The Sacramento Kings, a team trying to end a long streak of missing the playoffs this season, hosted the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday. The Kings, behind a strong performance from Domantas Sabonis, won the game in a contest that was close as time expired. They put up a one-possession margin of victory in the showdown, winning by 1 point. The final score was Denver 126, and Sacramento 127.
Nuggets @ Kings Wednesday: Nikol Jokic scores 40
With the loss, the Nuggets are now 22-12 overall on the season. They had the top scorer in the game despite losing, Nikola Jokic. He had a very impressive 40 points in the contest over just 32 minutes of playing time.
Denver Nuggets: #4 Ranked Team at a Glance
- Overall record: 22-12
- Home record: 12-3
- Away record: 10-9
- Winning/losing streak: L1
- Last ten games: 8-2
Meanwhile, the Kings improved to 18-15 with the 1-point victory. They entered the day with some question marks over Sabonis, a player who recently injured his thumb.
He missed their previous game, which resulted in a loss. With just the one-point spread against Denver, assumingly the Kings would have lost if not for his strong performance. He went 31 and 10 for points and rebounds respectively. De'Aaron Fox also had a great game with 31 points and 13 assists. Meanwhile, the Kings' leading scorer was Malik Monk off of the bench with 33 points.
A big subplot with this NBA season is: Will Sacramento finally end its playoff drought? Their last appearance in the postseason came in 2005/06, a sixteen-season drought. There are very few players in the NBA that were in the league the last time Sacramento contested a playoff game. They will certainly need Sabonis and Fox to stay healthy in order to end the drought. Sacramento's next game is Friday night when they host the Utah Jazz.
Further reading: NBA Power Rankings
