Kings observations: Domantas Sabonis triple-double wasted in loss to Celtics
What we learned as Kings fall to Celtics, lose second straight originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
SACRAMENTO — It has been 732 days since the Kings last defeated the Boston Celtics, and it looks like they’ll have to wait many more days before they get another shot.
Tuesday was a showdown between the Eastern Conference’s No. 2 seed and the Western Conference’s No. 3 seed.
After wrapping up a four-game road trip and playing in the second game of a back-to-back and their fifth game in seven nights — the Kings, understandably, were tired. And facing the Celtics didn’t make things any easier.
The Kings fell to Boston 132-109 at Golden 1 Center, but they continued to show some grit and fight against the beast of the East.
Here are three takeaways from the Kings’ loss.
Dominant Domas not enough
Domantas Sabonis recorded his league-leading 59th double-double of the season. A few minutes later, he picked up his 12th triple-double with 2:21 remaining in the third quarter.
The three-time All-Star finished with 16 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists in 37 minutes.
Despite Sacramento’s loss, the Lithuanian big man continued to strengthen his All-NBA campaign.
A 3-point shootout
While another powerful atmospheric river stormed through Sacramento on Tuesday, it also was raining 3-pointers inside Golden 1 Center. The Kings’ first six points of the contest came from De’Aaron Fox and rookie Keegan Murray beyond the arc.
Twelve seconds later, Celtics guard Derrick White knocked down a 26-foot 3-pointer for Boston. The Celtics’ next possession was a triple from Marcus Smart.
Kings forward Kessler Edwards — for the time being — was the final player of the group to splash a trey of his own.
That was one minute and thirty-five seconds of back-and-forth action from players on both sides — and it was fun to watch. The 3-point shooting set the tone early for what was to come throughout the rest of the game.
In the end, it was the Celtics who won the shooting duel, but just barely. Boston finished 49-of-92 shooting from the field and 18 of 44 from deep.
Meanwhile, the Kings shot 39 of 81 from the field and 17 of 44 from 3-point range.
Mitchell making most of his minutes
Davion Mitchell made the most of his minutes on Tuesday. While starting point guard De’Aaron Fox played just 12 minutes in the first half, Mitchell took over and ran Sacramento’s offense perfectly.
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The second-year guard showcased his two-way play, dropping 13 points in his first 14 minutes during the first half on 5-of-8 shooting from the field and 3 of 5 from behind the arc.
He finished with 13 points, two rebounds and one assist in 19 minutes.
Mitchell has been dominant on the defensive end all season for the Kings, but has shown he can make an impact on the other end of the floor, too.
Source: Yahoo Sports
