Dybantsa dazzles, outshines Acuff as Wizards top Kings in NBA Summer League
Sacramento Kings rookie Darius Acuff Jr. has already gone up against some of the top players in his draft class.
He faced the cream of the crop Sunday in Sin City.
AJ Dybantsa, the No. 1 pick in the draft, turned in an impressive performance to lead the Washington Wizards to a 104-85 victory over the Kings in the NBA Summer League at Thomas & Mack center in Las Vegas.
Will Riley led all scorers with 32 points for the Wizards (2-0). Dybantsa had 23 points, seven rebounds, two assists, three steals and two blocked shots.
Maxime Raynaud posted 20 points and 15 rebounds for the Kings (1-1), who suffered their first loss of the summer after going 3-0 in the California Classic and winning their NBA Summer League opener against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Nique Clifford had 17 points, four rebounds and four assists for Sacramento. Acuff had 12 points on 4-of-14 shooting with four assists. Jonathan Mogbo came off the bench to put up 11 points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots.
Acuff and Clifford committed five turnovers apiece. The Kings shot just 38.9% from the field and went 7 of 26 (.269) from 3-point range.
Raynaud made his summer debut for Sacramento after returning from a stint with the French national team. Kings summer league coach Chris Darnell chose to start two bigs with Raynaud at power forward and Dylan Cardwell at center. Cardwell finished with six points, eight rebounds, four assists, two steals and five blocked shots.
The Kings liked what they saw early in the game from Raynaud, a 2025 second-round pick who outperformed his draft position to earn All-Rookie Second Team honors last season. Raynaud had five points and four rebounds in seven first-quarter minutes, showing nice touch around the basket on a post move before stepping out to hit a 3-pointer.
Raynaud finished 2 of 5 from beyond the arc. His ability to hit 3-pointers will be critical this season if the Kings are going to play him alongside Cardwell or three-time All-Star Domantas Sabonis, who had a courtside seat for Sunday’s game.
The Kings led 24-18 at the end of the first quarter. The Wizards staged a 12-0 run to take a 30-24 lead early in the second quarter. A subsequent 16-2 run put Washington up by 19 with 2:41 to play in the opening half.
The Kings trailed 54-41 at the halftime break. Dybantsa was dominant with 17 points and five rebounds in the first half. Raynaud had 11 points and seven rebounds for the Kings, who shot 40% from the field while going 2 of 14 (.140) from 3-point range.
The Kings cut the deficit to seven early in the second half. They were down 75-65 at the end of the third quarter.
Sacramento cut Washington’s lead to six on a 3-pointer by Clifford with 5:54 to play in the fourth quarter, but the Wizards pulled away in the final minutes.
Up next
The Kings will face the Brooklyn Nets for the second time this summer at 3 p.m. Tuesday at Thomas & Mack Center.
The Kings beat the Nets 79-76 on Day 1 of the California Classic on July 4 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento. The Kings prevailed after Clifford hit a game-winning 3-pointer with five seconds remaining.
That game was expected to feature a marquee matchup between top rookie point guards, but Mikel Brown Jr., the No. 5 pick in June’s NBA draft, did not play for Brooklyn. Acuff, the No. 7 pick in the draft, scored 25 points in his summer debut for Sacramento.
Brown appeared in only the final game of the California Classic, scoring 10 points in a 100-79 win over the Golden State Warriors Blue. He scored 20 points in a 91-65 win over the New York Knicks to open NBA Summer League play on Friday before sitting out in Saturday’s 83-76 loss to the Atlanta Hawks.
Schedule/results
California Classic
Kings 79, Nets 76
Kings 91, Warriors Blue 85
Kings 95, Bucks 89
NBA Summer League
Kings 91, Clippers 85
Wizards 104, Kings 85
7/14 vs. Brooklyn Nets, 3 p.m.
7/15 vs. Boston Celtics, 5 p.m.
Game 4: TBD
Game 5: TBD
