The Sacramento Kings endured yet another heartbreaking loss on Monday evening, falling to the Orlando Magic 114-112.
Here is everything that we loved and hated from the Sacramento Kings game on Monday night.
Loved: Hot Shooting By Bjelica
Nemanja Bjelica had one of his signature first quarters in this contest, scoring a big 12 points points in the opening frame. He didn’t slow down, either. He added ten more in the second quarter and another six in the third. His two three-pointers in the fourth quarter would be the sole reason that the Kings were competitive in the final frame. He would finish the game with a career-high 34 points and was the only reliable King outside of De’Aaron Fox.
Hated: Too Many Points For Magic
The Magic entered the game as the lowest-scoring team in the NBA and owned the fourth-lowest three-point percentage. In this contest, they looked the opposite of what their numbers suggest. They had 65 points by half time and finished with 114, nine more than their season average.
Hated: Ugly Finish To First Half
The Kings were hovering around a ten-point deficit throughout much of the second quarter, but began to make a little comeback midway through the period. De’Aaron Fox’s made jumper with three minutes to go in the half pulled the Kings within five, 53-48. By the time Evan Fournier hit two free throws with 1:02 on the clock, the Magic had pushed the lead all the way up to 17.
Loved: Bagley’s Solid Return
Marvin Bagley made his return from injury in this game, just in time to alleviate some of the pain of the absence of Richaun Holmes. The second-year big man played well, particularly in the second half. He had an impressive sequence where he blocked a shit by Nikola Vucevic and was rewarded on the other end with a scoring opportunity. His layup cut the Magic lead to 4.
Bagley would finish the night with 18 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 blocks.
Hated: Free Throw Discrepancy
We are not suggesting any kind of referee conspiracy or fix out against the Sacramento Kings. But there is no denying that the free throw discrepancy over the last two games has been staggering.
In Friday’s game against the Bucks, Sacramento was only able to make it to the free-throw line ten times, while their opponent shot thirty freebies. It was more of the same in Monday’s game against the Magic. Orlando finished the game 25 made free throws on 30 attempts. Sacramento was 10 for 11.