Kings battle but can’t pull off comeback against New York Knicks, losing 2nd straight
The New York Knicks had four starters score at least 20, shot well from 3-point range throughout, survived a run from the Sacramento Kings in the second quarter and dealt interim coach Doug Christie’s team its third straight road loss Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.
The Knicks pulled away in the fourth quarter to win 143-120, as the Kings gave up the most points they’ve allowed this season.
New York got 33 points from OG Anunoby, 27 from Mikal Bridges, 25 from Jalen Brunson and 20 from Josh Hart, who had a triple-double. The Knicks shot 17 of 35 from 3-point range before Christie decided to empty the bench with 3:13 remaining and the Kings trailing by 21.
The Kings were led by 31 points and nine assists from Malik Monk to go with Domantas Sabonis’ sixth triple-double of the season. Sabonis scored 25 points with 13 rebounds and 12 assists. Monk got the Kings back in the game with 18 points in the second quarter.
Sacramento hit halftime trailing by just five after falling behind by 19 midway through the second. Monk spurred a 23-9 run over the final 5:29 of the half, but the Knicks widened the gap by outscoring the Kings 71-53 after halftime.
There was roughly an eight-minute delay with 11:08 remaining in the fourth quarter while officials double-checked the rim in front of the Kings bench to be sure it was level following a dunk from Anunoby.
The Knicks hadn’t played since Tuesday, coming in fresh from three days off, while the Kings were playing their third game in four nights.
The loss dropped Sacramento to 23-22 on the season. It also marked the first time since Christie took the helm that the Kings have lost back-to-back games. The team lost five straight under Mike Brown before his firing Dec. 27, lost its first game under Christie, then became the NBA’s hottest team with a 10-1 stretch before the current road trip.
Fox dealing with another hand injury amid shooting woes
Fox suffered a right thumb sprain during Thursday’s game at Denver against the Nuggets, saying he was hit twice by star center Nikola Jokic.
Fox entered Saturday dealing with injuries on both hands. He’s been unable to extend the pinkie on his left, shooting hand since injuring it during training camp. Fox’s shooting numbers have taken a dip the last five games. He’s shot just 32% from the field and 23% from 3.
Fox has contributed in other ways, logging 5.2 rebounds, 7.4 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.0 blocks during that span.
“I’m not really worried about him as far as scoring and things like that,” Christie said before the game. “When you start to look at the box score, the numbers don’t always speak to the gravity of the player in the things that they bring to the game. He’s an incredible talent.
“... A good game for him, for me, doesn’t always mean he scores 30 points, in my opinion. It means that he leads the team, he does a lot of different things, defensively he’s solid.”
Fox got off to a slow start Saturday, scoring five points on 2-of-8 shooting in the first half. Fox finished with 14 points on six makes in 20 attempts.
McDermott getting rotation minutes? Maybe not
Doug McDermott checked into the game midway through the first quarter with Keon Ellis as the first substitutions into the game. It came after McDermott lit up the Denver Nuggets on Thursday with 15 points in 11 minutes while making five of six from 3 in the fourth quarter.
Christie was asked before Saturday’s game if McDermott might get more regular rotation minutes, which would be helpful for the Kings given Kevin Huerter is mired in the worst shooting season of his career.
“I love what Dougie brings to the game when he comes in,” Christie said before tip off. “You know that he’s coming in to do his thing, and that is the type of gravity that you like to have on the floor, for sure.”
McDermott didn’t make the same impact in his first stint on the floor Saturday. He played two minutes in the first quarter and four more in the third and didn’t take a shot.
Christie put Huerter into the game midway through the second quarter. He didn’t get a shot attempt either, but the Kings outscored the Knicks by 14 points in Huerter’s six minutes while they trimmed the 19-point lead to five at halftime.
Halftime report
The Kings trailed by as many as 14 in the first quarter and 19 in the second.
But they closed the gap thanks to Monk’s 18 points in the second quarter. Sacramento won the frame, 42-34, and hit halftime trailing by five thanks to a 29-9 run over the final five-plus minutes.
Monk had 23 points in the first half on 9-of-15 shooting while making three of five from distance. It was the fifth-most points in a half for Monk in his career. The most he scored in a half was 29, March 1 of last season in Minnesota, when the Kings won in overtime with Fox sidelined.
Sabonis had 16 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in his first 17 minutes.
For New York, Anunoby had 20 first-half points on 7-of-10 shooting. Brunson had 12 plus six assists, and Karl-Anthony Towns had 10 points and nine rebounds. Landry Shamet made three 3s in the first quarter.
Christie returns to Madison Square Garden
Christie was making his return to Madison Square Garden where he played his home games for a short time early in his NBA career.
The former shooting guard was traded by the Los Angeles Lakers to the Knicks before the 1994-95 season for two second-round draft picks, but he appeared in only 12 games that season because of an ankle injury.
As a 25- and 26-year-old in his third and fourth NBA seasons, Christie struggled to get consistent minutes under Don Nelson in 1995-96. He averaged only 9.5 minutes per game behind John Starks, Hubert Davis, Charlie Ward, Derek Harper and Willie Anderson. He was traded to the Toronto Raptors midseason, where he played for five seasons before landing with the Kings in 2000.
Christie said he listened to East Coast rapper Redman while on the bus to the arena Saturday giving him a feeling of nostalgia.
“That was one of my favorite things, of being here at the Garden,” Christie said before the game. “Running out was just incredible. Great teammates, incredible coaching staff and this city and their fans, they’re special. They know the game, you can hear them in the stands, they know what they’re talking about.
“And their vibe is everything, so I have the utmost respect for this arena, this city, and what it meant to me and my career.”
Injury report
Fox was officially cleared from his right thumb sprain an hour before tip off. He participated at shootaround the morning before the game and said he expected to play. Fox wore a black sleeve on his thumb.
Colby Jones and Isaac Jones were both away from the team on G League assignment with the Stockton Kings.
For the Knicks, Josh Hart came into the game listed as questionable with a knee injury, but was cleared to play shortly before the game. Backup center Mitchell Robinson has been out the entire season after suffering an ankle injury that required surgery. He’s tentatively expected to return next month.
This story was originally published January 25, 2025 at 7:24 PM.
