Kings forming ‘identity’ under Christie as inspiring win streak ends

Kings forming ‘identity’ under Christie as inspiring win streak ends originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

All win streaks eventually come to an end — but even endings can have silver linings.

In search of eight consecutive wins for the first time since the 2003-04 season, the Kings had no answers for two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo during their 130-115 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night at Fiserv Forum.

Antetokounmpo finished with 30 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds for his 50th career triple-double. The loss snapped Sacramento’s seven-game winning streak.

Despite missing out on a franchise feat not achieved in over 20 years, interim coach Doug Christie, who is 7-2 since taking over for Mike Brown last month, highlighted the team’s growth since its most recent winning streak began on Dec. 30.

“To be honest with you, the only thing that I’m really solid on is that we continue to solidify our identity,” Christie told reporters.

“Like, you come and you play extremely hard, extremely physical and you get after it for 48 minutes with the talent that we got, most times you’re going to walk out with a [win] in this league. That’s number one. This is how we play.”

Without guard Malik Monk due to a right groin injury, the game got away from the Kings early on, trailing the Bucks by 21 points in the first quarter and by as many as 28 in the first half.

Unable to contain Antetokounmpo, the Bucks’ overall effectiveness in the paint, the Kings trailed from the first quarter on despite DeMar DeRozan’s team-high 28 points and the 17th consecutive double-double from Domantas Sabonis.

But as Christie noted, Sacramento, with its back against the wall, demonstrated grit towards the dying minutes of the game, trimming the Bucks’ lead to 11 points with less than eight minutes to play.

In other words, the team’s newfound attitude since Christie took over.

“I would say that the fight, the continuous effort, and the togetherness that they showed is how you get a seven-game winning streak in the NBA,” Christie added.

“For me, it’s really that simple: continue to define yourself. I think they started in that path in a really good way.”

The Kings’ streak might have ended in Milwaukee, but Christie and Co. take a valuable lesson back to Sacramento.

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