The Sacramento Kings dropped a close game to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first stop of a long road trip. But it wasn't the usual suspects who stepped up for the Kings. It was primarily the bench, led by Domantas Sabonis, who made this a close game instead of the blowout it could have been.
During the first few minutes of Sacramento's match-up with Cleveland, it looked like the Kings were about to get stomped out once again. The Cavs jumped out to an early double-digit lead before the Kings even scored a bucket. Their first points came from a pair of Russell Westbrook free throws.
By the end of the first quarter, the Kings had the game all tied up with a score of 35 to 35. When halftime hit, they were only down three points. While the Cavs ultimately won the game 123 to 118, Sacramento kept it close for the vast majority of the 48 minutes.
Outside of DeMar DeRozan, the starters were largely quiet. Rookie standout Maxime Raynaud played just over nine minutes and finished with a total of one rebound on the stat sheet. The rest of the starters weren't that much better. It was the bench who kept this one close.
The Kings' bench takes it to the Cavs
Players coming off the bench scored 73 of the Kings' 118 points, leaving the starters to pick up the remaining 45 points. This was particularly evident in the first half when Sacramento's starting five was having problems getting out of the gate and making their presence felt.
The second half saw the starters pick the pace up with DeRozan, Westbrook, and LaVine all finishing in double digits. DeRozan, in particular, found his shot in the back half, totaling up 20 points by the time the game came to an end. Still, it was the bench who took care of business.
Sabonis returned from missing the last home game for injury management to drop 24 on the Cavs. He was backed up by Dennis Schroder, who collected 21 points, and Malik Monk with 16. Keep in mind that these are three of the players the Kings will likely try to move before the trade deadline.
The biggest surprise was Zach LaVine, who only took eight field goal attempts and finished with 10 points on 50% shooting. Even in a loss, the starters usually produce a bit more firepower than this. Hopefully, they can find a better rhythm during the rest of this road trip.