Sacramento Kings forward DeMar DeRozan slammed a water bottle to the floor during a third-quarter timeout as frustrations spilled over in Monday’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Trey Murphy III scored 21 points to lead the Pelicans to a 120-94 victory over the Kings at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans.
The Kings have lost 13 in a row, setting a Sacramento-era record for the longest losing streak since the team moved to Northern California in 1985. The franchise record is 14, set by the Cincinnati Royals in 1959-60 and matched by the Royals in 1970-71.
DeRozan said Sacramento’s poor play was the source of his outward show of frustration following an alley-oop dunk by Zion Williamson in the third period.
“A lot of stuff we do is self-inflicted,” DeRozan said. “Us not being in the right spots, make it a chain reaction, them getting back in transition, getting easy shots, easy buckets, so (the water bottle incident) was just me wanting us to play the right way, win, lose or draw.”
Kings coach Doug Christie said he understood DeRozan’s feelings.
“Totally,” Christie said. “I went down and sat with him for a second just to talk to him. His frustration is more about, first of all, ending a skid, and also after being so close that it could go either way in so many games, this is the first time in a minute where we had this kind of result where we weren’t really in a game. That frustration paired with always trying to play the right way, making sure we’re moving the basketball, getting into something … that was more his frustration tThan anything, but he’s good. Deebo is a consummate professional.”
Jeremiah Fears scored 20 points for the Pelicans (15-40). Williamson had 18 points, five rebounds and six assists.
Rookie center Maxime Raynaud had 21 points and a career-high 19 rebounds for the Kings (12-43). Russell Westbrook scored 17 points. Devin Carter came off the bench to score 12.
The Kings went up by five on a driving layup by DeRozan with 4:11 to play in the opening period, but they were outscored 16-5 over the final 3:48. The Pelicans led 31-26 at the end of the first quarter. They opened up a 14-point lead after outscoring the Kings 9-0 to start the second quarter.
New Orleans led by as many as 17 in the first half before carrying a 61-46 advantage into the halftime break. The Pelicans outscored the Kings 16-2 on fastbreak points and 19-4 on points off turnovers.
The Pelicans went up by 30 in the third quarter. They led by as many as 32 in the fourth.
Injuries and illness
The Kings were missing several players due to injuries and illness.
De’Andre Hunter (left eye iritis), Zach LaVine (pinky finger soreness), Malik Monk (illness), Keegan Murray (left ankle sprain) and Domantas Sabonis (lower back inflammation) were all ruled out.
Up next
The Kings will wrap up a quick two-game road trip when they face the Utah Jazz in their final game before the All-Star break Wednesday at Delta Center in Salt Lake City.Jazz (16-37) had lost eight of nine before beating the Miami Heat 115-111 on Monday. Utah should be more formidable after acquiring 2023 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr. in a trade with the Memphis Grizzlies.