling beneath the surface promising to learn something, knowing they’ll have to do better.

This story was originally published March 20, 2019 at 6:32 AM.