What we learned as Kings’ LaVine era begins with blowout loss to Magic

[ad_1]

What we learned as Kings’ LaVine era begins with blowout loss to Magic originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

BOX SCORE

SACRAMENTO – Well, that didn’t go well.

Buoyed by a series of moves meant to shake up their season, including a mid-season coaching change, the Kings looked closer to an also-ran than a legitimate NBA contender while losing to the Orlando Magic 130-111 on Wednesday at Golden 1 Center, spoiling the debut of Zach LaVine.

Acquired as part of a multi-team trade that sent Sacramento point guard De’Aaron Fox to the San Antonio Spurs, LaVine had 13 points and three assists as the Kings (25-25) fell back to .500 following their fifth loss in seven games.

On the bright side, Domantas Sabonis had 21 points and 13 rebounds for his 44th double-double in 50 games this season. DeMar DeRozan added 19 points while Keon Ellis scored 12 and Malik Monk had 10.

The night began on an optimistic note with the arrival of LaVine, who was welcomed with a very loud ovation from the Golden 1 Center crowd.

Orlando, however, threw a wrench into party plans with one of its best games of the 2024-25 NBA season. The Magic got big nights out of Franz Wagner (31 points) and Paolo Banchero (23 points, nine assists) while snapping a six-game losing streak to the Kings and getting their first win in Sacramento since 2021.

The Kings got off to a sluggish start and fell behind early while allowing the Magic to shoot better than 65 percent in the first quarter.

Orlando cooled off a little in the second quarter, while DeRozan warmed up and scored 12 points to pull Sacramento within 62-60 at the break.

The game started to slip away from the Kings after halftime. The Magic scored 42 points in the third quarter then coasted to the win in the fourth.

Here are the takeaways from Wednesday’s game:

Sabonis on the Attack

While the spotlight might have been on LaVine, it was Sabonis who stole the show for Sacramento with yet another magnificent night.

Shortly after the Kings announced a trade for 6-foot-11 center Jonas Valančiūnas, Sabonis was in full attack mode against the Magic and ultra aggressive from the beginning.

Sabonis threw down…

[ad_2]
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/learned-kings-lavine-era-begins-215242423.html

Author : NBC Sports BayArea

Publish date : 2025-02-05 21:52:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.