Zach LaVine feels the love but takes loss in Sacramento Kings debut against Orlando Magic
A deafening roar filled the arena as a sellout crowd of 18,074 gave Zach LaVine a standing ovation when he was introduced in the starting lineup for the first time as a member of the Sacramento Kings.
The electricity in the building was palpable 72 hours after the Kings acquired the two-time All-Star in the De’Aaron Fox trade, but the early returns were alarming against an Orlando squad with the size and length to exploit Sacramento’s weaknesses.
Franz Wagner scored 31 points to help the Orlando Magic spoil LaVine’s Kings debut with a 130-111 victory Wednesday at Golden 1 Center. A majority of the fans left early with the Kings trailing by as many as 30 in the fourth quarter, but not before giving LaVine a warm welcome.
“It was great,” LaVine said. “Whenever you’re wanted somewhere, it means more than anything. To hear the appreciation, the ovation, just the fans talking, seeing my family courtside, it was great. The only thing that would have been better would have been to get a win.
“Playing here throughout my career, it doesn’t matter what type of game it is, and obviously a debut game is something that’s always very important that people get up for. I wish it would have resulted better, but I appreciate it and I definitely could feel the anticipation.”
Paolo Banchero had 23 points and nine assists for the Magic (25-27), which had lost four in a row and nine out of 10.
Domantas Sabonis posted his league-leading 44th double-double of the season with 21 points and 13 rebounds for the Kings (25-25).
DeMar DeRozan scored 19 points. LaVine had 13 points on an off night, going 4 of 13 from the field and 0 of 4 from 3-point range.
The Kings had just 23 assists on 40 made baskets with 19 turnovers.
Orlando shot 56.8% from the field and 51.6% from 3-point range. The Magic made 16 of 31 from beyond the arc after coming into the game ranked 30th in the NBA in 3-point shooting at 30.2%.
“We feel like that was kind of self-inflicted,” Sabonis said. “We let a lot of their guys get too many easy layups, so then obviously you feel good, and in the second half they got going from 3, which definitely hurt us.”
Interim Kings coach Doug Christie said integrating LaVine into the lineup will require a learning process at both ends of the floor.
“We have to find our way as a unit,” Christie said. “They have to feel Zach out and Zach has to feel them out, but I’m not using any of that as an excuse. There’s a level of energy that we have to make sure we play with even through that process. There is going to be a process, but at the same time there’s a level of intensity we have to have, especially on the defensive end of the floor.”
The Kings acquired LaVine on Sunday as part of a three-team trade that sent De’Aaron Fox to the San Antonio Spurs and Kevin Huerter to the Chicago Bulls. LaVine had not played since Jan. 27 after missing his last two games with the Bulls due to the birth of his third child.
Orlando raced out to an 18-9 lead in the first period. LaVine missed his first two shots but dished out two beautiful assists to Sabonis in the opening minutes.
LaVine’s first basket came on a driving layup at the 5:42 mark. A minute later, he hit a pretty turnaround jumper along the baseline in front of the Sacramento bench.
The Kings trailed 37-31 at the end of the first quarter. The Magic exploited Sacramento’s defense, shooting a blistering 65.2% while going 3 of 5 from 3-point range.
The Magic went up by 10 in the second quarter before the Kings came back to take their first lead of the game on a 3-pointer by DeRozan with 4:48 to play in the half. Orlando reclaimed the lead and carried a 62-60 advantage into the locker room at the break.
Sacramento shot 58.5% from the field and 50% from 3-point range in the first half, but the offense looked stagnant with little ball movement as the Kings settled for isolation jumpers.
They had only 11 assists on 24 made baskets while committing nine turnovers. The Magic outscored the Kings 14-6 in points off turnovers in the first half.
Orlando opened up a 17-point lead after opening the second half with a 21-6 run. The Magic went up by as many as 22 points late in the third quarter and led 104-83 going into the fourth.
Fans headed for the exits with 8:13 remaining when Christie pulled his starters with his team trailing 117-88.
“Unacceptable in a lot of different ways, especially on the defensive end,” Christie said. “Must be better. Must play with the level of energy, intensity, physicality and aggressiveness that I want to see and I think they’ve begun to expect from themselves.”
This story was originally published February 5, 2025 at 10:49 PM.
