The Phoenix Suns (14-13) and Sacramento Kings (16-10) meet tonight in Sacramento for their second matchup this season. Phoenix enters tonight having lost seven of its last 10 games, while Sacramento fell to the Celtics Wednesday to snap a three-game winning streak. The Suns will not only continue to be missing Bradley Beal and Josh Okogie, but Jusuf Nurkić is missing his first game of the year due to personal reasons. Sacramento won the first contest between the teams 114-106 on Dec. 8, but the Suns were without Kevin Durant in this matchup. the Kings are pretty much completely healthy tonight.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Local Game Information
Start Time: 8 p.m. MST
Location:Â Golden 1 Center
TV Channel: 3TV/AZ Family
Radio:Â Arizona Sports 98.7 FM, La Mejor 106.5 FM
Stream:Â Suns Live (click for more info)
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) December 22, 2023
Betting Odds
Line: SAC -3.5
O/U:Â 244.5
Injury Report
Phoenix Suns: Bradley Beal (right ankle sprain) OUT | Jusuf Nurkić (personal reasons) OUT | Nassir Little (left knee soreness) AVAILABLE | Josh Okogie (right hip injury) OUT | Damion Lee (right meniscus surgery) OUT
Sacramento Kings: Malik Monk (right foot irritation) AVAILABLE | JaVale McGee (right wrist irritation) AVAILABLE | Alex Len (high ankle sprain) OUT
Starters
Phoenix Suns: Devin Booker, Eric Gordon, Grayson Allen, Kevin Durant, Drew Eubanks
Sacramento Kings: De’Aaron Fox, Kevin Huerter, Harrison Barnes, Keegan Murray, Domantas Sabonis
Last Time Out
The Phoenix Suns (14-13) blew a 16-point lead and fell 109-104 to the then 7-19 Portland Trail Blazers Tuesday night. After struggling against the 4-win Wizards on Sunday, the Suns came out of the gates scorching hot, winning the first quarter 36-20. However, the Blazers cut the lead to eight at halftime highlighted an 18-4 run in the second quarter. Then, they blew the game wide open with a 14-0 run early in the third quarter and ended up winning the period 38-20. The Suns made a valiant comeback effort at the end, but it was not enough. Kevin Durant had a 40-piece, but Phoenix struggled to get into offensive sets late in the game, and Devin Booker and Durant had some rough stretches tonight that the Blazers were able to take advantage of. Booker had 26 points on 11-of-25 shooting and seven assists, while Grayson Allen had 11 points and nine rebounds. The Suns shot 5-of-23 (21.7%) from deep compared to 14-of-28 (50%) from beyond the arc for Portland.
Even though the Boston Celtics were without Jayson Tatum and on the second night of a back-to-back, the Sacramento Kings allowed them to score 144 points and win 144-119 Wednesday night. De’Aaaron Fox had 29 points in the loss. Sacramento came out of the gates scorching hot with 11 three-pointers in the first quarter, but only 10 the rest of the way. Domantas Sabonis had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, as Sacramento allowed Boston to shoot over 50% from the field and three-point range.
Flashback: Last Meeting (Dec. 8, 2023)
Team Matchup Notes
Here are some stats, notes and everything else to know about the Suns and Kings before their second matchup of the season (via Suns)
Each team’s stats (via Suns):
Five Keys to Game for Suns
- Play the full 48 minutes, can’t just be good in spurts
- Defending De’Aaron Fox
- Others getting involved around Booker and Durant
- Play with pace
- Showing effort
Preview: Devin Booker’s Message to Suns
Devin Booker Outlines How Suns Can Build Cohesiveness through Rough Stretch
Preview: Jusuf Nurkić Missing First Game
Jusuf Nurkic to miss first game of the season due to personal reasons
Preview: Josh Okogie Out
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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
