Kings overpowered by Knicks despite ejection of Julius Randle and injury to Jalen Brunson
The Kings went into New York City in search of another big road win, but what they found was a bigger, more physical opponent that wouldn’t relent despite losing its two leading scorers.
Julius Randle scored 27 points before getting ejected in the third quarter and Jalen Brunson added 18 before he was injured in the fourth, leading the New York Knicks to a 112-99 victory Sunday at Madison Square Garden.
RJ Barrett finished with 27 points, nine rebounds, six assists, three steals and two blocked shots for the Knicks (14-13), who have won four in a row.
Domantas Sabonis recorded his 16th double-double of the season for the Kings (14-11), who came out flat after posting an impressive win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday.
“They kicked our behind tonight,” Kings coach Mike Brown told reporters in New York. “We didn’t have an answer for Julius. Julius kind of had his way with us. Big, strong player and we didn’t execute anything we talked about executing going into the game, so he got us on our heels.”
The Kings fell to 1-2 on their current six-game road trip. They now face a tough back-to-back against the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday and Toronto Raptors on Wednesday.
Sabonis had 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting with 12 rebounds and four assists, but he went 6 of 11 at the free-throw line for the Kings, who were held under 100 points for the first time this season.
Rookie Keegan Murray had 18 points and seven rebounds, matching his scoring total from Friday’s game against the Cavaliers. Kevin Huerter had 17 points, five rebounds and six assists.
The Kings shot 39.8% from the field and 25.6% from 3-point range. Huerter, Harrison Barnes, Malik Monk, Terence Davis and Matthew Dellavedova went a combined 5 of 27 from beyond the arc.
The Knicks outrebounded the Kings 55-41, including 15 offensive rebounds. Sacramento committed 16 turnovers and went 23 of 35 (.657) at the free-throw line.
Brown credited Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau and his team for teaching the Kings a lesson in toughness.
“You’ve got to give (credit to) their whole team, from Thibs and the coaching staff to their players on down … because they kicked my behind and all the other coaches and players in our locker room’s behinds today,” Brown said.
Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox, Davis and Murray were all questionable going into the game. Fox was ruled out for the second game in a row due to right foot soreness. Davis, who missed the previous three games with lower back soreness, and Murray, who was bothered by left thumb soreness, were both cleared to play.
Brown acknowledged that the Kings missed Fox, who is considered day-to-day.
“When we can’t generate offense on a night like tonight, to have a guy that can go generate or give your guys some easy looks, give your guys some confidence, and then De’Aaron is capable of going off for 38 every time just like Julius or Jalen or RJ,” Brown said.
The Knicks staged a 15-2 run to take a 34-19 lead in the opening period. They led by 14 at the end of the first quarter and went up by 19 early in the second. The Kings cut the deficit to 11 on back-to-back 3-pointers by Murray late in the first half, but they trailed 66-50 at the break.
Randle was a one-man wrecking crew in the opening half, scoring 27 points on 9-of-16 shooting with three 3-pointers. New York outrebounded Sacramento 29-17. The Kings shot just 41.7% from the field and had more turnovers (11) than assists (10).
The Kings got within 11 again early in the second half, but it wasn’t long before the Knicks reestablished a 19-point lead. They were looking for more when Randle went to work inside against Barnes and Sabonis, but he couldn’t get the shot to fall.
Randle was incensed, arguing that a foul should have been called. The brooding big man got in the faces of officials, leading to one technical foul and then another, resulting in an automatic ejection.
The Kings couldn’t do much to capitalize on Randle’s absence. They still trailed by 15 at the end of the third quarter.
The Knicks lost Brunson when he limped off the floor with an apparent ankle injury with 9:07 to play in the fourth quarter. The Kings got within 13 moments later and cut the deficit to 11 in the final two minutes, but they couldn’t get any closer.
“Obviously, losing two big pieces to our team, you never want to see those guys out, but that’s what a team is for, so everybody can step up, and I think the biggest thing was defensively,” Barrett said. “Everybody kind of helped each other, talked and was in the right spot. So, I think defensively, that was our biggest thing.”
This story was originally published December 11, 2022 at 6:35 PM.
