Kings route Trail Blazers 121-82 in regular season finale, host Warriors in Play-In game
SACRAMENTO - The Sacramento Kings ended the regular season with a route of the Portland Trail Blazers at the Golden 1 Center on Sunday afternoon. The Kings won the game 121-82.
The Kings, who are the Western Conference's 9 seed, will host the 10-seeded Golden State Warriors in a win-or-go-home Play-In Tournament game. The Warriors just beat the Utah Jazz 123-116. The game will Tuesday at 7 p.m.
As for Sunday's game, De'Aaron Fox led all scorers with 24 points. He added three steals. Fox ended the season averaging 26.6 points, 5.7 assists and two steals.
Domantas Sabonis recorded a double-double, scoring 18 while grabbing 11 rebounds and collecting 9 assists. He finished the season averaging 19 points, 8.2 assists and 13.7 rebounds.
Impactful games
The Los Angeles Lakers beat the New Orleans Pelicans 124-108.
The Phoenix Suns beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 125-106, which secures the 6th seed for the Suns with a Pelicans loss Sunday.
Western Conference Play-In games
The New Orleans Pelicans will host the Los Angeles Lakers at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday on TNT.
The Sacramento Kings will host the Golden State Warriors at 7 p.m. on Tuesday on TNT.
The winner of the Pelicans vs Lakers secures the 7th seed and will play the defending champions Denver Nuggets. The loser will play the winner of the Kings vs Warriors. The loser of that game is eliminated from playoff contention.
For the Kings to make the playoffs, they will have to beat the Warriors and beat the loser of the Pelicans vs Lakers. If they do that, the Kings will play the Western Conference top seed, the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Kings, Warriors head-to-head review
The Kings were eliminated by the Warriors in the 2023 NBA playoffs, in a series that went seven games.
In the first two matchups in the 2024 regular season, the Warriors picked up where they left off, beating the Kings 122-114 on Oct. 27 and again 102-101 just days later.
But the Kings responded, winning the next two match-ups by a combined two points. The teams have not played since Jan. 25, when the Kings beat the Warriors in the Bay 134-133.
The teams ended with identical records at 46-36, but the Kings are 4-6 in the past 10 games while the Warriors are 8-2.
The Kings were 24-17 at home and the Warriors were 25-16 on the road.