The lowly 2025-26 Sacramento Kings have been competitive as of late, going .500 over their last 14 games. Most of those came against other teams that will be holding their breath at the NBA Draft lottery.
Headed into Charlotte Tuesday to face off against the 37-34 Hornets proved to be no easy ask as they were handled easily. Three-point shooting was the story of the night with the Hornets converting 26/55 from beyond the arc compared to Sacramento’s 9/28.
Charlotte didn’t play their starters in the fourth quarter, but Coby White (27), LaMelo Ball (20), Kon Knueppel (14), and Brandon Miller (13) still did plenty of damage. That grouping combined to shoot 19/38 from distance on their own.
Adding 30-second-chance points off of 12 offensive rebounds only made matters worse in the eventual 134-90 blowout loss. A few of Sacramento’s younger players did fill up the stat sheet, despite the disappointing outcome.
Daeqwon Plowden finished his night with a team-high 22 points on 9/17 shooting while Devin Carter (18) and Maxime Raynaud (16) combined for 34 points.
Sacramento Kings @ Charlotte Hornets
Sacramento head coach Doug Christie was without De’Andre Hunter (eye), Zach LaVine (finger), Keegan Murray (ankle), Domantas Sabonis (knee), Russell Westbrook (foot), Nique Clifford (foot), Drew Eubanks (thumb), Precious Achiuwa (back), and Killian Hayes (foot).
Patrick Baldwin Jr. and Malik Monk got their first starts of the season, as the team lacked a traditional point guard or reliable forwards.
Kings’ rookie big man Maxime Raynaud has recorded loud box scores over the last month, and it appeared to be another one of those nights early. The second-round pick tallied the Kings’ first four points, while Moussa Diabate managed a quick four on the other end.
From there, the three-point barrage began for Charlotte. They lead the league in made triples per game (16.2), while Sacramento ranks last (10.2) — the difference was apparent. It doesn’t help that perimeter defense has been a particularly weak point for head coach Doug Christie’s squad all season.
Between LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller, and Kon Knueppel, their threats all got involved early. Perhaps the most painful three in the modern NBA comes after an offensive rebound, which some coaches refer to as “dagger” threes.
The Hornets managed a few too many second-chance triples, quickly earning a 20-10 advantage less than halfway through the opening quarter following a 16-4 run. Coach Christie responded by removing three of his starters, replacing DeRozan, Carter, and Baldwin Jr. with Daeqwon Plowden, Doug McDermott, and Dylan Cardwell.
Not that he had many options, as those were the only healthy bench options with eight total available players. Even if he wanted to do a full hockey substitution, there weren’t enough bodies to do so.
Coby White, trade deadline addition for the Hornets, is someone who Zach LaVine and DeRozan are familiar with from their shared time in Chicago. He came into the action and extended the three-point barrage.
As has been a theme this season, despite the unfortunate score, one veteran accomplished yet another personal milestone. With his first bucket of the night, DeRozan reached 26,000 career regular-season points, becoming just the 23rd player in NBA history to reach that milestone.
Deebo gettin’ crafty 🤌 pic.twitter.com/YiaqI3ZMtD
— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) March 24, 2026
But it was a quiet game for the future Hall of Famer. Raynaud continued to benefit from pick-and-roll passes from Monk, Carter, and DeRozan, getting plenty of close shots up and in. Plowden, a two-way player, had a few moments, including a loud alley-oop in transition.
Those moments were few and far between, though, as the Hornets continued to shoot from three while the Kings didn’t. Trailing 34-25 at the end of one, Sacramento was 0/4 from three compared to 5/14 from the home team.
Finally, Baldwin Jr knocked in their first triple. Raynaud and Carter added a few by midway through the second. Their defense disappointed, though, with Charlotte continuing to get easy looks from all over the floor and raining in threes.
Second-chance points only further complicated matters as Ball, White, and rookie Sion James converted.
Still trailing by 13 with less than five minutes before half, it only got worse. The Hornets went on to end the half on a 17-5 run with White playing a big part. DeRozan missed a prayer at the buzzer as the halftime scoreboard read 72-47 in a hurry.
It was to the point where a reminder that the worst loss in franchise history was a 62-point defeat in 1991 felt fitting. Outscoring the Kings 20-2 in second-chance points, along with shooting 13/29 from three compared to 3/12, left Charlotte with a comfortable advantage.
.@MELOD1P has now moved into 2nd place on the hornets’ all-time leaderboard for 3PM ☔️#HiveMentality | 📹 @FDSN_Hornets x @Lowes pic.twitter.com/2iHQDWAIol
— Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) March 25, 2026
If there was any chance of battling back, Sacramento needed to come out of the break with a purpose. Well, that didn’t happen.
They traded buckets to start the third before a Miller triple topped off a 15-0 run for the Hornets, expanding their lead to forty-one points (98-57) with five minutes in the frame. Looking defeated, low on energy, and unquestionably undermanned, at that point a running clock should’ve been in play.
Plowden and Carter did their best to take advantage of extended minutes, but they were far from changing their team’s fate Tuesday night. Monk added to the scoreboard a bit, and Doug McDermott got on the board with a triple as well, but the team defense remained nowhere to be seen.
After a bit more of the same, the Kings trailed 113-76 headed into the fourth quarter. Given the difference, Hornets head coach Charles Lee felt comfortable not playing his starters for the remainder of the night.
Liam McNeeley and Tre Mann faced off against Carter, Plowden, Baldwin Jr., McDermott, and Cardwell to close out the night. Just trying to kill time, it felt like both teams were simply going through the motions by that point.
Three-point shooting was the story of the night, with the Hornets converting 26/55 from beyond the arc compared to Sacramento’s 9/28.
Charlotte didn’t play their starters in the fourth quarter, but White (27), Ball (20), Knueppel (14), and Miller (13) still did plenty of damage. That grouping combined to shoot 19/38 from distance on their own.
Adding 30-second-chance points off of 12 offensive rebounds only made matters worse in the eventual 134-90 blowout loss. A few of Sacramento’s younger players did fill up the stat sheet, despite the disappointing outcome.
Daeqwon Plowden finished his night with a team-high 22 points on 9/17 shooting while Devin Carter (18) and Maxime Raynaud (16) combined for 34 points.
More Sacramento Kings content from Sactown Sports
When is the next Sacramento Kings game?
Maxime Raynaud and the Sacramento Kings will continue their final road trip of the season on Thursday afternoon when they face the Orlando Magic at the Kia Center.
Sacramento dropped a 131-94 contest to Orlando at Golden 1 Center on February 19th as the Magic used a 30-point effort from Paolo Banchero to blow out the Kings.
Be sure to catch all of the Sacramento Kings vs. Orlando Magic action right here on Sactown Sports 1140 AM, with pregame coverage beginning at 2:00 PM PT on The Drive Guys before a 4:00 pm PT tip-off from downtown Orlando.
Upcoming Sacramento Kings schedule for the 2025-26 season
Thursday, March 26th – @ Orlando Magic – 4:00 PM PT
Saturday, March 28th – @ Brooklyn Nets – 4:00 PM PT
Sunday, March 29th @ Brooklyn Nets – 3:00 PM PT
Wednesday, April 1st @ Toronto Raptors – 5:00 PM PT
Friday, April 3rd vs. New Orleans Pelicans – 7:00 PM PT
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