Sports

This week couldn’t have been better for the Sacramento Kings. They’ve started off their six-game home stand 3-0, first making a showing by beating the second-seeded team in the Western Conference, the Oklahoma City Thunder, whose star player, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, has been at the top of the league MVP candidate list. But the Thunder couldn’t stop the three-pointers the Kings have been putting up lately, including 7 in the third quarter alone. Domantas Sabonis recorded his 19th double-double on the season, De’Aaron Fox had 41 points, and Malik Monk and Keon Ellis were excellent off the bench with 18 and 17 points, respectively. The Kings beat the Thunder 128-123.

Their next game against the Utah Jazz was the one I really couldn’t wait to tell you about. Not only did the Kings dominate the Jazz, 125-104, but second-year player Keegan Murray started the game 12 for 13 on three-pointers. For those of you who don’t know, that is unheard of. The record for most three-pointers in a game is 14, by the Warriors’ Klay Thompson. Murray finished the game with those 12 three-pointers, 47 total points, eight rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Murray is always a very serious player and never cracks a smile during the game, but he couldn’t hold it in that night. I’ve never seen him smile so big; I guess it’s hard not to when you break your team’s franchise record for three-pointers and lead your team to a 125-104 victory. Murray gave it up to his teammates in the interview after the game for feeding him the ball when he had the hot hand. The rest of the team wasn’t too shabby either; Sabonis had another double-double, with 20 points, ten rebounds, and eight assists, Harrison Barnes had 16 points, and Monk had 18.

It was Sabonis’ time to shine in the next game against the Washington Wizards. Sabonis shines every night, but he’s so good it’s easy to take for granted that he has the third most rebounds in the league. But not this time; Sabonis got his third triple-double of the season with 28 points, 13 rebounds, and 12 assists. Fox, who was out of the last game with a shoulder injury, was back and got 30 points, while Murray finished with 25. The Kings beat the Wizards 143-131.

The Kings will play the number one team in the Eastern Conference, the Boston Celtics, on Wednesday, December 20th, and I can’t wait for this matchup. The Celtics might have 20 wins to the Kings 16, but they are 6-6 in road games this season, including a loss to the Warriors just the night before. If the Kings can pull out this win, they will be in a great position moving forward in the season. The Kings will also play the Phoenix Suns on Friday, December 22nd, the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday, December 23rd (that dreaded back-to-back game!), and the Portland Trailblazers on Tuesday, December 26th. If you happen to be in Downieville and you want to know if the Kings won, I’ve been “lighting the beam” on my LED Christmas tree on my house on the hill, so look up to the south side of town and say, “Go, Kings!”