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Kings vs. Knicks Preview: Odds, Injuries, & Predictions

By Anthony Cardenas

SACRAMENTO, CA - MARCH 4: De'Aaron Fox #5 of the Sacramento Kings brings the ball up the court against the New York Knicks on March 4, 2019 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images)
SACRAMENTO, CA - MARCH 4: De'Aaron Fox #5 of the Sacramento Kings brings the ball up the court against the New York Knicks on March 4, 2019 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Sunday’s matchup between the New York Knicks and Sacramento Kings will be a battle of teams at the bottom of their respective divisions.

The Sacramento Kings finally have some momentum behind them, having been victorious for the first time this season in Friday’s game against the talented Utah Jazz. They hold on to a small sliver of hope about getting back in to the playoff race, and could use another victory over the less-talented New York Knicks on Sunday afternoon.

The Knicks come in to the game with an identical 1-5 record, their lone win coming against a similarly-lowly Chicago Bulls team. New York will be looking to capitalize on the rough start from Sacramento, who traveled cross country yesterday for the start of a three-game road trip. Rookie RJ Barrett leads the Knicks in scoring at 17.7ppg, and Julius Randle is putting up solid numbers with 14 points and 11 rebounds per game.

Here’s what you need to know about tonight’s contest:

Tip-off: 3:00PM PT
Radio: 1140 KHTK
Watch: NBC Sports California, or stream live on Fubo.tv

Betting Info: If you had told me two weeks ago that the Knicks would be favored against the Kings, I would have called you crazy. Yet here we are, and Sacramento is a 1 point underdog. The line opened at +1.5, meaning that most of the money has been on the Kings thus far. (Courtesy of The Action Network)

Injury Report:

Kings:

Harry Giles – Questionable (knee)

Knicks:

Dennis Smith Jr: Questionable (personal)

Kadeem Allen: Questionable (knee)

Elfrid Payton: Out (hamstring)

Last 5 Meetings:

3/9/19 – Kings 102, Knicks 94

3/4/19 – Kings 115, Knicks 108

3/4/18 – Kings 102, Knicks 99

11/11/17 – Knicks 118, Kings 91

12/9/16 – Knicks 103, Kings 100

Players To Watch:

The Kings frontcourt has come alive over the last couple of games, and they can continue their success against a decent but not dominant front line of Mitchell Robinson and Julius Randle for the Knicks. The matchup between Robinson and Richaun Holmes should be fun to watch.

The Sacramento backcourt should be able to feast as well. Each of the Knicks top-6 leading scorers is either a wing or frontcourt player. Their leading scorer amongst guards is Elfrid Payton at 8ppg, and he won’t even be playing in this game. If Buddy Hield and De’Aaron Fox struggle to stay in front of the Knicks guards, it will be very telling of their defensive abilities.

Next. Kings Will Eventually Start Making Their Threes. dark

Prediction:

Despite being underdogs, the Kings are still hungry and now have a small amount of momentum coming in to this game. They will win.

Kings 114, Knicks 101

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