The Sacramento Kings ended their six-game road trip with a 116-112 loss to the Washington Wizards, extending their league-worst losing skid to nine straight.
Sunday’s matchup in Capital One Arena came one day after they traded Keon Ellis, Dennis Schroder, and Dario Saric in a three-team deal that landed them De’Andre Hunter from the Cleveland Cavaliers — leaving them with an extremely shorthanded roster.
Sacramento’s veteran talent carried the scoring load, as Zach LaVine scored 18 of his 35 points in the second quarter and DeMar DeRozan added 32 points, with 24 coming in the second half.
Six Wizards players ended the night in double-figures as the home team shot 52.9 percent (46/87) from the field in their win over the Kings.
Sacramento Kings @ Washington Wizards Game Notes
Due to the trade being finalized just hours prior to tipoff — along with injuries to Domantas Sabonis (low back), Russell Westbrook (right foot), and Keegan Murray (left ankle) — Hunter was unavailable, leaving Kings head coach Doug Christie with an extremely limited rotation.
With no traditional point guard available aside from two-way player Isaiah Stevens, he elected to start rookie Nique Clifford at the point.
Playing against a team with the second-worst defensive rating in the NBA felt like an opportunistic time to implement that, not that they had much choice.
It initially worked in the Kings’ favor, as they jumped out to a quick 7-2 lead. But their momentum stopped there as turnovers piled up for both sides, but only one end was able to capitalize.
Maxime Raynaud picked up two early fouls, leading to Dylan Cardwell (whose contract will reportedly be converted from a two-way to a standard deal) to enter the action with 7:20 to play.
Precious refuses to give up on the play 😤 pic.twitter.com/6A20wY0QhM
— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) February 1, 2026
A few moments later, Washington had erased the lead and tied the scoreboard at 11.
Given the aforementioned shorthanded roster, the Kings’ second unit featured Clifford, Malik Monk, Devin Carter, Daeqwon Plowden, and Cardwell. Isaiah Stevens eventually replaced Clifford as well.
It was far from their usual rotation.
Unable to buy a bucket in transition or the halfcourt, Sacramento scored just three points in the final six and a half minutes of the first quarter that concluded with the home team going on a 16-0 run.
Trailing 23-14, both teams had committed six turnovers, but Washington’s 10/18 from the field significantly outpaced the Kings’ horrific 4/22 shooting quarter. Sixteen of the Wizards’ points came from inside the paint.
DeRozan attempted to take matters into his own hands, creating trips to the free-throw line by forcefully attacking young defenders. Yet the second quarter was mostly a continuation of what happened in the first.
Will Riley was letting it fly from beyond the arc, knocking down a pair before missing a heat check. While the Kings relatively limited their turnovers, they still couldn’t buy a bucket.
Drew Eubanks made an appearance on his birthday, albeit for a limited stretch. Veteran sharpshooter Doug McDermott also played for the first time in 13 games, and made a triple within seconds of entering the action.
That seemed to help take the lid off the basket as a few more began to go down before a LaVine takeover began.
Putting the ball in his hands more often, his patent-pending stepback triple was butter. One went down, then a few more followed, en route to LaVine scoring 13 straight points for his squad. He cut their once 17-point deficit to five points, 46-41.
Ending the half with another stepback three, LaVine had 18 of his 22 first-half points in the second quarter, shooting 7/9 from the field and 4/4 from three in the frame.
Zach is on a HEATER in DC 🔥
LaVine tallies 18 of his 22 PTS in just the 2nd quarter. pic.twitter.com/71apY1OVXd
— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) February 2, 2026
Still trailing 53-48, the rest of Sacramento’s roster had just seven made field goals by that point. Every player available to play made an appearance.
Meanwhile, former King Marvin Bagley III led the Wizards with 11 points without missing a shot on five attempts. Bilil Coulibaly also added 10 points as the Wizards were 22/43 from the field compared to Sacramento’s 15/42 — DeRozan was 8/9 from the free-throw line as well.
Washington still dominated down low, owning a 32-14 advantage with points in the paint.
Given how the night started, I’d imagine Sacramento was content with being within striking distance at the midway point.
With all the defensive focus on LaVine, he started the second half by using that to find Raynaud for an easy bucket before Washington veteran Khris Middleton responded with a couple of his own conversions.
DeRozan’s first made field goal came roughly three minutes into the second half. Raynaud threw a behind-the-back dime to him in the corner of the following possession as well.
Yet turnovers and allowing easy drives and finishes in the paint continued to plague the Kings all night.
Bagley was key in those close conversions, still without a miss after seven attempts. That pressure also helped create open three-point looks for Bub Carrington as it remained around a 10-point game in Washington’s favor.
To counteract their rim pressure, Christie elected to have Cardwell replace Achiuwa in a double-big lineup, and it paid off. Cardwell.
Providing rejections on one end, he also functioned effectively in the pick-and-roll offense with Monk. Consecutive finishes from him, then a floater from Monk topped off a 9-2 Sacramento run as they trailed 78-73 with four minutes remaining in the third.
get 🆙 rook! pic.twitter.com/oQBYzxWIvl
— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) February 2, 2026
LaVine reminded everyone whose night it had been with a few buckets to close the frame, as the Kings trailed 82-88 with 12 minutes to play.
But it was DeRozan who dominated the final frame as he made three straight field goals to start the fourth before making another trip to the charity stripe.
Getting an extended opportunity, Carter also provided defensive pressure and a high-flying dunk as an 8-2 run tied the game at 95. One DeRozan bucket later, and the Kings had their first lead since it was 11-9 in the first quarter.
After starting the night 0/3 from the field, DeRozan was 7/7 since then, and he didn’t stop there. His relentless attack, along with others crashing the offensive glass, allowed them to enter the bonus with seven minutes to go.
The Wizards’ youth began to show through as turnovers and long, ineffective offensive possessions ensued.
As a reminder of their roster limitations, Christie’s lineup with five minutes remaining featured Stevens, Plowden, Lavine, DeRozan, and Raynaud — two two-way players, rookies, and two veterans.
Sacramento had regained control, holding a 103-100 advantage with 4:50 to play. DeRozan and LaVine trade buckets with Washington, leaving a clutch scenario down the stretch.
Consecutive triples from Skal Labissiere and Will Riley helped the Wizards regain a 111-109 lead with just over two minutes on the clock. Clifford entered the action for Plowden during a break.
Heavily relying on isolation creation, as often happens down the stretch in tight games, Sacramento’s veterans couldn’t convert crucial looks late as their paint defense and perimeter containment continued to let them down.
Trailing 115-110 with 37.2 seconds remaining, LaVine converted a baseline dunk. Needing a stop, they managed to force a turnover before LaVine attempted to walk into a triple to tie it and missed wide left.
Playing the foul game, Sharife Cooper missed the first free throw with 3.5 seconds left, but knocked down the second to finalize the Kings’ ninth consecutive loss.
LaVine (35) and DeRozan (32) combined for 67 points in the losing effort as Washington’s 56 points in the paint and 61 bench points proved too much to overcome.
Six Wizards players ended the night in double-figures as the home team shot 52.9 percent (46/87) from the field.
Sacramento will finally head back home to face off against the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night, hopefully with new addition De’Andre Hunter in action.
More Sacramento Kings coverage on Sactown Sports
After what felt like months of trade rumors, the Sacramento Kings made their first trade of the 2025-26 NBA season, acquiring De’Andre Hunter from the Cleveland Cavaliers.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the Kings sent Dennis Schroder and Keon Ellis to Cleveland in exchange for Hunter. It’s also reportedly a three-team deal that includes the Chicago Bulls receiving Dario Saric and two future second-round picks (Sacramento’s 2029 and Cleveland’s 2027).
Since being drafted fourth overall by the Atlanta Hawks in the 2019 NBA Draft, Hunter hasn’t lived up to those expectations but carved out a role for himself. After five and a half seasons in Atlanta, he was traded in the middle of last season to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Read More:
BREAKING: Sacramento Kings trade Ellis, Schroder, Saric for De’Andre Hunter
Upcoming Sacramento Kings schedule for the 2025-26 season
Thursday, January 29th – @ Philadelphia 76ers – 4:00 PM PT
Sunday, January 30th – @ Boston Celtics – 4:30 PM PT
Sunday, February 1st – @ Washington Wizards – 3:00 PM PT
Wednesday, February 4th – vs. Memphis Grizzlies – 7:00 PM PT
Friday, February 6th – vs. Los Angeles Clippers – 7:00 PM PT
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