LaVine scores season high 42 as Kings rebound from ugly loss with blowout win over Hornets
Zach LaVine turned in a memorable performance to help the Kings bounce back from one of their worst losses of the season with a resounding 130-88 win over the Charlotte Hornets on Monday at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
LaVine scored a season-high 42 points for the Kings (29-28), who produced a much better effort after suffering a 132-108 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Friday.
LaVine left the game to a huge ovation after going 16 of 19 from the field and 8 of 9 from 3-point range.
Miles Bridges scored 23 points to lead the Hornets (14-42).
Sacramento shot 54% from the field while holding Charlotte to 34.9%. The Kings made 20 of 38 (.526) from 3-point range while the Hornets went 10 of 40 (.250).
The Kings will be back in action when they start a four-game road trip against the Utah Jazz on Wednesday at Delta Center in Salt Lake City.
Stat sheet
DeMar DeRozan had 18 points and seven rebounds for Sacramento. Malik Monk had 13 points and 10 assists. Keegan Murray added 10 points while Domantas Sabonis posted seven points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.
LaMelo Ball had 13 points, six rebounds and nine assists for Charlotte. Nick Smith Jr. also scored 13 points. Jusuf Nurkic and Moussa Diabate added 12 points apiece.
Halftime report
The Kings led 34-23 at the end of the first quarter and 65-45 at the halftime break.
Sacramento shot 53.3% from the field and went 12 of 21 (.571) from 3-point range in the opening half. Charlotte shot 37.5% while going 7 of 22 (.318) from beyond the arc.
LaVine had the hot hand for the Kings, scoring 20 points while going 8 of 9 from the field and 4 of 4 from long distance.
Second half
Charlotte opened the second half with a 9-0 run to cut the deficit to 11. The Hornets got within nine late in the third quarter, but a 3-pointer by Trey Lyles and a buzzer-beating layup by LaVine gave the Kings an 88-72 lead going into the fourth.
Sacramento led by as many as 45 before it was over.
Up next
The Kings will visit the Jazz on Wednesday in the first game of a four-game trip that will take them to Utah, Houston, Dallas and Denver.
The Jazz (14-42) handed the Houston Rockets a 124-115 loss on Saturday before facing the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday.
The Kings are 3-0 in the season series against the Jazz after winning 113-96 on Oct. 29, 121-117 on Nov. 16 and 141-97 on Dec. 8.
This story was originally published February 24, 2025 at 9:28 PM.
