What we learned as Monk, DeRozan fuel Kings’ win vs. gritty Rockets

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What we learned as Monk, DeRozan fuel Kings’ win vs. gritty Rockets originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

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SACRAMENTO — After a three-game road trip, the Kings returned home Thursday night to face the Western Conference’s second-place Houston Rockets and escaped with a thrilling yet narrow 132-127 win on national television at Golden 1 Center.

After leading for most of the game, the gritty Rockets kept fighting to the final seconds.

Kings center Domantas Sabonis fouled out of the game with 1:19 left, but Sacramento managed to pull out the win against one of the NBA’s top teams.

The big victory gives interim head coach Doug Christie an 8-2 record since taking over at the helm on Dec. 28.

Malik Monk, who missed Tuesday’s loss with an ankle injury, returned to the starting lineup Thursday — and boy, was he missed. From start to finish, Monk helped the Kings cross the finish line and ended up with 28 points.

DeMar DeRozan did DeMar DeRozan things in a tense fourth quarter, with 14 points in the final frame and 31 total. A game-high 31 points on 12 of 23 shooting from the field and 2 of 4 from 3-point range, with five rebounds and four assists in 38 minutes.

Domantas Sabonis had 20 points on 8 of 13 shooting, adding 14 rebounds, seven assists and one block in 38 minutes.

Here are the takeaways from the win:

Missing Malik

The Kings certainly missed the services of their energetic guard in Tuesday’s loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, and his impact was even more evident Thursday night.

After a couple turnovers and misses from both teams, it took one minute and 29 seconds for the first basket to be made. That came from none other than Monk.

And he kept it rolling throughout.

While it’s well known that his contagious spirit impacts his teammates both on and off the floor, his impact might not help anyone more than it does Sabonis.

The two-man game unlocks plenty of offense for each other and even others around them.

In Tuesday’s loss to Milwaukee, it was the first time Sabonis had less than 10 field-goal attempts since Nov. 13’s game against the Phoenix Suns. That’s largely because he didn’t have his…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/learned-monk-derozan-fuel-kings-214324523.html

Author : NBC Sports BayArea

Publish date : 2025-01-16 21:43:00

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