Heading into their second of a five-game road trip, the Sacramento Kings head to San Antonio to face off against familiar faces De’Aaron Fox and Harrison Barnes on Sunday afternoon.
The host San Antonio Spurs were without superstar Victor Wembanyama. Obviously, a significant loss for them, but it also made the game plan more straightforward for Fox, playing in his second game against the organization he represented for the first seven and a half years of his career.
Sacramento Kings head coach Doug Christie rolled out his 12th different starting lineup. He elected to go smaller, with Keon Ellis starting in place of Precious Achiuwa and sliding DeMar DeRozan to power forward.
Fox reminded the Kings of what they used to have, recording 12 of his game-high 28 points in the fourth quarter as the Spurs secured a 123-110 victory.
Despite multiple quality runs to stay alive, the Kings were unable to overcome their 12-point deficit from the first quarter.
DeRozan led the way for Sacramento with 27 points and four assists on 12/15 FG. Dennis Schroder added 22 points while Domantas Sabonis (17), Monk (16), and Westbrook (14) added double-digits as well.
But it was 48 combined points from Harrison Barnes (20) and Fox (28) that led an efficient scoring night as the Kings dropped their sixth-straight game.
Kings. vs Spurs Game Notes
Many of Sacramento’s players are familiar with Fox’s game, and Keon Ellis had the opportunity to utilize his experience from years of practicing against him. Christie elected to start the defensive guard Sunday night, favoring a small lineup as he replaced Precious Achiuwa.
Without Wembanyama and going against his former team for just the second time since being traded, Fox was aggressive, attacking the basket early. Of course, Harrison Barnes also spent years with the Kings organization.
Felt a bit too coincidental that those two were the ones to do damage early in the action. Fox tallied eight of San Antonio’s first 15 points, including converting his first two triples.
Barnes added a few of his own, as did other Spurs as they jumped out to an early advantage. Russell Westbrook did his best to get into the paint and find Sabonis rolling to the basket.
DeRozan’s mid-range game remained relevant as always, but the Spurs weren’t missing much. And in the few moments when they did, Luke Kornet probably got the offensive rebound, as they had six as a team in the first quarter.
Dennis Schroder’s triple that went down with 0.7 seconds left in the first was Sacramento’s first deep make that quarter on nine attempts. Meanwhile, their opponents were 8/17 from three.
Twelve minutes in the books and the Kings found themselves trailing 36-24.
With bench-heavy units featured to start the second frame, it was a slow start for both sides. The Kings relied on DeRozan and Schroder to create their offense, while Vassell took the opposing lead.
One of Sacramento’s only players adding triples, their backup point guard continued to make an impact. Playing him alongside a bench unit that includes Monk, Clifford, and sometimes Ellis allows him to play more naturally as a creator.
However, Christie’s squad needed stops to minimize their deficit. A few too many turnovers (five in the first half from Westbrook) didn’t help their cause, but it was just a matter of time.
A few misses from Vassell and the Spurs allowed Sacramento to get in transition and put together an 11-3 run to close the half. Malik Monk threw down an electric slam in the middle of that stretch.
OLALALALA ! 😳
Cette fois c’est au tour de Malik Monk côté @SacramentoKings !!
BAOUM ! #NBAonPrime pic.twitter.com/jCgu9zEViF
— Prime Video Sport France (@PVSportFR) November 16, 2025
Once trailing by 16 (45-29), they recovered to face a 67-59 Spurs advantage at the midway point. There was a vast difference in three-point shooting as Sacramento shot just 5/17 compared to San Antonio’s 9/22.
Adding 14 points, Schroder was the only King with multiple threes (3/4). DeRozan led his team with 18 points on 8/9 shooting, finding his spots and knocking them down.
Fox (12), Vassell (10), and Keldon Johnson (10) had added double-digit points.
San Antonio’s second-half starters included Julian Champaigne in place of reigning Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle, who would not return with a hip injury.
Having essentially traded Harrison Barnes for DeRozan in a sign-and-trade deal years prior, it almost seemed personal the way Sacramento’s scorer tirelessly attacked his matchup.
But tough quarters have unfortunately been commonplace for the 2025-26 Sacramento Kings, and Sunday’s edition came in the third.
Outscored 20-10 in the first stretch of the third, the Kings faced their largest deficit of the night, 87-69.
Christie’s squad seemed to lack energy out of the break, while the Spurs looked to put the game away early. Unchecked backdoor cuts, outhustled down the floor, and a lack of ball movement hindered Sacramento’s odds.
Closing the third on a 13-2 run, similar to how they ended the second, brought it back within reach as the Kings trailed 95-85 with one quarter to play.
Shots from Fox and Barnes went through, but multiple Kings runs in response were enough to keep it close.
A Westbrook catch-and-shoot corner triple made it a 107-101 game with six minutes on the clock.
Barnes surpassed the 20-point mark for just the second time this season, displaying more aggression than usual.
As Kings fans are familiar with Fox, the inaugural Clutch Player of the Year during his final full season with Sacramento, he seized the moment in the fourth.
The former Sacramento point guard ended with 12 of his game-high 28 points (11/20 FG) in the fourth quarter. Barnes reached the 20-point mark for just the second time this season.
DeRozan’s 27 points (12/15 FG) led the Kings as Schroder poured in 22 of his own. Sabonis ended the night with 17 points, 13 rebounds, five assists, and three steals. Westbrook added 14 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists.
But those two combined for eight of Sacramento’s 12 costly total turnovers. The Spurs show 54.0 percent from the field (47/87) with 38 (!!) assists. They scored at least 28 points in every quarter against the Kings underwhelming defense.
Falling 123-110 to the Spurs on Sunday afternoon marks the sixth-straight loss for Sacramento, who fall to 3-11.
The only other teams with three wins or fewer are Indiana, Brooklyn, Washington, New Orleans, and Dallas.
Next opportunity to get their fourth will come Wednesday night against the defending champions in Oklahoma City. The Kings are already 0-2 against the Thunder this season, but fought a close battle last time in Paycom Center.
More Sacramento Kings coverage on Sactown Sports
Things are getting worse by the day for the Sacramento Kings, who fell to 3-9 on the season (14th in the Western Conference) following Wednesday’s 33-point loss to the Atlanta Hawks.
The Athletic‘s Sam Amick joined The Carmichael Dave Show with Jason Ross on Thursday to share his thoughts on Sacramento’s struggles, give his take on Doug Christie’s scathing postgame interview, lay out what could happen next for the Kings, and much more.
Additionally, Sam expands on Dave’s report from earlier this week, which suggests that Sacramento may enter a rebuild phase in the coming months.
Read More:
Sam Amick ‘doesn’t see this group figuring it out’ in Sacramento
Upcoming Sacramento Kings schedule for the 2025-26 season
Wednesday, November 19th – @ Oklahoma City – 5:00 PM PT
Thursday, November 20th – @ Memphis Grizzlies – 5:00 PM PT
Saturday, November 22nd – @ Denver Nuggets – 7:00 PM PT
Monday, November 24th – vs. Minnesota Timberwolves – 7:00 PM PT
Wednesday, November 26th – vs. Phoenix Suns – 7:00 PM PT
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