A Royal Pain
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Kings vs. Suns: Predictions, Injuries, & Betting Info

By Anthony Cardenas

PHOENIX, ARIZONA - OCTOBER 23: Buddy Hield #24 of the Sacramento Kings drives the ball past Devin Booker #1 of the Phoenix Suns during the first half of the NBA game at Talking Stick Resort Arena on October 23, 2019 in Phoenix, Arizona. 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 License Agreement (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
PHOENIX, ARIZONA - OCTOBER 23: Buddy Hield #24 of the Sacramento Kings drives the ball past Devin Booker #1 of the Phoenix Suns during the first half of the NBA game at Talking Stick Resort Arena on October 23, 2019 in Phoenix, Arizona. 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 License Agreement (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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The Phoenix Suns will travel to the California capital tonight to take on the recently surging Sacramento Kings in a rematch of the season opener.

Things sure have changed for both the Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns since they met in the season opener in late October.

The Suns have been one of the surprises of the league, sporting a 7-5 record and currently sit as the seventh seed in the mighty Western Conference. They have fallen on tougher times as of late, losing 3 of their last 5 games, including a dud against the Boston Celtics on Monday night, a day after Boston lost to Sacramento.

The Kings have had the opposite trend. After starting the season 0-5 and losing their two cornerstone players for months at a time, they have found their footing and are back in contention for one of the final playoff spots. They are playing excellent defense and members of the second unit have stepped up in the absence of De’Aaron Fox and Marvin Bagley.

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

Tip-off: 7:00 PM PT
Radio: 1140 KHTK
Watch: NBC Sports California, or stream live on Fubo.tv

Betting Info: The line for this contest opened with a pick ’em, but Sacramento is currently favored by 2 points. The Kings were 1.5 point favorites in the season opener when these two teams first met. Phoenix won that game by 29 points. The Kings are 7-5 against the spread this season. (Courtesy of The Action Network)

Injury Report:

Kings:

Trevor Ariza – Probable (groin)

Caleb Swanigan – Questionable (ankle)

Suns:

Ricky Rubio – Questionable (back)

Last 5 Meetings:

10/23/19 – Suns 124, Kings 95

3/23/19 – Kings 112, Suns 103

2/10/19 – Kings 117, Suns 104

1/8/19 – Suns 115, Kings 111

12/4/18 – Kings 122, Suns 105

Matchup To Watch:

Tonight’s shooting guard matchup will feature two of the top scoring guards in the Pacific Division. Devin Booker is averaging 25 points for the Suns and is enjoying the best shooting percentages of his career. He will have to cut down on the turnovers, however. Booker has 17 giveaways in the last three games, and Buddy Hield, his counterpart for the evening, recorded a season-high four steals in the Kings’ last contest.

Speaking of Hield, the Kings shooting guard had one of the best shooting nights of his career in Sunday’s victory over the Celtics. He scored 35 points on just 24 attempts, and didn’t shoot a single free throw. With a portion of the scoring load missing due to De’Aaron Fox’s injury, Hield’s output was much-needed and will become almost expected if the Kings hope to remain in any sort of playoff contention.

Next. Players Are Believing In Luke Walton. dark

Prediction:

The Suns are playing the second game of a back-to-back, and the Kings are looking for one more important victory before they head out for another East Coast road trip. Sacramento should be able to nab a victory.

Kings 109, Suns 102

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