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fcartoscelli3.bsky.social
Covering the Sacramento Kings for Sactown Sports 1140 ✍️
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Since the start of his rookie season, Sacramento is 26-10 (.722) when Keegan Murray scores 20+ points. Tonight: 26 PTS (season-high) 6 REB 2 AST 2 BLK 9/16 FG 5/10 3PT 32 MIN

Jonas Valanciunas has been huge off the bench tonight. His production has been that much more important as Domantas Sabonis battles a mini-slump. 15 PTS | 8 REB | 6/7 FG | 1/1 3PT | 14 MIN (!)

Keegan Murray has his first 20-point performance since November 24th: 20 PTS 6 REB 2 AST 1 BLK 7/13 FG 4/8 3PT 23 MIN

Zach LaVine's first four games with the Kings: 18.5 PTS | 3.3 REB | 3.3 AST | 42% FG | 19% 3PT Zach LaVine's past four games: 27.5 PTS | 3.3 REB | 5.5 AST | 55% FG | 47% 3PT Looks like someone is getting comfortable.

Well, that escalated quickly.

Sacramento let a 20-point lead slip to nine, but Trey Lyles (6 PTS, 2/2 3PT) and a last-second bucket from Zach LaVine stopped the bleeding to keep the Kings up 16 heading into the 4th. Closing time at G1C.

Zach LaVine just had the highest-scoring half of his brief Kings career 🔥 22 PTS | 8/9 FG | 4/4 3PT | 17 MIN

Zach LaVine is cooking here in the first half. 15 PTS 2 REB 1 AST 6/7 FG 3/3 3PT 14 MIN

Keon Ellis with his second triple over his first 60 seconds of action tonight. He's now shooting 44% from deep on the year 🎯

Keon Ellis--who many thought would start for the Kings tonight--checks in 7:56 remaining in the 1st quarter. It took Ellis just seven seconds to drill a triple.

Will there be a starting lineup change for the Kings tonight? “We’ll see shortly.” - Doug Christie

The Kings looked terrible on Friday night. A win tonight wouldn’t fix everything, but it certainly wouldn’t make things worse. Sacramento will play five of the next six games on the road following tonight’s action. Best make this one count. Kings vs. Hornets. 7 PM.

"We have to want to win more than we want to breathe." - Doug Christie

"We can't get punked like that at home. That can't happen again." With 26 games remaining in the regular season, time is of the essence for the 10th-seed Kings to establish an identity for this new-look roster: sactownsports.com/52449/sacram...

Season-high 22 turnovers for the Kings. They've allowed 32 points off of those mishaps. My goodness.

Sacramento will fall to 3-15 (.166) when allowing opponents to score 120+ points this season.

This game has been truly painful to watch. Just ugly stuff from Sacramento. 18 turnovers. 25 points allowed off turnovers. And we still have a quarter to go.

Domantas Sabonis has his NBA-leading 50th double-double. 12 PTS | 10 REB | 7 AST | 5/8 FG | 21 MIN

The Warriors are 14-4 (.777) this season when shooting 38% or better from three-point range. Sacramento has allowed them to shoot 11/23 (48%) through two quarters of play. Kings trail by 15 at the break.

Sacramento is down by 20 here in the first half. They're getting dominated on both ends of the floor. I might have to go back out on paternity leave.

Sacramento looks.... pretty terrible. 20 points allowed off of 11 turnovers. Allowing GSW to shoot 10/18 (55%) from 3PT. Outscored 20-6 in paint points. Yikes!

DeMar DeRozan was the Kings offense in the 1st quarter. Could probably use some help. DeRozan: 15 PTS | 5/7 FG (71%) Rest of the Kings: 13 PTS | 4/16 FG (25%)

DeMar DeRozan is cooking early. He's letting it fly from beyond the arc with confidence. 11 PTS | 4/5 FG | 3/4 3PT | 7 MIN Sacramento is 5/9 (55%) from deep through the first seven minutes of action.

“The fact that you can get on one knee means that you can get that low on defense.” - Doug Christie on Keegan Murray getting engaged during the All-Star break 😭

It’s good to be back. It’s postseason push time for the new-look Kings, and each game is more important than the last. Sacramento and Golden State enter tonight’s game with identical records of 28-27 (9th & 10th in the West). Kings vs. Warriors. 7 PM.

Inexcusable loss for Sacramento. They need every game they can get, and they just lost to a Pelicans team that had lost 10-straight entering tonight’s action. No Zion. No Dejounte. No Herb. New Orleans scores 140 points. Tough way to go into the All-Star break.

We’ll see how Doug Christie builds his rotations, but here’s how the Kings could look after the All-Star break: Monk LaVine DeRozan Murray Sabonis Fultz Ellis LaRavia Lyles Valanciunas Depth: Carter, McDermott, Crowder, I. Jones.

Keon Ellis. 27 PTS 5 REB 2 BLK 1 STL 10/14 FG 7/11 3PT 29 MIN W.

What a 1st quarter for Keon Ellis 🔥 13 PTS 5/6 FG 3/4 3PT 1 STL 1 BLK 7 MIN Tied for the second-most points he has scored in a single period during his career.

25-13 lead for the Kings to start this one. Really strong minutes from Sabonis, Ellis and DeRozan. Sacramento is 10/14 (71%) from the field and 3/5 (60%) from deep.

Domantas Sabonis with a productive start in this one. He’s getting right to the rim against the Pelicans defense. 8 PTS | 5 REB | 4/6 FG | 5 MIN

Post-deadline Sacramento Kings rotation: Malik Monk Zach LaVine DeMar DeRozan Keegan Murray Domantas Sabonis Devin Carter Keon Ellis Jake LaRavia Trey Lyles Jonas Valanciunas

Kings win.

Keegan Murray was cooking in the 1Q 🔥 17 PTS 3 REB 1 AST 6/9 FG 2/3 3PT 12 MIN That was the most points that Murray has scored in a single period this season. Tied for the second-highest scoring quarter of his career.

Stating the obvious… but it would be an ideal time for Keegan Murray to take that next step in his progression.

Insane that the Kings are in this position following the turnaround that happened not even two years ago. 17-year playoff drought ended. Fun, talented core. The start of a healthy, sustainable product. Sike. Back to the drawing board.

Once again: Malik Monk’s contract is an absolute steal.

The Kings are 2-0 since this guy was born. Meet Franklin Angelo Cartoscelli Jr. 🐣 January 15, 2025 8:13pm

Checking in from paternity leave to say that Domantas Sabonis is an NBA All-Star.

Not to get all silver-lining-y or moral victory-y, but all winning streaks must end. Sacramento has won 7 of 8 and just finished a 2-1 road trip that included a win in Boston against the defending champs. Splitting a BOS-MIL trip, where the Kings have been historically horrible, isn't too bad.

12 brutal opening minutes hurt Sacramento badly in this one. 1st quarter Kings 26 Bucks 47 2nd-4th quarters Kings 89 Bucks 83

The Kings are inching closer... 👀 Sacramento has cut a 28-point deficit to 11 with 8:26 to go.

The Kings have shown signs of life, but they have no answer for Giannis. Not many teams do, but he's cooking Sacramento right now.

Sacramento was outscored 34-18 in the paint during the first half. They entered tonight allowing 44.3 paint points per game (2nd-best in the NBA) this season. Milwaukee is shooting 17/20 (85%) in the paint thus far.

The Kings are being outscored in the paint 22-8 and out-rebounded 21-15. Milwaukee, a team with length and multiple bigs (Giannis, Lopez, Portis), is a matchup nightmare for Sacramento.

Sacramento has lost eight straight games in Milwaukee, meaning they have never won a game at Fiserv Forum. It doesn't look like they'll change that tonight, as they trail by 21 points heading into the second quarter.

Sacramento is in an early 14-point hole in Milwaukee. Both Giannis and Dame are already in double-figures just seven minutes into this one.

The Sacramento Kings haven't won eight straight games since November 2003, when Doug Christie was their starting SG. They also haven't won a game in Milwaukee since November 2015. Another big test awaits Sacramento: sactownsports.com/nba-sacramen...