‘Sacramento, stand up’: Kings beat Wizards; give game ball to acting coach Doug Christie
Doug Christie came up short in his quest to bring a championship to Sacramento as a key member of the great Kings teams that featured Mike Bibby, Bobby Jackson, Peja Stojakovic, Chris Webber and Vlade Divac.
Maybe one day he’ll get another opportunity as the team’s head coach.
Christie got to audition for the job when he was thrust into a new role as acting head coach in a 119-105 victory over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday at Golden 1 Center after interim coach Alvin Gentry tested positive for COVID-19. When it was over, Christie was congratulated with a series of handshakes and hugs. Buddy Hield rubbed his shiny bald head and fans high-fived him as he headed to the locker room, where players presented him with the game ball.
“Sacramento, stand up,” Christie said during his postgame news conference. “I’m super, super, super proud. This was a team win of the highest regard.”
De’Aaron Fox scored 28 points and Harrison Barnes came alive in the fourth quarter, helping the Kings (12-17) snap a three-game losing streak with a win over the Wizards. Barnes scored 15 of his 19 points over the final 7:01, turning a one-point game into a double-digit victory.
Bradley Beal scored 30 points for the Wizards (15-14), who have lost six of their last seven after going 14-8 to start the season.
The Kings shot 54.9% from the field and finished strong, outscoring the Wizards 35-16 in the fourth quarter. Buddy Hield and Tristan Thompson came off the bench to score 15 points apiece. Davion Mitchell had 13 points and five assists in his first career start.
Tyrese Haliburton filled out the stat sheet in a variety of ways, finishing with eight points, eight rebounds, nine assists, three steals and three blocked shots.
“I almost had a triple-double, but Doug took me out the last couple minutes,” Haliburton joked after the game. “Crazy. Y’all saw it.”
The mood was light after an unusual and difficult day in Sacramento. Christie, a first-year assistant, was named acting head coach after Gentry tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday morning. It wasn’t long before the team learned Marvin Bagley III had also entered NBA health and safety protocols. Guard Terence Davis joined that list less than three hours before game time, adding to the growing number of players and coaches who have entered the league’s protocol system over the past two weeks.
“It’s been a long day,” Haliburton said. “It’s been a weird day. Obviously, everything in the world is kind of crazy right now, especially in the NBA world.”
It was a special night for Christie, who left his television and radio jobs to join the Kings coaching staff in August.
“I’ve done radio. I’ve done television,” Christie said. “There’s no other place I’d rather be than on the court with our team. It’s joyous for me in ways I can’t even explain.”
Christie played for seven teams over 14 NBA seasons, but he enjoyed some of his best years in Sacramento from 2000-05, averaging 10.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 2.0 steals over 355 for the Kings. He was an NBA All-Defensive First Team selection in 2003. He was an All-Defensive Second Team selection in 2001, 2002, 2004.
Christie helped the Kings reach the playoffs in each of his five seasons, including an unforgettable run to the 2002 Western Conference finals. That season ended with a bitter and controversial seven-game series loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, who went on to sweep the New Jersey Nets in the NBA Finals.
“I’ve told you guys many times,” Christie said. “I have unfinished business here in a way that’s hard to explain, but I’m here and we’ll see what happens.”
Gentry was named interim head coach when Luke Walton was fired on Nov. 21, but Christie has already been identified as a potential candidate for the job. Kings general manager Monte McNair and Christie himself will have to decide if he is ready for that responsibility after one season as an assistant coach, but Christie clearly has a passion for the job. He was asked before Wednesday’s game if he wants to be the next head coach of the Kings.
“If you know me, you know I’m more of an in-the-moment person, like this is where I’m at,” Christie said. “I don’t think like that. AG (Alvin Gentry) has done a hell of a job and he’s been so productive with helping me try to be better, and that’s really all I’m going to try to be. If they see more and they want more and that opportunity presents itself, that’s what you have to face when the opportunity comes and you deal with it, but I like to stay in the moment and I don’t say that tongue in cheek. That’s just kind of how I try to live.”
Christie has seen the best of times in Sacramento and the worst of times. One way or another, he wants to help bring winning basketball back to the capital city after 15 consecutive losing seasons.
“When I say unfinished business, this is a proud city that deserves a high level of basketball when they come out to watch,” Christie said. “And unfortunately, for a long time, it hasn’t been that way, but it does not have to stay that way and it won’t. We’ll get there.”
This story was originally published December 16, 2021 at 2:30 AM.
