As recently as last year, it would have been a poster without much flavor or relief between two teams in search of an identity. This season, it was a shock on the national antenna, between two of the most beautiful surprises of the whole league, well on their way to qualifying for the playoffs in their respective conferences.
In Sacramento, Kings And Knicks did indeed offer a very good match, concluded with a victory for the locals after a pleasant “money-time” because it was disputed, which saw New Yorkers, a time relegated to -21 in the first period but still inclined to fight like beautiful devils, return to a small possession of their opponents.
But faced with a solid defense from the Californian squad for once, Tom Thibodeau’s men failed to overthrow the momentum. The fault in particular of an attack that was too imprecise to hope for (42% in shots, of which only 26% from behind the arc), while success was however present on the side of the locals (52% in shots), like of this generous triple-double of Domantas Sabonis (24 points at 9/15 on shots, 13 rebounds and 10 assists), leader of the “Beam Team”.
It’s the seventh win in eight games for Sacramento, when the Knicks, after nine straight wins, lost for the second straight after a surprise loss to the Hornets.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– The Kings won while defending. It’s rare enough to be highlighted this season, as Mike Brown’s men have the fifth-worst defense in the league with 116.7 points conceded per game on 100 possessions, but the victory did indeed come thanks to the defensive efforts of the locals. . Particularly in the first half, after which the Sacramento players kept their opponents at 53 points scored at 35% on shots. A relaxation in the third quarter (31 points against 48% on shots) allowed the Knicks to slowly but surely reduce their delay, to the point of returning to possession in the “money-time”, but a new rise in power in their half of the field, particularly on the pick-and-roll and in the protection of the circle, allowed the Kings to hold their ground.
– The reign of Domantas Sabonis. The Lithuanian pivot was clearly the best player on the pitch tonight. Notably the winner of his head-to-head match between Julius Randle in the All-Star interior duel, “Domas” flooded the evening with his game intelligence on both sides of the field and then offered himself an effective triple-double and clean, well representative of his colossal efforts: 24 points at 9/15 on shots, 13 rebounds and 10 assists.
– Jalen Brunson’s frustrating evening. Returning to business after missing the previous two games against Boston and Charlotte due to pain in his left foot, the Knicks point guard only played the first half because his same pain persisted… Frustrating, because his game was succeeded so far, he who was at 19 points (6/12) and 2 assists at the break, clearly floating in an attack in difficulty during the first period. His stabilizing presence at the head of the attack would have done his team a lot of good in the “money-time”, when Julius Randle and Immanuel Quickley were tangled up trying to save the fate of their team.
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ A collective contribution to Sacramento. If the triple-double of Domantas Sabonis is the best individual performance, it is obviously not the only one. Malik Monk’s 19 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists and Trey Lyles’ 16 points and 6 rebounds off the bench were also valuable, as were De ‘Aaron Fox and Kevin Huerter’s 14 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. Everyone has contributed to the building to secure this new success of the “Beam Team”!
✅ Josh Hart. Off the bench but present on the field for almost the entire last quarter, the New York winger did what he knows how to do best: everything! With 9 points, 15 rebounds (!), 7 assists and 3 steals, he really stood out for his enormous burst of energy anywhere on the field, in any context.
⛔️ The Knicks wasted cartridges. We are talking here about the 23 offensive rebounds grabbed by Tom Thibodeau’s men. Problem: these catches have collected “only” 17 points on second chances, the New Yorkers indeed cruelly lacking in realism in this area. In a match where the final gap is 5 points, there is reason to regret not having made better use of this “free” ammunition, especially since the Kings opposite did not exist in this battle of offensive rebound, with only 6 catches.
THE FOLLOWING
– Kings (39-26): trip to Phoenix, on the night of Saturday to Sunday (03:00).
– Knicks (39-29): trip to Los Angeles to play the Clippers, Saturday night (10 p.m.).
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