Fresh off a heartbreaking loss in Los Angeles, the Sacramento Kings needed to show up in a big way on Monday night to avoid falling further behind the Golden State Warriors for the sixth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference standings.
Although the Kings continue to be in a position where they need every game they can get during the final stretch of the season, the sense of urgency was entirely on the side of the New York Knicks in this one as Sacramento fell flat in a 133-104 loss at Golden 1 Center.
The Kings (33-31) allowed the Knicks far too many open looks on the perimeter and went through their own struggles on their end of the floor as New York jumped out to an early lead and never looked back.
It was another costly loss for Sacramento, who fell 3.5 games behind the Warriors for the sixth seed with an important matchup looming on Thursday in San Francisco.
4️⃣ threes for @joshhart ☔️
this ties his season high in 3PM 🪣 pic.twitter.com/zVcO9agah6
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) March 11, 2025
Kings vs. Knicks recap & takeaways
New York set the tone on both ends early, putting Sacramento at a double-digit deficit before the end of the first quarter.
The Kings struggled to battle the Knicks on the glass from the tip, as New York took a 14-6 advantage into the second period. Rebounding woes coupled with a failure to contest a red-hot Knicks offense put Sacramento in a 15-point hole through 12 minutes of play, and things didn’t get any better from there.
While All-Star guard Jalen Brunson (ankle sprain) was out of action, Miles McBride–his replacement in the starting lineup–got to his spots early and made the Kings pay, scoring 16 first-half points on five-of-six shooting from the field as New York’s lead swelled to 20 points.
Sacramento kept things from getting too out of hand thanks to a strong first half from Malik Monk (13 first-half points) and DeMar DeRozan (nine points), but the Knicks would open up the third quarter with a 15-point advantage as they looked to snap a three-game losing streak.
a perfect 3-for-3 to start? that’s @deucemcb11 for ya. pic.twitter.com/4KxCRRAv9B
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) March 11, 2025
Although the Kings entered the second half looking to make things interesting, that wouldn’t be the case as play got underway in the third.
New York continued to punish Sacramento’s lethargic defense, mounting an 11-0 run that put the Kings in a 22-point hole as the Knicks continued to put down triple after triple. Once the third quarter concluded, Sacramento trailed by 26 points as they quickly approached a second-straight loss.
Three-point shooting was the main culprit in the Kings’ loss–on both ends of the floor.
Sacramento and New York entered the night in possession of the NBA’s bottom-two perimeter defenses, but only the Kings held true to that reputation by allowing the Knicks to knock down 22 of their 40 (55%) attempts from downtown.
Five New York players hit three or more triples on Monday night as the Knicks tied their season-high for made triples in a single game.
The Kings got straight-up punked, bullied, embarrassed, whatever you want to call it–New York little-brothered Sacramento.
Sure, it was the second night of a back-to-back, but the lack of effort was noticeable. The Kings’ defense was behind on rotations, out-hustled on the glass, and out-muscled for 50/50 balls. The game wasn’t close by any means.
There’s still time for Sacramento to get back into the race for sixth, but a daunting schedule will make that complicated. Upcoming matchups against Cleveland (twice), Boston, Oklahoma City, and Denver will only add obstacles to the Kings’ postseason chase.
Sacramento may have taken care of business against sub-.500 teams that they “should” beat in recent days, but Monday’s game against a formidable opponent was a red flag ahead of Thursday’s game in San Francisco vs. the surging Warriors.
Can the Kings rise to the occasion? With 18 games remaining, the time is now to prove it–and Monday was a very unideal start to the final push.
Injury Updates
Domantas Sabonis (left hamstring strain) has been cleared for on-court activities and will be re-evaluated on Tuesday.
When is the next Sacramento Kings game?
Sacramento will face the Golden State Warriors on Thursday in a game involving massive postseason implications.
With a win, the Kings will hope to secure the regular-season series from the Warriors while also gaining a game on Golden State’s sixth-seed spot in the Western Conference standings.
Be sure to catch all of the Sacramento Kings vs. Golden Warriors drama right here on Sactown Sports 1140 AM, with pregame coverage starting at 2:00 PM PT on The Drive Guys before action tips off at 7:00 PM PT from the Chase Center in San Francisco.
Upcoming schedule for the 2024-25 Sacramento Kings
Thursday, March 13th – @ Golden State Warriors – 7:00 PM PT
Friday, March 14th – @ Phoenix Suns – 7:00 PM PT
Monday, March 17th – vs. Memphis Grizzlies – 7:00 PM PT
Wednesday, March 19th – vs. Cleveland Cavaliers – 7:00 PM PT
Thursday, March 20th – vs. Chicago Bulls – 7:00 PM PT
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