The Kings keep taking one step forward and two steps back in a Western Conference playoff race that is beginning to get very uncomfortable.
The Kings have lost any realistic hope of securing an automatic playoff berth as one of the top six teams in the Western Conference. They could be in jeopardy of missing the play-in tournament entirely after letting a 14-point lead slip away in a 114-108 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
The Kings will play the Boston Celtics on Monday and the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday in a daunting back-to-back set. They will conclude a seven-game homestand against the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday before setting out on a six-game road trip.
“We’ve just got to keep fighting,” Kings guard Keon Ellis said following the loss to Milwaukee. “Our schedule doesn’t get any easier. We’re trying to go out there and win every game and put ourselves in a position to win every game, so it’s tough to lose one like tonight, especially after (Thursday’s loss to the Chicago Bulls), but we know it doesn’t get any easier. … We know what our situation is as far as standings and what we’re playing for, so we’ve just got to keep that the main focus and try to rally together.”
The Kings were tied for seventh in the West on March 3 – a half-game behind the Golden State Warriors for the No. 6 seed – but they have been ninth for the past 19 days. The Kings had a 1 ½-game lead over the Dallas Mavericks and a four-game lead over the Phoenix Suns as recently as March 12. Now, with only three weeks remaining in the regular season, the Mavericks and Suns are both 1 ½ games back in what looks like a three-way battle for the last two play-in spots.
“That’s just the reality of the situation right now,” Kings forward Keegan Murray said. “We’ve got a tough schedule, especially our next two games, and there’s a couple teams who are winning behind us, so we have to figure out how we can beat these good teams, and obviously we have to do it fast.”
The Kings had an opportunity to do that after leading the Bucks by 13 at halftime and 14 early in the second half. They came up short after getting outscored 37-28 in the third quarter and 28-19 in the fourth.
Two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with 32 points and 17 rebounds for the Bucks (40-30), who won despite the absence of nine-time All-Star and seven-time All-NBA selection Damian Lillard (calf).
DeMar DeRozan scored 22 points to lead the Kings (35-35), who were missing Malik Monk (illness) and Domantas Sabonis (ankle). Ellis started in place of Monk, posting 20 points, a career-high nine rebounds and six assists. Jonas Valanciunas, who is starting in place of Sabonis, had 18 points and seven rebounds.
Sacramento took an early 24-11 lead after Milwaukee missed 15 of its first 20 shots. The Kings led 25-17 at the end of a clunky first quarter in which the two teams combined to go 1 of 15 from 3-point range.
The Bucks got within one on a basket by Taurean Prince with 4:21 to go in the second quarter. The Kings reestablished a double-digit lead following three-point plays by Ellis and Zach LaVine before going into the halftime break with a 61-49 advantage.
Antetokounmpo was held to nine points on 3-of-8 shooting in the first half, but the Greek Freak got busy in the third quarter. Antetokounmpo scored 22 points on 9-of-11 shooting with eight rebounds, one steal and one block in the third period as Milwaukee came back to tie the game.
The Kings responded with a 9-2 run and carried an 89-86 lead into the fourth quarter. Milwaukee tied the game on a 3-pointer by Gary Trent Jr. with 7:53 remaining and went up 100-97 a moment later on a 3-pointer by Kevin Porter Jr.
The Kings went up 108-107 on a jumper by DeRozan with 4:24 to go, but Trent answered with back-to-back 3-pointers and Sacramento went scoreless on 0-of-7 shooting over the final four minutes.
“Giannis is an incredible player,” interim Kings coach Doug Christie said. “So, he’s going to get calls, he’s going to get downhill, and he’s going to do all those things, but we had the game, and we had the ability to close it, and we have to be able to do that.”
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Jason Anderson is The Sacramento Bee’s Kings beat writer. He is a Sacramento native and a graduate of Fresno State, where he studied journalism and college basketball under the late Jerry Tarkanian.