Sacramento Kings beat shorthanded Phoenix Suns to remain undefeated in preseason play
The Kings weren’t nearly as impressive as they were in blowout victories over the Los Angeles Lakers and Portland Trail Blazers, but they found a way to win an ugly one against the Phoenix Suns.
De’Aaron Fox scored 15 points in 22 minutes to help the Kings remain unbeaten in preseason play with a 105-104 victory over the shorthanded Suns on Wednesday night at Footprint Center in Phoenix.
Kevin Huerter had 13 points, four rebounds and three assists for the Kings (3-0), who will conclude their preseason schedule against the Lakers on Friday night at Golden 1 Center. Harrison Barnes and Terence Davis added 12 points apiece while Domantas Sabonis finished with nine points, 10 rebounds, four assists and four steals.
Duane Washington Jr. had 31 points on 10-of-19 shooting but committed 11 turnovers for the Suns (1-3). Jock Landale posted 17 points and eight rebounds while Bismack Biyombo recorded a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
The Kings were missing two of their top reserves after rookie forward Keegan Murray and center Richaun Holmes were ruled out due to non-COVID-19 illnesses. Murray, the No. 4 pick in June’s NBA draft, missed the game after leading the team in scoring in 30-point wins over the Lakers and Blazers. Holmes missed his second preseason game due to a stomach ailment.
The Suns were missing most of their regular rotation players. Cam Johnson (thumb), Cameron Payne (finger), Landry Shamet (hip), Dario Saric (personal reasons) and Jae Crowder (not with team) were all ruled out for the game. During his pregame news conference, Phoenix coach Monty Williams announced the Suns would rest starters Chris Paul, Devin Booker, Mikal Bridges and Deandre Ayton.
Williams pieced together a makeshift starting lineup consisting of Washington, Josh Okogie, Damion Lee, Torrey Craig and Landale. Brown started Fox and Huerter in the backcourt with Barnes, Trey Lyles and Sabonis. Brown chose to start Lyles at power forward instead of defensive specialist KZ Okpala, who did not play after starting Sacramento’s first two preseason games.
The Kings failed to capitalize early against an undermanned opponent, trailing 32-24 after shooting 30.4% while committing six turnovers in the first period. They trailed by as many as 14 in the second quarter before staging a 13-2 run to cut the deficit to three at the half.
Sacramento finally took control in the third quarter. The Kings tied the game on a three-point play by Lyles, took a 67-65 lead on two free throws by Barnes and went up 77-69 when Davis made a 3-pointer to cap a 15-4 run.
The Kings carried an 83-76 lead into the fourth quarter after outscoring the Suns 29-19 in the third. Sacramento went up by 10 before Phoenix mounted a 14-2 run to go up 90-88, but the Kings quickly reclaimed the lead after getting a spark from the end of their bench.
Brown pulled his starters midway through the third quarter and subbed out his primary backups early in the fourth, opting to let Quinn Cook, Sam Merrill, Keon Ellis, Chima Moneke and Neemias Queta finish the game. Cook, who is trying to make the team as Sacramento’s third point guard, took advantage of the opportunity, scoring 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting in 10 minutes.
Merrill made a 3-pointer to put the Kings up 105-98 with 1:53 to play, the only basket Sacramento scored in the final four minutes of the game. The Suns had a chance to win after Washington came up with a steal with 7.7 seconds remaining, but Washington missed a baseline jumper as time expired.
This story was originally published October 12, 2022 at 10:26 PM.
