Kings can’t hold on to early lead against Denver Nuggets, who snap Sacramento’s streak at 4
The Sacramento Kings will leave Denver wondering what could have been.
It might have been their best defensive performance of the season against the NBA’s second-ranked offense. It might have extended their winning streak to five, giving them good feelings ahead of their big game Friday against De’Aaron Fox and the San Antonio Spurs.
But the Kings were outscored 32-17 in the fourth quarter against the Nuggets, leading to a 116-110 loss, snapping their four-game winning streak Wednesday night at Ball Arena.
Russell Westbrook scored 12 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, while Jamal Murray added 24 points as the Nuggets went plus-21 in his 38 minutes. Three-time MVP Nikola Jokic had 22 points, 15 rebounds and six assists.
The Kings finished their four-game road trip 3-1, and nearly made it 4-0, had their defensive success in the first half continued into the second.
Keegan Murray opened guarding Jokic while Jonas Valanciunas was on Westbrook. Valanciunas played off Westbrook, allowing him room to shoot. Westbrook went 1-of-4 on shots outside the paint, while the Nuggets’ offense struggled to find its footing in the first half.
Jake LaRavia guarded Jokic when Murray went to the bench. He gave the Kings an unexpected offensive boost in the first quarter, making three 3s leading to 11 points in four minutes, his new high since joining the Kings. It also marked the most 3s LaRavia’s made since coming to the Kings in a trade from the Memphis Grizzlies ahead of the Feb. 6 trade deadline.
The Kings jumped out to a 13-point lead after the first quarter and took a 10-point lead into halftime. Denver shot just 40.9% in the first half. But the Nuggets rallied back, cutting to lead to lead to 4 late in the third quarter.
DeRozan scored 18 points in the third to help Sacramento take a 9-point lead heading into the fourth quarter — before the Nuggets took their first lead of the second half with 8:17 remaining on a Zeke Nnaji 3.
Denver opened the fourth on a 12-2 run while Westbrook helped change the tone of the game with Jokic on the bench. He scored 7 points in the first five minutes of the frame after scoring just five in the first half.
The Nuggets were playing their first home game since going on a four-game road trip against Eastern Conference teams in which they went 2-2, including a loss Sunday to the Boston Celtics.
Top performers
DeRozan led the Kings with 35 points. Zach LaVine added 20, with 14 coming in the fourth quarter. Valanciunas scored 19 points with 13 rebounds and six assists.
Jake LaRavia finished with 15 points in his most productive game to date with Sacramento.
Keon Ellis gets start in place of Monk
With Malik Monk out with a sprained toe on his right foot, the Kings gave Keon Ellis his 12th start of the season. The team was 8-3 in his previous starts.
Ellis in the first quarter scored on a double-clutch reverse layup and hit a 3-pointer with a defender in his face on the following possession.
With Monk out, LaVine worked as the primary ball handler. Ellis got off to a hot start, scoring 9 points in the first quarter while Sacramento outscored Denver by 14 in his 11 minutes. Ellis finished with 11 points, seven rebounds, two steals and two blocks. The Kings were plus-4 in his 39 minutes.
Domantas Sabonis gets back to shooting
Kings center Domantas Sabonis did his pregame shooting routine before Wednesday’s game for the first time since suffering his hamstring injury.
Sabonis was four days removed from suffering a Grade 1 hamstring strain March 1 in the opening minutes of the win against the Houston Rockets. The team announced Sunday he would be re-evaluated in a week, indicating another update is coming Sunday and meaning the injury will cost him at least three games.
The former All-Star and All-NBA center is dealing with his first soft-tissue injury since coming to the Kings in 2022. He’s been replaced in the starting lineup by Jonas Valanciunas, who came into Wednesday’s game averaging 9.0 points and 6.4 rebounds in 10 games since coming to Sacramento via trade from the Washington Wizards.
Halftime report
The Kings jumped out to a 42-29 lead after the first quarter while shooting 62.5% from the floor. They made 5-of-9 from 3 while Denver went 3-of-10.
The teams hit the locker room with Sacramento leading 65-55. The Nuggets outscored the Kings by three in the second quarter.
LaRavia had a game-high 15 points in the first half. Valanciunas had 14. DeMar DeRozan scored 13 on 5-of-15 shooting.
For Denver, Jamal Murray led with 11 points, thanks to eight made free throws and just one made field goal, while Jokic had 10 with five rebounds and three assists.
Sacramento scored 13 points off Denver’s seven turnovers, while the Nuggets only managed 3 points of six Kings turnovers.
Injury report
The Nuggets came into the game with seven players listed on the injury report, including Jokic, who was cleared to play roughly an hour before tip off after dealing with left ankle inflammation. Denver ruled out forward Aaron Gordon (left ankle sprain). Gordon missed his 26th game of the season after previously dealing with a calf issue.
The Nuggets were also without Julian Strawther (left knee sprain), DaRon Holmes (right Achilles repair). Vlatko Cancar (left knee surgery rehabilitation), Peyton Watson (right knee sprain) and Zeke Nnaji (left ankle sprain) were cleared to play.
For Sacramento, Monk (toe) and Sabonis (hamstring) were out, while two-way players Mason Jones and Isaiah Crawford were on assignment with G-League Stockton.
