The rough stretch for the Sacramento Kings continues.
Friday’s loss in Phoenix marked their fourth straight and fifth in six games. They allowed their opponent to shoot above 50% for the third straight contest. The Suns scored 38 points on their 19 turnovers.
And after losing by 29 points Monday and 26 on Thursday, the Kings fell 122-106 at PHX Arena.
The return of Domantas Sabonis from a hamstring injury didn’t go as planned, either. Sabonis managed his ninth triple-double of the season, but he appeared to aggravate the injury in the fourth quarter and left the game with 6:50 remaining while interim coach Doug Christie left four other starters in the game despite trailing by 21 points.
The Kings were playing on the second night of a back-to-back following their blowout loss to the Warriors on Thursday. Sacramento came in 4-8 in such scenarios and losers of three straight.
It didn’t look promising early as the Suns built a 19-point lead in the game’s first 11 minutes. Yet the Kings battled back to make it a 5-point game at halftime, only to watch Phoenix take control of the game in the third quarter and build a 15-point advantage heading into the fourth quarter.
The Suns pushed the lead to 22 in the fourth quarter and cruised to their 31st victory of the season. Sacramento fell to 33-33 on the season.
Top performers
Devin Booker and Kevin Durant each scored 22 points for the Suns. Booker added 13 assists. Tyus Jones went 6-for-6 from 3-point range and scored 20 points off the bench.
For Sacramento, DeMar DeRozan scored 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting. Zach LaVine scored 21 with 14 coming in the fourth quarter, after the game was well out of hand. Keegan Murray had 14 points, but didn’t score in the second half. Malik Monk scored 18 points by 0-for-8 from distance.
Sabonis’ return marred by blowout, possible aggravation
Sabonis returned Friday for the first time in six games due to a left hamstring strain. He said it was the first time he’s dealt with a hamstring issue over his nine NBA seasons.
Christie said beforehand his team was missing Sabonis’ passing ability. The Kings during his absence ranked third worst in the NBA in potential assists — which counts for missed shot attempts — at 42.0 per game, down from 48.5 prior to the injury, ranking ninth.
“I think from the ball handling aspect, the ability to grab a rebound and bring the ball up sometimes,” Christie said when asked what the Kings were missing with Sabonis out. “Once it’s either a hand off and pick-and-roll, whether he’s popping or (creating) gravity, getting down hill, putting it on the rim. It just helps the offense in so many different ways.”
The Kings have relied on LaVine and Malik Monk to be the primary ball handlers in Sabonis’ absence. LaVine had five turnovers in the blowout losses to the Warriors and Knicks, while Monk had six combined. On Friday, they combined for six turnovers and just seven assists.
Sabonis against the Suns scored 12 points with 11 rebounds and 12 assists. He made just 4-of-11 from the floor.
Halftime report
The Kings worked back from being down 19 points early to hitting halftime trailing 62-57. Murray led Sacramento with 14 points while Monk scored all 12 of his first-half points in the second quarter, working predominantly off pick-and-rolls with Sabonis.
Sabonis made just 2 of 8 field goals in his first half since the injury, but also had six rebounds and five assists.
Durant had 14 points in the first half. Booker and Jones each had 12 for the Suns, who outscored the Kings by 27 points from beyond the arc.
Kings needing improvement defensively
The film didn’t reflect kindly on the Kings’ defensive effort in Thursday’s loss against the Golden State Warriors, who shot 22-of-39 from 3-point range. It tied for the second-most 3s Sacramento allowed this season.
On the year, the Kings came into Friday’s game ranked last in the NBA in opponents’ shooting from distance at 37.8%.
The Kings often let Warriors players not named Stephen Curry get good looks from 3. But players not named Stephen Curry shot 20-of-33, which Christie was unhappy with. He took particular issue with the Kings’ lack of rotations after Curry would get double-teamed and give up the ball.
“You gotta pull the trigger. You gotta be there. You gotta contest. It’s unacceptable,” Christie said before Friday’s game. “When it comes to the ability to guard the 3-point line, we have guys that we are going to help off of, and they are going to find themselves open. I still want you to run at them. I still want you to contest them. There will be some times when, like, it’s a guy who you really want to shoot the ball, we might stop short. But the point is, some of those rotations, just totally unacceptable.”
Things weren’t much better in Phoenix. The Suns made 12-of-22 from 3 in the first half and finished 24-of-43 from distance. The same issue — the opponent getting comfortable looks — persisted. Phoenix outscored Sacramento by 48 points from the 3-point line.
Injury report
While Sabonis was back, the Kings were without reserve forward Trey Lyles due to a low back issue. Veteran Jae Crowder was also deemed unavailable because of a low back injury.
The Suns were without center Nick Richards (right ankle sprain), Grayson Allen (left foot strain) and Monte Morris (low back injury management).
Up next
The Kings will return home and have two days off before hosting the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday in the first of a season-long seven-game home stand that includes some of the top teams in the NBA.
The Cleveland Cavaliers, Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics and Oklahoma City Thunder will all visit Golden 1 Center before the Kings go back on the road March 29 for a six-game road trip.
This story was originally published March 14, 2025 at 9:42 PM.
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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.