New York Knicks forward Julius Randall (30) gets the throw down against the Sacramento Kings in first half action at Golden One Arena in Sacramento Mon Mar 7, 2022 (AP News photo)
By Jeremiah Salmonson
SACRAMENTO–The Sacramento Kings were back in action on Monday night. The Kings last played against the Dallas Mavericks in Dallas on Saturday night. It was a brutal loss for the Kings as the NBA admitted after the fact that the officials missed two critical calls down the stretch.
The Kings lost that game 114 to 113. On Monday night, the kings welcomed in the New York Knicks to Golden One Center in Sacramento. Tip off was set for 7:30 PM PST. Unfortunately, the Kings weren’t able to get the win and lost in grand fashion 131 to 115.
In the first half the Kings looked like they were going to run away with the game. The Kings office was firing on all cylinders as the Knicks offense struggled to put the ball in the basket. The Kings managed to score 33 points in the first quarter as the Knicks only scored 17 points.
In the second quarter the kings didn’t dominate but they held the Knicks back from taking a lead. The Knicks that scored the Kings 31 to 30 in the second quarter. The Kings would go into halftime with a 63 to 48 lead.
Leading the way in the first half was Domantas Sabonis and Harrison Barnes who each had 13 points for the Kings. RJ Barrett lead the way in the first half for the Knicks with 15 points. The Kings would look to continue the strong play in the second half.
In the second half, it was a disaster for the Kings. Julius Randle absolutely went on a tear for the Knicks. The Kings were out scored 44 to 24 in the third quarter. It was a shocking display of poor defense from the Kings and limited shotmaking; a complete reversal from what we had seen in the first half. it wasn’t any better in the fourth quarter.
The final 12 minutes saw the kings be out scored 39 to 28 to Seal the loss 131 to 115. It was a terrible second half of basketball for the Kings that would have hoped for a better showing after a strong first half.
It was an alarming defensive display but at some point the cap needed to be tipped to Julius Randle. Randle finished the game with 46 points dwarfing the performance of De’Aaron Fox who scored 27. The Kings couldn’t match the intense offense from the Knicks in the second half.
Up Next: The Kings stay home to face the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday at 7 PM PST in Sacramento.
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