SACRAMENTO, CA – The Sacramento Kings lost their fifth consecutive game as they saw the return of guard Zach LaVine but lost key pieces, forward Keegan Murray and guard Keon Ellis, on Sunday night against the Milwaukee Bucks at Golden 1 Center.
Kings guard Keon Ellis injured his left thumb in the first half and did not return. Later forward Keegan Murray left the game with a left ankle injury with 4:01 left in the third quarter after colliding with Bucks center Myles Turner on a drive to the basket and landing awkwardly. The Bucks went on to win, 115-98.
Kings head coach Doug Christie told reporters he didn’t have an update on his injured players, but was understandably deflated that they went down, especially after getting Murray back on the court from a previous injury.
‘I don’t know yet. It’s not even for me to speculate,’ Christie told reporters after the game. ‘Obviously, we’ll get everything. You guys will know as soon as we do.’
Short in his response, Christie added: ‘It’s hard man. … it’s just difficult.’
Russell Westbrook led the Kings with 21 points. and LaVine had 20 points in 35 minutes off the bench in his first game back since Dec. 18.
‘I told Doug, I think I’ll be available for today. The last couple of games they’ve been asking me if I’m thinking about it or not,’ LaVine told USA TODAY Sports. ‘He told me he had me coming off the bench today and I said ‘OK’. I haven’t done it in a while but it was fine.’
LaVine added that his ankle is fine and he’s more worried getting conditioned and back in basketball shape.
‘Tired,’ LaVine said. ‘I haven’t played full court in an NBA game in nine games. My ankle feels fine. That’s why I wanted to make sure I was 100% before I came back.’
Giannis Antetokounmpo had a game-high 37 points and 11 rebounds. Kevin Porter Jr. recorded a double-double with 25 points and 10 assists.
‘I thought our non-Giannis minutes in the first half were phenomenal and that actually opened up the game for us because it allowed us to sit Giannis a little longer,’ Bucks head coach Doc Rivers said to reporters after the game. ‘I thought that was key. And then I thought overall we just were playing the right way.’
Kings vs. Bucks highlights
Sacramento trailed after the first quarter, 28-26, despite getting eight points a piece from Keegan Murray and DeMar DeRozan.
Zach LaVine came off the bench in his first game since Dec. 18. He scored five points in five minutes of action in the first.
Bucks opened the second quarter with a 9-0 run in 1:40. The Bucks’ lead climbed to as many as 20 in the first half. Sacramento, as a team, scored 18 points in the second quarter.
The Bucks led 62-44 after 24 minutes.
Milwaukee continued to pour gasoline on the flame. As they opened the third quarter on a 11-4 in first four minutes of the period, their lead grew to 25.
Kings forward Keegan Murray went down with an injury in the third quarter with 4:01 left after colliding with Bucks center Myles Turner on a drive to the basket. Murray received help from the medical staff as he limped off the court to the locker room.
Sacramento cut the lead down to 16 at the end of the third quarter. Bucks hung on to a lead, 85-69.
Kings looked to mount a comeback in the fourth quarter, as they turned up their defensive intensity.
They opened the quarter on a 12-0 run.
They cut the deficit down to 10 following back to back three-pointers from Dennis Schroder and Zach LaVine to open the period. They trailed 85-75 with 11 minutes left.
It was cut to a single-digit game on a Westbrook block and slow-step layup on the other side. That was followed by Schroder, who fired a midrange to bring the deficit down to six with under 10 minutes in the game.
Westbrook then stole the ball from Antetokounmpo and led the breakaway to find LaVine for a double-pump two-hand slam to bring the Kings within four points.
Westbrook forced a back court violation on Bucks guard Ryan Rollins as Kings continued to take advantage of their newfound life.
Momentum was halted briefly when Schroder fouled Kevin Porter Jr. on a three-point attempt with 8:22 left in the game.
The Bucks managed to extend their lead back to 10, as Antetokounmpo continued to get whatever he wanted in the paint and Porter from the outside.
Milwaukee ran the score back up and would win the game, 115-98.
Recap: Kings keys
Ryan Rollins can score: Rollins is rolling this season. He averages a little more than 17 points per game and shoots 42% from deep. Someone will have to take on the challenge of slowing him down. Rollins was slowed down, compared his previous games. He scored 12 points.
Greek Freak presence: Giannis Antetokounmpo is going to dominate the paint, as he usually does. He leads the league with 20.1 points in the paint per game. Make it tough, play physical and force him to earn those easy buckets at the free throw line. Antetokounmpo, indeed, did dominate this game, scoring a game-high 37 points and 11 rebounds.
Get defensive stops: This team likes to score, but they will also allow other teams to score as Milwaukee allows 116 points per game. Offense shouldn’t be a question, can Sacramento get stops defensively? Kings looked good defensively for a stretch in the fourth quarter, but it was short-lived. Overall, Sacramento had 10 steals and seven blocks. Westbrook, alone, had four steals and three blocks.
Compete for 48 minutes: Going to repeat this point of emphasis because it’s usually one quarter where the Kings have a lapse or lose focus or just simply don’t compete for 12 minutes and it costs them the game. It happened again against Phoenix. They have to fix that to have a chance to win. The game was arguably lost in the second quarter when the Kings were outscored 34-18. They even fought back from a 26-point lead to bring the game within three.
Kings next five games
Jan. 6 vs. Dallas Mavericks
Jan. 9 at Golden State Warriors
Jan. 11 vs. Houston Rockets
Jan. 12 vs. Los Angeles Lakers
Jan. 14 vs. New York Knicks