Malik Monk returns from injury but Kings lack energy in blowout loss to New York Knicks
Malik Monk returned to the lineup, but even he couldn’t supply the energy the Kings needed to compete with the New York Knicks.
Karl-Anthony Towns had 26 points and nine rebounds to lead the Knicks to a 133-104 victory over the Kings on Monday at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
OG Anunoby put up 24 points, seven rebounds and eight assists to help the Knicks (41-23) snap a three-game losing streak. Miles McBride added 21 points. Josh Hart had 18.
Monk came back from a three-game injury absence to score 21 points for the Kings (33-31), who were on the second night of a back-to-back after suffering a 111-110 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday.
Zach LaVine scored 17 points for Sacramento. DeMar DeRozan was held to 11 points on 4-of-10 shooting. Jonas Valanciunas recorded a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
The Kings will be back in action Thursday when they visit the Golden State Warriors.
Injury update
All-NBA center Domantas Sabonis missed his fifth consecutive game due to a strained left hamstring. He is expected to be reevaluated Tuesday.
Jake LaRavia was ruled out because of right knee soreness. LaRavia has quickly established himself as a key reserve since the Kings acquired him from the Memphis Grizzlies in a three-team trade on Feb. 6.
Halftime report
The Kings went 2 of 10 from the field to start the game and trailed 37-22 at the end of the first quarter. The Knicks went up by as many as 20 in the second period and led 66-51 at the halftime break.
New York shot 55.8% from the field and 47.1% from 3-point range in the opening half. Sacramento shot 42.5% overall while going 5 of 15 (.333) from beyond the arc.
McBride led all scorers with 16 points on 5-of-7 shooting. Monk led the Kings with 13 points despite going 4 of 10 from the field and 1 of 4 from long distance.
Second half
The Kings cut the deficit to 10 after outscoring the Knicks 7-2 to start the second half, but the Knicks responded with a quick 9-0 run to extend the lead to 19.
New York led by 28 later in the third quarter. They went up by as many as 35 in the fourth.
Up next
The Kings will visit the Warriors on Thursday at Chase Center in San Francisco.
The Warriors (36-28) have won five in a row and 10 of 11 after beating the Portland Trail Blazers 130-120 on Monday. The Kings are 2-1 against the Warriors this season, winning 129-99 on Jan. 5 and 123-117 on Jan. 22 before suffering a 132-108 loss on Feb. 21.
The Warriors are 12-1 with Jimmy Butler in the lineup since acquiring the six-time All-Star in a trade with the Miami Heat.
This story was originally published March 10, 2025 at 10:01 PM.
