Kings 123, Cavs 119
SACRAMENTO, CA – FEBRUARY 24: Devin Carter #22 of the Sacramento Kings looks on during the game against the Charlotte Hornets on February 24, 2025 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2025 NBAE (Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images)
The Kings knew they would be climbing an uphill battle tonight as they took on the 56-12 Cleveland Cavaliers without the help of Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine and Jake LaRavia. While Cleveland was also without All-Star Darius Garland, Sacramento was certainly the team that needed more out of their bench today to have any chance of getting the win.
Things started off poorly as the Kings came out ice cold to start. Sacramento shot 2/17 from the field at the beginning of this game. While Cleveland is certainly a great defensive team, the Kings were simply missing a lot of good looks. At one point they trailed by 13 and failed to reach the double digit score mark until there was 1:53 left in the period. Early returns said that this would be a long night for the injury-riddled home team. Nonetheless, Malik Monk and Keegan Murray got a couple threes to drop which pulled the Kings within 7, trailing 22-15 after the first frame.
With the fantastic addition of the Fantage Cam, we got to watch the entire second quarter from a great perspective on TV, high and far away from all the action! (Hopefully the sarcasm was detected here – dear NBC Sports California, please never use this camera angle again).
The improved three-point shooting carried over for the Kings into the second quarter. By the half, the Kings upped their three point percent to 40% overall as a team, outgunning the Cavaliers with higher volume from deep and shooting a slightly better percentage. Cleveland’s persistent offense continued to hum, though, and they created some separation right before halftime rolled around to take a nine point lead into the break.
The Kings were able to infiltrate the paint effectively in the third quarter. Jonas Valanciunas was able to feast in the quarter, grabbing boards and finishing off plays down low for Sacramento. This helped the Kings slowly chip away at Cleveland’s lead until the Kings were able to grab their first lead of the game at the 4:35 point in the quarter. A 28-8 run sparked by defensive stops turning into easy offense jolted the Kings from a 68-59 deficit to an 87-76 advantage. The Cavs punched back with a 12-3 run of their own to cut the Kings lead to 90-88 after three quarters of action.
Evan Mobley came alive for Cleveland from the late third quarter and onto the fourth quarter. He capped his night off with 31 points and 10 rebounds and was vital for Cleveland, keeping them in the thick of things right when it looked like the Kings may fully pull away. Mobley had just two games on the season where he hit 4 or more threes – tonight was the third.
Cleveland fed off of the momentum Mobley created for them and maintained a thin lead for much of the early part of the quarter. Devin Carter made his pesky presence felt throughout the night and helped turn things around for Sacramento. When Keon Ellis garnered his fifth foul, Carter stepped in and continued to make winning plays. He grabbed his third steal of the night and converted it for an easy layup to put Sacramento up two with 4:44 remaining in the game. Carter’s aggressive nature bit the Kings in the back, however, when his hard closeout led to a foul on a Donovan Mitchell three point attempt. This closed the gap for Cleveland and struck the Kings’ lead down to 113-112 with a little over two minutes to go.
Mitchell and DeRozan traded blows back and forth to try to will their teams to victory. Mitchell was the first of the two to come up short on a close rang attempt and the Kings immediately replied with a Monk midrange bucket on Max Strus to go up 5 with 35 seconds left. Mitchell hit back with a quick three out of a timeout, but Monk returned the call by drawing a foul and nailing a pair of free throws. The Cavs failed to respond and the Kings were able to come out on top in a thriller at Golden One Center.
This was a big time win for this team, there’s no other way to describe it. Short-handed and down two All-Stars and a key bench player, to come out on top against one of the best teams in the league was huge. Doug Christie improved his head coaching record to 22-15 overall and an impressive 12-3 at home. The Kings will look to carry that good form at home forward as they take on the Chicago Bulls tomorrow night. Carter and other bench guys will have to continue stepping up off the bench as Sabonis will be out, and it is unclear if LaVine or LaRavia will be able to suit up tomorrow night.
Kings Scribe 
Leave a comment