Defensive struggles and sub-par rebounding condemned the Sacramento Kings to a 6th straight loss on Wednesday, losing to the Boston Celtics 113-86.
The Kings started the game much better than their last two affairs, making 5 out of their 7 opening shots, but also allowing Boston to make all 5 of their shots. Breakdowns on defense led to open three point looks from Kyrie Irving and Jaylen Brown as Boston took a 14-11 lead early on. The offense held pace with Boston throughout the rest of the 1st quarter and were only down by 3 at the end of the 1st.
Sacramento started the second quarter well making their first three shots, but their defensive struggles held them back as Boston went on an 11-0 run to take a 40-30 lead with 7 minutes left. Boston continued to hurt the Kings from beyond the arc, making 46% of their three’s as they extended their lead to 58-45 at the break.
Halftime didn’t do the Kings many favors as the first team retook the floor and could not find a way to stop the Celtics, allowing Boston to outscore them 31-15 in the third. The Celtics were almost unstoppable from downtown, taking 41 shots and making 17 of them (41.5%). Brown and Irving took advantage of this and combined to knock down nine shots on the night.
Sacramento improved marginally in the 4th, but at that point, the deficit was too big to overcome, with the game ending at 113-86. Buddy Hield led the team in scoring and rebounding from the bench with 17 points and 7 boards, while De’Aaron Fox added a team high six assists.
Brown and Irving ended up with 22 points each, Brown being the more efficient shooter on the night (7 of 8 compared to 8 of 17), Marcus Smart had eight assists, and Daniel Theis grabbed 10 of Boston’s 52 rebounds.
The Kings fall to 1-7 on the season and will end their current road trip against the Detroit Pistons on Saturday.
