What a great team win.
The Sacramento Kings entered into Friday’s matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers without their potential All-Star point guard, De’Aaron Fox, who is nursing a foot injury. Without their star guard, it was all hands on deck in order for this team to escape with a win in Cleveland, where the Cavs had only lost one game on their home floor all season.
Spoiler alert — the Kings changed that tonight, stealing a 106-95 victory on the road.
It was a great team effort by this Kings team, as four of the five starters would all finish with 18 or more points. The team started out hot and it was their outside shooting from Keegan Murray (18 points) and Kevin Huerter (19 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals). And while his stat line (20 points) wouldn’t fully show it, Harrison Barnes made his veteran presence felt on the court with his timely defense as well as his team-high scoring and control of the pace in the halfcourt for the Kings.
With those guys are all stepping up, the X-factor in determining if the Kings could squeak away with a victory was the play of their All-Star center, Domantas Sabonis. The Lithuanian big man showcased his strength, basketball I.Q., leadership and so much more in this one, as he would finish the game with 18 points, 18 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks.
Sabonis built a home in the paint and would fend off anyone that would try to break in, while on the offensive side, he was putting Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen in the weight room as he would be able to get to the free throw line for a total of 14 attempts.
But while the scoring was great — and Sacramento has established early on this season that they have the chops to outscore anyone — tonight’s win has to go on the shoulders of this team’s defense, especially in the fourth quarter where they would hold the Cavs to only 15 total points in 12 minutes. Holding Cleveland under 100 points is impressive, and shows how much of an all-around win this was for Sacramento.
Next up for the Kings will be another tough matchup as they will be facing a very confusing, yet still-competitive New York Knicks team. Fox will be questionable, but if the Kings can continue with this type of team effort, we will surely see this team do what they did tonight.
LIGHT THE BEAM!