Kings win 6th straight as Domantas Sabonis posts career night against defending champs
The Sacramento Kings took down the NBA’s defending champs without De’Aaron Fox in what might be their most impressive win this season to extend their streak to six under interim coach Doug Christie.
The Boston Celtics heard boos from their home court throughout the fourth quarter while the Kings opened up a double-digit lead thanks to impressive play from rookie Devin Carter, timely scoring from DeMar DeRozan during an otherwise-off shooting night and a career night on the glass from Domantas Sabonis. Sacramento won, 114-97, to reach an even 19-19 on the season.
The two teams entered the fourth quarter tied 76-76, each team struggling offensively. The Kings then went on a 21-7 run during the first five-plus minutes of the frame while the Celtics never got back in it.
Sacramento was without Fox for a third straight game while he continued to deal with a glute injury after a hard fall a week prior.
The Kings came in winners of five straight games in California while the Celtics were playing their first home game after a 3-1 road trip against Western Conference teams. Jayson Tatum was the most recent Eastern Conference player of the week from Dec. 30 to Jan. 5 while averaging 25.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game.
The Celtics came into the game with the third-best record in the NBA, behind only the Cleveland Cavaliers and Oklahoma City Thunder, and dropped to 27-11.
Stat leaders
Friday night marked Sabonis’ fifth game of the season with at least 20 rebounds and the tenth 20-20 game of his career. He finished with with 23 points and a career-high 28 rebounds, breaking his previous high of 26 set Jan. 29 in a win over the Memphis Grizzlies.
DeRozan scored 12 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter. He went 9-of-26 from the floor on the night but made 4-of-6 in the fourth.
Malik Monk added 22 points and eight assists. Keegan Murray scored 19 while making five 3-pointers.
Hot start on both sides
Jaylen Brown scored 10 points in his first five minutes while mostly going at Kings guard Keon Ellis. But Sacramento took a 19-15 lead at the first timeout by making five of their first seven 3-pointers.
Sacramento’s biggest lead in the first quarter was 9. The Kings made eight 3s in the opening frame.
Second quarter swoon for Kings
The Celtics tied the game with a 7-0 run to open the second quarter that ballooned to a 16-3 run. The Kings fought back but were outscored 28-19 in the frame and hit halftime trailing by 2.
The Kings followed up their long-distance burst in the first quarter by going 1-of-12 from 3 in the second.
Carter’s New England return
Carter appeared in his fourth game since returning from shoulder surgery. The No. 13 pick in the NBA draft was having a homecoming to New England after playing in college at Providence, roughly 41 miles from downtown Boston. He held court with reporters from the area during shoot-around earlier in the day.
Carter opened with rough stretch in the first half. He made a 3, but the Kings were outscored by 7 in his first six minutes, which included a midcourt turnover on a simple pass to Kevin Huerter and two fouls. Carter re-entered the game late in the third quarter and made a left-handed layup in traffic around Boston’s lengthy defenders. However, the NBA’s replay center later determined it came after the shot clock had expired.
Carter also drew an offensive foul on Tatum for setting a hard screen inside the final minute of the third. He then hit a pair of 3s and a running layup to give Sacramento an 8-point lead.
Carter was subbed out with 4:13 remaining with 11 points, four rebounds and an assist while the Kings were plus-6 during his 17 minutes.
Injury report
Fox missed his third straight game after suffering a right glute contusion against the Memphis Grizzlies on Jan. 3. Fox tried to throw down a left-handed dunk on Grizzlies big man Jaren Jackson Jr. and landed hard on his right side. The Kings came into Friday’s game 2-0 in Fox’s absence with wins over Golden State Warriors and Miami Heat.
Two-way players Isaiah Crawford and Mason Jones were on G-League assignment with the Stockton Kings.
Halftime report
Monk paced the Kings with 14 points and four assists. Sabonis had 8 points and 15 rebounds. Trey Lyles had 7 points and 7 rebounds off the bench. But Sacramento shot just 36% from the floor. With Fox sidelined, the Kings needed a big performance from DeMar DeRozen, but he shot just 3-of-13 in the first half.
Boston wasn’t much better offensively, hitting just 41% of their shots and 24% from 3. The Celtics took a 55-53 into halftime.
Up next
The Kings’ will travel to the Windy City for their second game of the three-game road trip to take on the Chicago Bulls. The afternoon game tips at 12:30 p.m. Pacific Time. It will mark the first time DeRozan plays in Chicago after joining the Kings in a sign-and-trade from the Bulls over the summer.
Sacramento wraps its Eastern Conference road trip Tuesday in Milwaukee, where the Kings lost Jan. 14 last year, 143-142, in an overtime thriller capped by Damian Lillard’s game-winning 3 with a second remaining.
This story was originally published January 10, 2025 at 7:03 PM.
