The Phoenix Suns fell to 9-3 on the season after getting blown out 127-104 by the Sacramento Kings Wednesday night.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Kevin Durant (left calf strain), Bradley Beal (left calf contusion) and Grayson Allen (right hamstring soreness) were all out for the Suns, who were also on the second night of a back to back. Sacramento was without Malik Monk (right ankle sprain), and DeMar DeRozan did not return after halftime with lower back tightness, finishing with only 2 points.
The Kings improved to 7-5 on the year with the win, and have now handed the Suns two of their three losses this season, also winning 127-118 in overtime Sunday.
Here are some initial takeaways from the loss for the undermanned Suns:
– Phoenix showed a lot of fight, but ultimately did not have enough to compete with the Kings to the end. This was the Suns’ first double-digit loss on the year and only the second game decided by double digits.
– Josh Okogie kept Phoenix in it most of the night with a season-high 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting (3-of-4 from 3), eight rebounds and two steals off the bench.
– The Kings sent double and triple teams at Devin Booker all night without Durant and Beal. Phoenix was unable to create offense early on, and eventually figured it out to some degree, but it wasn’t sustainable the rest of the game. Booker had 18 points on 6-of-16 shooting (1-of-4 from 3), five assists, three rebounds, two steals and three turnovers in 31 minutes.
– The Kings started the game 7-for-7 from 3 and never looked back. Durant always says the NBA is a “make or miss league” and tonight that worked big time in favor of Sacramento. The Kings shot 50-for-78 (64.1%) from the floor and 15-for-28 (53.6%) from 3. Comparatively, the Suns shot 36-for-97 (37.1%) as a team and were 13-for-43 (30.2%) from 3. This was the Suns’ lowest field goal and 3-point percentage in a game so far this year and the highest field goal and 3-point percentage allowed to an opponent.
– Royce O’Neale (2-12 FG, 5 points), Tyus Jones (3-11 FG, 10 points) and Jusuf Nurkić (1-7 FG, 3 points) all played big parts in the shooting struggles.
– Phoenix still did a lot of good things in this game despite the shooting numbers. The Suns had a season-high 19 offensive rebounds and forced 17 Kings turnovers, including seven from Domantas Sabonis, leading to 29 points off turnovers. Meanwhile, Phoenix only had 10 turnovers leading to 12 Kings points.
– TyTy Washington Jr. impressed in his first NBA minutes of the year, contributing eight points on 3-of-6 shooting in 16 minutes. Monté Morris also excelled in his 13 bench minutes with 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting. The Suns’ bench had by far a season-high 58 points in the loss.
– De’Aaron Fox always gave momentum back to the Kings whenever Phoenix threw a counterpunch. He had a game-high 29 points on 11-of-17 shooting to go along with 10 assists, six rebounds and two steals. Kevin Huerter (22 points), Keegan Murray (17 points) and Sabonis (11 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists) all posed problems for the Suns throughout the night.
2 Suns join Kevin Durant in being out with injuries vs. Kings
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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
