The Sacramento Kings, led by Domantas Sabonis’ outstanding 37-point triple-double, overcame a significant early deficit to defeat the Detroit Pistons 131-110 during Tuesday’s NBA action.
The game was a display of remarkable comebacks and shifts in momentum. Initially down by 20 in the first quarter, the Kings managed a 15-point lead in the third, only to see the Pistons level the score in the fourth quarter. However, the Kings surged ahead in the final stretch, with contributions from Keegan Murray (32 points) and De’Aaron Fox (26 points).
Mike Brown, the Kings’ coach, praised the team’s defensive resilience after a rough start and their efficiency on offense, highlighted by their 39 assists on 54 field goals.
“I thought our defense was great after the first quarter — we gave up 47 points in the first and only 45 in the entire second half,” Brown said. “Offensively, I think we were really good as well. We had 39 assists on 54 buckets. That’s big time.”
In contrast, the Pistons, with a 3-34 record and recently ending a historic 28-game losing streak, struggled with turnovers and offensive consistency, according to coach Monty Williams.
“We had too many turnovers, and there were too many times where we struggled to get into our offense,” Williams said. “When we start having some success, teams are going to hit us in the mouth and get physical with us. We have to be able to overcome that.”
NBA NEWS & SCORES: Domantas Sabonis, Keegan Murray, Sacramento Kings, Detroit Pistons Updates
The Pistons, missing Cade Cunningham due to a knee injury, found support from Bojan Bogdanovic and Jaden Ivey, who scored 26 and 22 points, respectively. Despite Cunningham’s absence, he remained engaged from the sidelines, encouraging his team.
“Cade was talking to us — telling us to keep going and keep our energy,” Ivey said. “It just feels like they got a lot of easy transition points off our turnovers.”
NBA NEWS & SCORES: Domantas Sabonis, Keegan Murray, Sacramento Kings, Detroit Pistons Updates
This game was crucial for the Kings to bounce back from their previous 133-100 defeat to the New Orleans Pelicans. The Kings’ players emphasized the need for consistent performance across all four quarters to establish themselves as a formidable team.
“I don’t think there’s anything we need to change,” Murray said. “We played five bad quarters, but once we got out of that mindset, we did a good job. We just need to play four quarters at that level to be a really good team.”
“I think we were just really aggressive,” Murray explained. “We had nine deflections in that quarter, and I think that was the turning point of the game.”
NBA NEWS & SCORES: Domantas Sabonis, Keegan Murray, Sacramento Kings, Detroit Pistons Updates
After tying the game at 101, the Kings pulled away with a decisive scoring run, eventually securing a lead they maintained until the end.
The Kings and Pistons face their third game in four nights next, with the Kings visiting the Charlotte Hornets and the Pistons hosting the San Antonio Spurs.
