Doug Christie took a look at the second-half box score Wednesday night inside Ball Arena and paused for 10 seconds.
“In the second half, four (against) 15,” Christie said, and then sighed, staring at the piece of paper in front of him. After the long pause: “Free-throw discrepancy,” he said.
Christie appeared as emotional as he’s been during his time as the Sacramento Kings’ interim head coach. His team was minutes removed from a 116-110 loss to the Denver Nuggets in which it was outscored 32-17 in the fourth quarter.
“This one’s going to hurt,” Christie said. “But this is our league, and we got to deal with it.”
The Kings (32-29) led by as many as 14 in the first half before the Nuggets chipped away at the lead, reclaiming it on a Zeke Nnaji 3-pointer from the top of the key with 8:17 remaining. The Kings scored just 9 points during the first 8:20 of the fourth, capping an otherwise promising performance with one of their most frustrating defeats of the season.
“The refs were terrible,” DeMar DeRozan said after scoring a game-high 35 points, with only four in the fourth quarter. DeRozan shot just 2-of-6 in the final frame after pouring in 18 points in the third.
“We got to do a better job of executing,” DeRozan said. “... There were multiple (calls missed). Check the free-throw difference. There was a bunch of times we got hit, got smacked. It was three, four shots I took, clearly got hit, got smacked. They get the same call on the other end. Throws off our whole rhythm. Gives them momentum at home. Makes it tough on us to execute. It was a game we should have had.”
To wit, there were four challenged calls in the game refereed by Ed Malloy, Justin Van Duyne and Jenna Schroeder. All four were overturned after replay review.
Christie was asked how he tries to keep his players focused when they feel the officiating is going against them.
“Because my job is to deal with the refs, and their job is to hoop, and that’s what I expect out of them, and they know this,” Christie said. “We’re here to hoop. Let me deal with them and I will state our case and live to fight another day. I want their minds focused on the game plan. For the most part, we did that.”
Playoff-style basketball
The frustration comes after the Kings put together one of their best defensive efforts in recent memory. They created a unique game plan to slow three-time MVP Nikola Jokic, using forwards Keegan Murray and Jake LaRavia to guard the 6-foot-11 center, while Jonas Valanciunas clogged the lane to prevent drivers to the basket.
The Nuggets (40-22) came into the game leading the NBA in points in the paint, averaging 59.2 per game. They finished just below their average with 56. Conversely, Denver came in 28th in made 3s, which helped explain Christie and his coaching staff’s game plan.
It was another example of the Kings’ defense showing significant signs of improvement of late. The Kings in their last five games rank second in the NBA in defensive efficiency, allowing just 103.9 points per 100 possessions.
“The opponents are going to get better, and it’s going to be more of a playoff atmosphere, so the approach is going to be more playoff-esque,” Christie said. “... This was a style of basketball that could be conducive to winning on the road.”
The Kings’ 9-point lead heading into the fourth quarter didn’t last long. With Jokic off the floor, Denver outscored Sacramento 12-3, allowing Jokic to return with the game tied and only 7:22 remaining.
Russell Westbrook scored 12 of his 25 points in the frame. Jamal Murray had 9, with 6 coming at the free throw line. DeRozan and Zach LaVine, who had 12 points in the fourth quarter, accounted for 16 of Sacramento’s 17 points in the fourth.
“We fought through everything that we could have,” LaVine said. “It’s tough when you they got double the free-throws that you do. We’re driving in there, we’re trying to make a play, we’re getting hit and slapped, and they’re getting the calls down on that end, but we’re not getting the same ones.
“So, we got to fight through,” LaVine continued. “We understand that we’re on the road, (against) the former champs. But it’s tough, already. But we still had an opportunity to win. If that’s what we have to go up against, that’s what we have to do.”
The loss snapped the Kings’ four-game winning streak. They were without two starters in guard Malik Monk and center Domantas Sabonis, who were dealing with toe and hamstring injuries, respectively.
Without two primary ball handlers, the Kings offense turned isolation heavy in crunch time. They had one assist on their six made baskets in the fourth quarter after dishing 21 in the first three.
LaVine spent the majority of his time initiating the offense in the point guard role while Keon Ellis played off the ball. Ellis was called for five fouls including one on a contested 3-point attempt and another deep in Denver’s back court trying to swipe a steal from Jokic.
LaVine didn’t start consistently looking for his shot until the fourth quarter when he was Sacramento’s only offensive player to find a rhythm. He scored 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting.
The loss moved the Kings from eighth to ninth in the Western Conference. The five teams in the No. 6 through 10 seeds remain separated by just 2.5 games, meaning every game down the stretch will be critical as Sacramento looks to avoid the play-in tournament by finishing No. 6 or higher.
And the Kings will follow up Wednesday’s emotional loss with a familiar opponent Friday back at Golden 1 Center. It will mark the first time their former star player De’Aaron Fox is back after getting traded in early February to the San Antonio Spurs.
For DeRozan, who clearly didn’t mince his words and could face a fine for his words on the officiating Wednesday, he’s looking forward to the matchup. Not necessarily because it will be Fox on the other side in a No. 4 Spurs jersey, but because of the emotion that Wednesday’s game in Denver brought out of him.
“I can’t wait to play, whoever we play next,” DeRozan said. “I can’t lie, I’m frustrated ... Dropping a game like this, too important of a game, work extremely too hard, put ourselves in a position, two of our star players out. Whatever energy we need to carry, I’m going to carry it.”
The Sacramento Bee
916-321-1358
Chris Biderman covered the 49ers from 2013 to 2021 and started with The Sacramento Bee in August 2018. He previously spent time with the Associated Press and USA Today Sports Media Group. A Santa Rosa native, he graduated with a degree in journalism from the Ohio State University.