Kings 110, Clippers 111
The depleted Sacramento Kings faced off against the Los Angeles Clippers at the Intuit Dome for the second time this season to determine who would hold the 8th seed in the Western Conference for the time being. The Kings were still playing without key players Domantas Sabonis and Malik Monk, while the Clippers were without their leading scorer Norman Powell and head coach Ty Lue.
Throughout the years, the Kings have had a wide array of normal role players consistently play much better against them. One of those players is Ivica Zubac, who had yet another good showing against the Kings. The big man quickly reached 8 points and 5 rebounds in the first quarter. On the Kings side, Zach LaVine continued his highly efficient scoring streak, though it mostly came from drives to the basket, as his three point shot struggled for most of the night.
Devin Carter, who was on the floor for a decent chunk of time in the Kings win against the Spurs, had a thunderous put-back dunk, showcasing his athletic capabilities and scrappy nature. Carter was a bolt energy from the bench, as he helped the Kings build up a 7 point lead in the second quarter. Both teams were playing physical defense throughout the entirety of the game, which stop either side from getting into any serious offensive rhythm. Some sloppy play and lowered intensity for the last few minutes of the first half led to the Kings being down two points heading into the break.
The Clippers came out blazing to start the second half. They knocked down several threes, which comes to no surprise as opponents’ shooting a high clip from three has been a consistent issue the entire season. Keegan Murray also quickly reached three fouls which slightly hampered his ability to play his usual physical perimeter defense, though he still held his own, significantly limiting the offensive presence of star veteran Kawhi Leonard. Leonard finished with just 17 points on very efficient shooting, due in large part to the defensive effort of Murray. A string of defensive stops helped the Kings go on a 10-0 run and regained the lead. They finished the quarter up by three after Jake LaRavia, who has been finding his rhythm on his jumpers recently, nailed a three.
The fourth quarter was a tightly contested dogfight, much like the rest of the game. DeRozan, one of the top clutch scorers in the NBA this season, hit multiple mid-range jumpers to help the Kings take the lead with just a few minutes remaining. However, the refs overturned what was a seemingly obvious shooting foul which would have had DeRozan shooting three free throws and potentially putting the Kings up five. Harden went on to hit a signature floater to tie the game. LaVine tried nailing a tightly contested mid range fadeaway jumper to win the game, but it just rimmed out, sending the game to overtime.
In the overtime period, the Kings lost all flow offensively while Harden turned it up, quickly leading the Clippers to a five point lead. DeRozan and Harden hit tough shot after tough shot, but it was Kawhi, who had a quiet night that got the buzzer beating game winner to fall with some help from the rim.
It was a tightly contested matchup that the Kings had in the palm of their hands, so it was devastating to lose and it happened in soul crushing fashion. The Kings hopes to reach the seventh or eighth seed slip just a bit more, though there are plenty of games left to reach their goal. It was a solid performance considering the Kings were without two key players, but the only thing that will show up on their record is a loss. Sacramento will need Sabonis and Monk back quickly if they want to continue fighting higher seeding in the play in.
Kings Scribe 
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