In a 112-101 win against the New York Knicks, DeMar DeRozan and the Sacramento Kings beat a playoff contending team for the third consecutive time. Kings coach Doug Christie called it grown man basketball after a 12-point win against the Knicks, which came on the heels of wins against the Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Lakers.
DeRozan addressed the Kings' impressive string of wins as a testament to his team's in-game adjustments, he said, per NBC Sacramento's Sean Cunningham.
“I think we're just catching a rhythm, playing well together, playing extremely hard,” DeRozan said. “Figuring out things, trying to put it together out there during the game. It's a collective effort within the players and the coaching staff, trying to figure it out, trying to string wins together.”
Is this the best basketball the Kings have played this season?
“Yeah, without a doubt. It's gotta be. We played three great teams that's playing well. We went out there, played well on both ends, we closed quarters, we did a lot of things we hadn't been doing. So, it's on us to keep that rolling.”
DeMar DeRozan chats about the Kings 3-game win streak, the high level he's playing at, seeing the best of Sacramento against upper echelon opponents, Dylan Cardwell's spark & passing Kevin Garnett for 22nd place on the NBA's All-Time Scoring list. pic.twitter.com/5ZNg2rUwgm
— Sean Cunningham (@SeanCunningham) January 15, 2026
The Kings beat the Knicks, Rockets, and Lakers — three upper echelon teams from their respective conferences — by double-digit margins. DeRozan led the Kings with 27 points on 7-of-16 shooting, and 5-for-7 free throws in Sacramento's 11-point win against New York.
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Did Zach LaVine spark the Kings' recent turnaround?
Kings guard Zach LaVine (8) dribbles the ball next to Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) in the third quarter at the Golden 1 Center
Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images
Before DeMar DeRozan led the Kings to their three-game winning streak, Zach LaVine kept it real after a 137-103 blowout loss to the Warriors. While addressing the 34-point margin, LaVine reminded reporters that the Kings shouldn't be focused on how wide the margin of a loss will be, and trying to earn a win instead.
Closing out quarters has been a significant hurdle for the Kings this season, a flaw they've corrected in their three impressive wins this week. LaVine kept it 100 after the Kings' blowout loss, as he talked about competing at a high level, per Sactown Sports' Brenden Nunes.
“You don’t get points for keeping things close in this league. You’re supposed to keep it competitive and get it down the stretch and figure out how to win and we haven’t done anything but the opposite of that,” LaVine said after the loss, per Sactown Sports.
The Kings haven't lost a game since.