Garrett Temple Anchors Kings Past Magic, End Losing Streak

The Sacramento Kings finally end their losing streak tonight against the Orlando Magic behind an excellent performance by Garrett Temple.

The losing streak ends at eight for the Sacramento Kings as they were able to earn the victory tonight against the Orlando Magic by a score of 105-99. Sacramento now stands at a record of 14-33 for the season.

Game Summary

To begin the game, the Kings started out hot behind the efforts of De’Aaron Fox and Willie Cauley-Stein. Both players were aggressive to start the match which helped the team overall have good ball movement and easy buckets. For the period, Cauley-Stein recorded nine points while Fox scored five points. Bogdan Bogdanovic also recorded three assists as well.

But despite the Kings’ offense playing well, the Magic were just as effective scoring due to Evan Fournier going off for 14 points for the period. The Kings led 28-27 after one.

In the second quarter, it was Garrett Temple who put the team on his back. For the quarter, the seven-year veteran was an asset for his team on both ends as he scored seven points while playing solid defense for the period. For the Magic, Aaron Gordon took over for his team as his physical play got him six points while causing problems towards the Kings’ offense. The purple and white trailed 53-52 going into halftime.

The Magic started to pull away in the third quarter as Jonathan Simmons went off. Prior to the second half, Simmons did not score for the game, but he ended the third quarter with 14 points.

The Magic did hold an 11-point lead during the third, but players like Buddy Hield and Cauley-Stein gave the Kings a scoring spark, scoring eight points apiece. Due to the duo’s efforts, the Kings found themselves trailing just 82-77 once the period concluded.

The Kings gave the Magic a hard fight in the first three quarters, but it seemed like the purple and white were heading for their ninth consecutive loss. But Garrett Temple thought otherwise.

Despite already having a good performance for the night, Temple decided to save the best for last in the final period. In the fourth, Temple was on fire scoring the basketball as he erupted for 19 points in the quarter. With Temple leading the way for Sacramento, it helped the Kings rally back and eventually seal the win by a score of 105-99.

Final Thoughts

Tonight’s win for the Kings was encouraging. Although Temple is the main reason why the Kings came out on top, some of the young guys were able to play solid and contribute positively to the team as well.

As long as the Kings’ youth keeps playing good basketball at a consistent rate, the team will be making the right steps forward in their rebuilding process.

Listed down below are the key takeaways from the game.

Key Takeaways

• Garrett Temple had himself a night. Not only did he play solid defensively, but he scored 34 points (a new career high in points) to help anchor the Kings’ offense.
• Willie Cauley-Stein again has a solid performance on both ends. He ended the night with 21 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and five blocks.
• Both De’Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield were efficient tonight but had to leave the game due to injuries. Fox ended his night with seven points while Hield left the game after he recorded 13 points and five rebounds.
• Malachi Richardson was able to play 15 minutes of the game. He finished with four points and three rebounds.
• Justin Jackson was given significant playing time as he recorded 25 minutes in the contest. He was able to score four points and grab eight rebounds.
• Skal Labissiere continues to show lots of energy and aggression on the court as he recorded 10 points and nine rebounds for the match.

The next time Sacramento suits up will be on Thursday when they face off against the Miami Heat.