Christie earns first signature win as Kings meet his ‘expectations’

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Christie earns first signature win as Kings meet his ‘expectations’ originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO – Doug Christie finally has his signature moment as an NBA coach. It came amid what arguably is the Kings’ most significant victory of the 2024-25 NBA season.

Riding a three-game winning streak built against teams missing their best player, the Kings arrived in San Francisco minus their own star as De’Aaron Fox continues recovering from a hard foul he absorbed two nights earlier against the Memphis Grizzlies.

It didn’t seem to matter at all.

Right out of the gate the Kings were all over the Warriors, alternately scoring waves while keeping two-time NBA MVP Stephen Curry from doing too much damage. Curry scored 26 points but took only 12 shots in nearly 30 minutes.

Sacramento also had one of its best all-around games. Eleven Kings players scored, seven of them in double figures.

“We knew we had to just come out strong,” said guard Malik Monk, who had a double-double with 26 points and 12 rebounds while finishing plus-41. “Especially without Fox, we had to play together, move the ball, get everybody involved. We did a great job doing it.”

It was the Kings’ second-largest win over the Warriors in franchise history, a game at Chase Center that had gleeful Sacramento fans chanting “Light the Beam” in the fourth quarter.

In the aftermath, Christie was the one beaming.

“They play hard, they play their heart out, and like I tell them, at the end of the night, when you do that, you can look yourself in the mirror and you can be proud,” Christie said. “You’re not always going to win and you’re not always going to have winning streaks and those things, but the one thing you can control is how you go out and how you attack. I thought they continued down the path of my expectations.”

It was as convincing a win as the Kings have had all season.

When the Warriors were winning their NBA championships behind Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson, the Kings were looked at as the little brother.

At least for one night, little brother got the upper hand on big brother.

It started…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/christie-earns-first-signature-win-062336239.html

Author : NBC Sports BayArea

Publish date : 2025-01-06 06:38:00

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