The Phoenix Suns (12-9) and Sacramento Kings (11-8) meet tonight at Footprint Center after both being eliminated from the NBA In-Season Tournament. This will be their first matchup this season. The Suns will be missing Kevin Durant (left ankle sprain), Grayson Allen (right groin strain) and Bradley Beal (low back strain) tonight. Durant and Allen suffered their injuries during Tuesday’s loss to the Lakers, while Beal is ramping up his recovery process but not ready to return yet. The Suns enter tonight having lost three of their last four, while the Kings have been very back and forth with wins and losses this season.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Local Game Information
Start Time: 7 p.m. MST
Location: Footprint Center
TV Channel: 3TV/AZ Family
Radio: Arizona Sports 98.7 FM, La Mejor 106.5 FM
Stream: Suns Live (click for more info)
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) December 8, 2023
Betting Odds
Line: SAC -2.5
O/U: 235.5
Injury Report
Phoenix Suns: Kevin Durant (left ankle sprain) OUT | Grayson Allen (right groin strain) OUT | Bradley Beal (low back strain) OUT | Damion Lee (right meniscus surgery) OUT
Sacramento Kings: Chris Duarte (left knee soreness) QUESTIONABLE | Alex Len (right high ankle sprain) OUT | Colby Jones (lower back soreness) OUT
Starters (Projected)
Phoenix Suns: Devin Booker, Eric Gordon, Josh Okogie, Keita Bates-Diop, Jusuf Nurkić
Sacramento Kings: De’Aaron Fox, Kevin Huerter, Harrison Barnes, Keegan Murray, Domantas Sabonis
Last Time Out
The Phoenix Suns were eliminated from the NBA In-Season Tournament and a spot in Las Vegas after a controversial 106-103 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers (13-9) Tuesday and fell to 12-9 on the year. Here is how the controversial sequence unfolded: Durant had just cut the deficit to two on a nice layup. Both Devin Booker and Durant had five fouls, and they did not a good job of trapping not fouling Austin Reaves on the ensuing Lakers’ inbound. Reaves coughed up the ball, but LeBron James appeared to be granted a timeout while it was loose with seven seconds remaining. Grayson Allen would have had an easy layup had the timeout not been awarded. Now, the Suns had a very rough first half in this game, coughing up an NBA-high 10 turnovers in the first quarter and allowing 12 offensive rebounds in the half. Phoenix turned it around in the second half with a 14-0 run to start the third quarter. In the end, James (31/11/8) and Anthony Davis (27/15) had a better game as a duo than Booker (21/11/6) and Durant (31/7/4). Both Austin Reaves (20/6) and Grayson Allen (21) were huge role players in this contest. The Suns turned the ball over 20 times total in this game, and the Lakers shot it 27 more times than them, but Phoenix stayed in it until the very end.
The Sacramento Kings (11-8) were eliminated from the NBA In-Season Tournament Monday night by the New Orleans Pelicans (12-10) with a 127-117 loss. De’Aaron Fox had 30 points in the loss, while Domantas Sabonis had 26 points and 13 rebounds. This was the Kings’ first loss of the tournament. Sacramento jumped out to an early 32-17 lead, but a 28-5 New Orleans run got them right back into it. The Pelicans continued to build on their lead until the fourth quarter. Sacramento cut it down to six at one point during the final period, but they could never fully comeback.
Flashback: Last Meeting (March 24, 2023)
Team Matchup Notes
Here are some stats, notes and everything else to know about the Suns and Kings before their first matchup of the season (via Suns)
Each team’s stats (via Suns):
Five Keys to Game for Suns
- Can’t start slow being shorthanded
- Devin Booker has to get rolling
- Don’t allow Kings to get a bunch of momentum
- Jusuf Nurkić has to play well on both sides of the ball
- Slow down De’Aaron Fox as much as possible
WATCH: Suns’ Coach Frank Vogel on Sacramento Kings
#Suns vs. #Kings tonight at 7 p.m. MST
Frank Vogel: “If anybody’s seen the Sacramento Kings play, we know there’s gonna be a high intensity game there”
On De’Aaron Fox: “I’ve been a fan of De’Aaron Fox since he came out of the draft … I knew he was gonna be a star” pic.twitter.com/LeAr7YcFHf
— Burn City Suns Talk 🎙️ (@BurnCitySuns) December 8, 2023
Preview: Durant, Allen, Beal All Out Tonight
Suns will be without some key pieces against the Kings on Friday
Preview: Bradley Beal Ramping up Return
Bradley Beal Full Participant in Practice as He Ramps up Return
WATCH: Suns’ Practice Interviews Yesterday
Frank Vogel Provides Not-So-Good Phoenix Suns Update Ahead of Tomorrow Night’s Matchup vs. Kings
Eric Gordon Remains Optimistic for How Good Phoenix Suns Can Be Moving Forward
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Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau
