Sacramento Kings see win streak snapped at 7, outmatched by Milwaukee Bucks in blowout
The Sacramento Kings’ seven-game winning streak under interim coach Doug Christie came to sudden halt Tuesday.
The Kings couldn’t find answers for Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks’ hot first quarter and fell, 130-115, at Fiserv Forum, dropping to 7-2 since Christie took over for fired head coach Mike Brown last month.
The Kings trailed by 21 points in the first quarter and by as many as 28 in the first half and never recovered, ending their three-game road trip 2-1 following wins over Boston and Chicago.
A big scoring night from DeMar DeRozan and the 17th consecutive double-double from Domantas Sabonis helped the Kings trim the lead, but Antetokounmpo was simply too dominant. The Bucks, who never trailed, finished plus-30 in his 37 minutes.
Struggles containing NBA’s top scorer
Antetokounmpo came into the game leading the NBA in scoring, averaging 31.4 points per game. Christie said beforehand he was OK with Antetokounmpo reaching his scoring average, but Sacramento’s best chance at winning would be preventing him from getting much more than that.
“He’s averaging 30, that’s probably likely what we’re going to see,” Christie said pregame. “What you don’t want is 50. So you have to figure out a way to try to hold him and be physical and all the different the things. Because he imposes his will a in a way that we rarely see.”
The Kings tried using their biggest players to guard Antetokounmpo, starting with Sabonis and then backup center Alex Len in the second half when Sabonis got in foul trouble, having picked up his fourth midway through the third quarter.
Antetokounmpo reached 31 points, to hit his average, with a 16-foot jumper with 1:54 remaining in the third quarter. He nearly had a triple-double through three, with nine assists and eight rebounds in 31 minutes.
The Kings opened the fourth quarter on a 14-5 run with Antetokounmpo on the bench. But he returned with 8:26 remaining after Sacramento cut the lead to 11. The Kings switched to guarding Antetokounmpo with Keegan Murray.
Milwaukee went on a 21-11 run after Antetokounmpo came back in before he was subbed out in garbage time.
Rough first quarter
The Kings had a big hole to climb out of early. The Bucks scored 47 points in the first quarter and opened up a 21-point lead. Antetokounmpo scored 15 points with four assists while Sacramento initially guarded him with Sabonis.
Milwaukee went 7-of-13 from 3-point range and shot 67% from the floor.
Damian Lillard chipped in 10 points on three 3s, including a four-point play while he was fouled by Keon Ellis.
Stat leaders
Antetokounmpo did the heavy lifting for the Bucks, finishing 33 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists for his fifth triple-double of the season. Lillard added 24 points and seven assists. Brook Lopez scored 21.
For the Kings, DeRozan had 28 and De’Aaron Fox had 20 points, 11 rebounds and six assists, though he also had four turnovers. Sabonis had 16 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.
Injury report: No Malik Monk for Kings
The Kings’ lack of play-making and scoring early on was evident Tuesday, with Malik Monk sidelined for the eighth time this season. Monk was ruled out after the team’s morning shootaround with right groin soreness. Sacramento had its full roster healthy and available for the first time all season against the Bulls on Sunday.
Monk during the Kings’ seven-game winning streak averaged 22.0 points, 7.6 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.7 steals.
The Bucks were resting three-time All-Star forward Khris Middleton who dealt with an ankle injury that cost him the first 21 games of the season. Milwaukee was on the first night of a back-to-back and the plan was to have Middleton back for Wednesday’s game against the Orlando Magic.
Antetokounmpo was listed as probable coming in with right patella tendinopathy. Reserve guard Ryan Hollins was cleared to play after being listed with a non-COVID illness. Gary Trent Jr. missed his second straight game with a left hip flexor strain.
Halftime report
Both teams scored 28 points in the second quarter allowing Milwaukee to hit the locker room with a 21-point lead, 75-54, which tied the most points allowed in a half this season for Sacramento. It matched the allowed 75 they allowed to the Denver Nuggets on Dec. 16 at Golden 1 Center. That game was a 1-point loss that started their five-game winless home stand, which culminated with Brown’s firing.
Fox had 15 with nine rebounds, setting a new career high for boards in a half. DeRozan scored 14 points in the second quarter which included five free throws. Sabonis had 10 points, three rebounds and six assists.
Streak ends at seven. Eight is rare
Tuesday’s loss denied the Kings an eight-game win streak, which would have been their first such run since 2003.
The seven-game streak marked Sacramento’s longest since November 2022.
Standings update
Sacramento came into Tuesday in ninth in the Western Conference. The Kings fell back to .500 at 20-20 and remain No. 9 in the conference, though they are now tied in the standings with the San Antonio Spurs (19-19).
The Kings after Tuesday’s loss are now 2 games behind the No. 6 Los Angeles Clippers (21-17) as they near the midway point of the regular season.
Up next
The Kings traveled back to Sacramento following the game and will host the Houston Rockets Thursday at Golden 1 Center. It’s the first of a three-game home stand that includes the Washington Wizards on Sunday and the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday.
Then, Sacramento hits the road again for a six-game road trip starting with a back-to-back Thursday against the Denver Nuggets. It’s tied for their longest road trip this season.
