What we learned as Kings’ second-half comeback falls short vs. Nets

What we learned as Kings’ second-half comeback falls short vs. Nets originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

BOX SCORE

De’Aaron Fox put together yet another brilliant offensive performance in what has been the best scoring stretch of his NBA career, but the Kings didn’t have the defense to make it hold up in a 108-103 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday.

Fox scored 31 points on 10-of-16 shooting and had five assists and two steals at Golden 1 Center, where the Kings lost to the Nets for the first time since Feb. 14, 2022.

Keegan Murray had 21 points and eight rebounds while DeMar DeRozan added 18 points, five rebounds and five assists. Domantas Sabonis had 13 points, 18 rebounds and seven. Kevin Huerter scored 11.

Sacramento has lost four of its last five.

The Kings, who played without Malik Monk, trailed by 19 before trimming the lead to 107-103 late in the fourth quarter. Coach Mike Brown’s team had a chance to take a lead but missed its next three shots and came up short.

For the second consecutive game, the Kings got off to a sloppy start. They turned the ball over five times in the first nine minutes of the game and didn’t have much rhythm offensively. Sacramento ended the night with 16 turnovers that led to 24 points for Brooklyn.

Things got so bad that Brown picked up a technical foul for arguing with officials in the second quarter. Brown was angry about a non-foul call, but his frustration with his own players likely was a factor as well.

The game had a familiar feel to it. The Nets are coached by Jordi Fernandez, who spent the previous two seasons as a member of Brown’s staff with Kings as associate head coach.

Here are the takeaways from Sunday’s game:

Fox vs. Thomas

The game featured two of the top 15 scorers in the NBA, and both lived up to the hype.

Fox added yet another chapter to his ongoing book of brilliant offensive performances, dropping his seventh consecutive game with 24 points or more. Fox has had five games with 30 or more, three of them coming within the last nine days.

Brooklyn guard Cam Thomas carried a 28.8-point average into the night and gave Sacramento’s defense fits all evening, scoring a game-high 34 points on 11-of-22 shooting.

Somewhat Silent Sunday For Sabonis

The Kings’ big man nearly finished with a triple-double, which is remarkable considering the way the game started out.

Sabonis didn’t take a shot in the first quarter and didn’t score his first points until the second quarter. He finally got going in a strong third quarter and finished with respectable numbers.

As good as Fox has been, Sabonis has to be a constant and steady scorer for the Kings. After all, Batman is always better with a good Robin by his side.

Kings’ 3-point Defense Dismal Again

Opposing teams continue to feast on the Kings’ shoddy 3-point defense, and it’s a trend that almost certainly will keep going until Sacramento proves it can stop teams at the perimeter.

The Nets made 19 3-points and shot 48.7 percent behind the arc. Brooklyn had 13 in the first half alone after making 13 total in a loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday.

It’s the third time in five games and eighth time overall that the Kings have allowed opponents to make 16 or more threes.

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