Kings vs. Nets game highlights: Sacramento storms back but falls short in loss to Brooklyn
The Kings stormed back from a 19-point deficit, but they came up short in a 108-103 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
The Kings have lost three in a row for the first time this season after dropping their previous two games against the Atlanta Hawks and Los Angeles Clippers.
The Kings will be back in action Monday when they play host to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Stat leaders
De’Aaron Fox scored 31 points for the Kings (8-9), making 10 of 16 from the field and 3 of 4 from 3-point range but only 8 of 12 from the free-throw line.
Keegan Murray had 21 points and eight rebounds. DeMar DeRozan posted 18 points, five rebounds and five assists while Domantas Sabonis put up 13 points, 18 rebounds and seven assists.
Cam Thomas scored 34 points for the Nets (7-10), going 11 of 21 from the field and 4 of 9 from 3-point range. Noah Clowney came off the bench to score 18 points. Cameron Johnson had 16.
Return of Jordi Fernandez
Former Kings assistant Jordi Fernandez returned to Sacramento for the first time since being hired as head coach of the Nets.
Fernandez received a big ovation during pregame introductions after spending the past two seasons in Sacramento as Mike Brown’s lead assistant. The Nets hired Fernandez after firing Jacque Vaughn last season. Brown said Fernandez is the “right guy for the job.”
“They’re obviously thinking about a rebuild, at least that’s what you hear from the outside, so you need somebody with a plan, with energy and with the right focus in terms of relationships and stuff like that,” Brown said. “Going through that process, if that’s what they’re doing, it can be a lot of ups and downs, so you need a guy who’s going to be steady and keep their spirits up. He has them playing really, really hard. They’re doing some good things on both sides of the ball.”
Ball movement
The Kings used beautiful ball movement to make two nice plays in the opening minutes.
The first came when Sabonis threw a backdoor pass to a cutting Fox for an uncontested dunk.
The second came when Fox passed up an uncontested dunk to fire a pass to DeRozan, who was open in the corner. Instead of taking the shot, DeRozan made the extra pass to a wide-open Keegan Murray, who knocked down his first 3-point attempt of the game.
Sloppy play
The Kings were No. 3 in the NBA in free-throw shooting (.819) and 10th in turnovers (13.9) going into the game, but they were uncharacteristically sloppy early on against the Nets. The Kings trailed 37-28 after getting outscored 10-2 in points off turnovers while going 3 of 7 at the free-throw line in the first quarter.
Halftime report
The Kings trailed by as many as 19 points before coming back to cut the deficit to eight at the halftime break. Fox had a big first half, scoring 24 points while going 7 of 9 from the field, 3 of 3 from 3-point range and 7 of 10 at the free-throw line.
The Kings shot 54.5% from the field and went 8 of 14 from 3-point range, but the Nets made 13 of 20 (.650) from beyond the arc.
Comeback falls short
The Kings carried the momentum into the second half. They cut the deficit to two on a three-point play by DeRozan, tied the game on a turnaround jumper by Murray and took the lead on a basket by Fox.
The Nets reclaimed the lead when Fox went to the bench in the fourth quarter. The Kings only trailed by five when Fox returned with 6:34 to play, but they couldn’t close the gap.
Injury update
Kings guard Malik Monk missed his seventh consecutive game after going down with a right ankle sprain in a Nov. 10 victory over the Phoenix Suns. Monk was upgraded to questionable prior to the game, but he was ruled out about two hours before tipoff.
Nets forward Dorian Finney-Smith was ruled out due to a left ankle sprain. Dennis Schroder was ruled out due to right ankle soreness.
Up next
The Kings will play one of the top teams in the Western Conference when they face the Thunder on the second night of a back-to-back Monday at Golden 1 Center.
Oklahoma City will be well rested after four days off. The Thunder (12-4) is coming off a 109-99 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 28.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.1 blocks. Chet Holmgren is out with a pelvic fracture.
Sacramento Kings schedule
Nov. 25 vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
Nov. 27 at Minnesota Timberwolves
Nov. 29 at Portland Trail Blazers
Dec. 1 vs. San Antonio Spurs
Dec. 3 vs. Houston Rockets
This story was originally published November 24, 2024 at 8:37 PM.
