‘40 wins this year!’: Kings beat Phoenix Suns to fulfill prophecy of Summer League Bros
Kings fans Sean Chew, Jon Lardy and Nadim Satar couldn’t have known they would go viral when they declared Sacramento was taking over following a summer league game at the California Classic, but they were sure of one thing.
“We’re getting 40 wins this year!” Chew exclaimed.
The Kings fulfilled the prophecy of the Summer League Bros. on Saturday night, beating the Phoenix Suns 128-119 before a sellout crowd at Footprint Center to win their 40th game for the first time since 2006.
The locker room erupted when the defensive player of the game chain was presented to Kessler Edwards, the 22-year-old forward who was acquired from the Brooklyn Nets at the trade deadline. Edwards had appeared in only three games for Sacramento, logging a total of 28 minutes, but he played a big role in this one.
Edwards had 12 points and seven rebounds in 26 minutes while using his size, length and athleticism to pester Suns star Devin Booker. He also knocked down two big 3-pointers, including one in the final minute that sent Suns fans to the exits.
“I’ve just learned a lot since I’ve been here, whether it’s playing or not playing,” Edwards said. “I just see how this team works, how much of a winning culture they have, so I was able to pick up on that, and I think when I got out there, it rubs off on me, so I’m glad my playing time finally came in a (win) this time.”
Harrison Barnes scored 19 points to lead seven players in double figures for the Kings (40-26), who have won eight of nine since the All-Star break. De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk added 18 points apiece for Sacramento, which maintained its hold on the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference while adding a game to their lead over fourth-place Phoenix.
“They’re a really good team,” Suns coach Monty Williams said. “Offensively, they score with the best of them, but we had so many, ‘my bads’ and blown coverages tonight.”
Domantas Sabonis finished with 17 points and eight rebounds. Davion Mitchell and Trey Lyles each came off the bench to score 13 points. Kings coach Mike Brown presented also pointed to Chimezie Metu, who had three steals in 13 minutes.
The Kings had a 65-34 advantage in points off the bench. They also went 31 of 37 at the free-throw line while the Suns went 18 of 22.
“Their bench had 65 points, so that is unacceptable,” Williams said. “Our bench came into tonight and the game plan was not there from the jump. We were fouling and Lyles came in and hit 3s. Monk got going in the second half. ... We just didn’t have a high level of respect for their bench, and Terrence (Ross) scored tonight, but outside of that, we didn’t counter it. But our defense from our bench has got to be a lot better, and that’s on me to get the guys out there that know what we are doing.”
Metu was asked about the vibe in the Kings’ locker room following their 40th win.
“It feels great,” Metu said. “I think obviously winning helps a lot. I’d say this team, we’re probably the closest team that I’ve been on since I’ve been here and since I’ve been in the NBA, really.”
Booker had 28 points and eight assists for the Suns (37-30), who had won four in a row. Deandre Ayton posted 22 points and 12 rebounds. Chris Paul had 16 points and 16 assists. Kevin Durant did not play due to a sprained ankle.
The Kings came in seeking their first 40-win season since 2005-06, when they went 44-38 to make their last playoff appearance under Hall of Fame coach Rick Adelman. Long-suffering Kings fans will celebrate the benchmark, but not Brown.
“I hope I don’t offend anybody, but we don’t just want to win 40,” Brown said. “Forty doesn’t … I don’t know — I don’t feel anything. I just want to win the next game.”
The Kings looked out of sorts early as they struggled to find a rhythm in the opening minutes. They went 2 of 9 from the field and 0 of 3 from 3-point range while the Suns hit seven of their first 12 shots to take a 17-6 lead midway through the first quarter.
Brown called a timeout to make substitutions, inserting Mitchell and Edwards, two of the team’s most defensive-minded players. Edwards and Mitchell made an immediate impact with Edwards grabbing three defensive rebounds in his first minute of action and Mitchell disrupting a couple of shots by Booker.
Sacramento came up with a series of defensive stops while coming back to tie the game on a 3-pointer by Monk. The Kings trailed by one at the end of the first quarter, but they took a 39-38 lead on a 3-pointer by Lyles early in the second.
Edwards went to the bench at the start of the second period, but he returned when Booker came back into the game at the 7:04 mark. Edwards promptly picked Paul’s pocket for a steal and scored to put Sacramento up by six. The Kings went up by as many as 10 on a 3-pointer by Fox and carried a 67-59 lead into the halftime break.
The Suns came back to cut the deficit to one on a pull-up jumper by Paul. They took an 82-81 lead on a driving layup by Booker with 4:36 to play in the third quarter, but two late 3-pointers from Monk put the Kings up 96-95.
That set up a back-and-forth battle in the fourth quarter with the teams trading leads amid a playoff atmosphere in Phoenix. The Kings went up 119-115 after getting two baskets from Sabonis. The Suns got within one on a three-point play by Ayton, but Fox answered with a mid-range jumper at the other end of the floor. Edwards buried the dagger, hitting a 3-pointer to put Sacramento up 124-118 with 45.1 seconds remaining.
Brown highlighted each player’s performance in the locker room after the game. The cheers for Kessler could be heard through the walls in the bowels of the arena.
“Yeah, it was for Kessler,” Brown said. “His teammates celebrated him like they should have, and that’s why this group is special, because they’re connected and they celebrate everybody’s individual performance. You can have individualism within a team environment and our guys have shown that time after time after time after time.”
This story was originally published March 11, 2023 at 9:56 PM.
