One thing seems clear as the Sacramento Kings search for answers with Keegan Murray expected to miss the first month of the season due to a thumb injury.
There are no simple solutions.
Kings coach Doug Christie started Dario Saric in place of Murray and went 10 deep in the first period while experimenting with different combinations, but nothing worked in a 109-91 preseason loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday at Golden 1 Center.
John Collins came off the bench to post 24 points and six rebounds for the Clippers (2-1). Brook Lopez scored 16 points, Kawhi Leonard added 15 and Chris Paul handed out 10 assists in a backup role for one of the deepest teams in the league.
Domantas Sabonis had 15 points, 14 rebounds and five assists in 24 minutes for the Kings (0-3) before leaving the game with a right hamstring injury in the third quarter.
Nique Clifford came off the bench to score 19 points. Zach LaVine had 13 points, four rebounds and six assists for Sacramento.
The Kings were shorthanded with Keegan Murray out due to a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left thumb and Malik Monk out due to illness. Sacramento reached an agreement on a one-year, $3.6 million deal with nine-time All-Star Russell Westbrook on Wednesday morning, but he isn’t expected to join the team until Friday.
The Kings will return to action when they travel to Southern California to play the Los Angeles Lakers in their preseason finale Friday at Crypto.com Arena. The Kings have not announced if Westbrook will be available for the game.
Halftime report
The game got off to a clunky start with the two teams combining to go 2 of 15 from the field over the first four minutes. The Clippers eventually found a rhythm while the Kings continued to struggle.
Los Angeles led 26-18 at the end of the first quarter and went up 33-19 early in the second. At that point, the Kings were Kings 8 of 25 from the field and 1 of 12 from 3-point range.
The Clippers went up by 21 points midway through the second period and carried a 60-40 lead into the halftime break. They shot 53.7% from the field and 41.2% from 3-point range. The Kings shot just 38% and went 3 of 18 (.167) from beyond the arc.
Second-half summary
The Clippers continued to punish the Kings in the second half. They went up by 25 late in the third quarter and led 90-61 going into the fourth.