The Sacramento Kings hit a new low Wednesday with an embarrassing loss that could jeopardize their chances of making the Western Conference play-in tournament.
Jordan Poole scored 23 points to lead the Washington Wizards to a 116-111 victory over the Kings at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. Poole sat out the fourth quarter while the tanking Wizards turned the game over to their younger players.
Interim Kings coach Doug Christie said the loss was “about as disappointing as it gets.”
“The intensity has to ratchet up,” Christie said. “Those are things you have to bring because at this level anybody can beat you on any given night. You can’t coast in thinking we’ll get to the play-in and then we’ll turn it on.”
AJ Johnson and Bub Carrington scored 19 points apiece for the Wizards (17-59), who have the second-worst record in the NBA. Tristan Vukcevic came off the bench to post 17 points and eight rebounds, helping the Wizards win despite missing five of their top seven scorers due to injuries.
DeMar DeRozan had 29 points, seven rebounds and eight assists for the Kings (36-40), who have lost seven of eight and 11 of 14.
Domantas Sabonis had 18 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists. Keegan Murray and Zach LaVine also had 18 points. Malik Monk added 13 points off the bench.
The Kings remained 10th in the West, one game ahead of the Phoenix Suns for the final play-in spot with six games remaining.
The Kings be back in action Friday when they visit the Charlotte Hornets.
Halftime report
The Kings couldn’t create much early separation despite facing an injury depleted team with the second-worst record in the NBA. Malcolm Brogdon, Bilal Coulibaly, Corey Kispert, Khris Middleto n and Marcus Smart – five of Washington’s top seven scorers – were out due to injuries.
The game was tied at the end of the first quarter. The Wizards went up by six midway through the second. They later staged a 11-0 run to go up 53-42 with 2:22 to play in the opening half. The Kings responded with a 10-0 run to cut the deficit to one. They trailed 55-52 at the halftime break.
The Wizards shot 51.1% from the field and 31.6% from 3-point range in the first half. The Kings shot 44.4% while going 3 of 17 (.176) from beyond the arc.
Second half
The Kings went ahead 60-59 on a 3-pointer by Keegan Murray early in the second half, but the Wizards quickly reclaimed the lead. They went up 71-62 on a 3-pointer by Poole and carried a 91-77 advantage into the fourth quarter.
The Kings trailed 101-93 when tempers flared between Monk and Vukcevic with 6:10 remaining. The Kings cut the deficit to two on a three-point play by DeRozan with 55.6 seconds to play. JT Thor, who was called up from the G League earlier in the day, answered with a backbreaking 3-pointer for Washington.
Up next
The Kings will face another Eastern Conference bottom feeder when they visit the Hornets on Friday at Spectrum Center in Charlotte.
The Hornets (19-56) will be led by Miles Bridges, who is averaging 20.6 points, 7.8 rebounds and 4.0 assists. LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller, the team’s two leading scorers, are out due to injuries.
This story was originally published April 2, 2025 at 6:59 PM.