The Sacramento Kings went into the fourth quarter of last night’s game against the Denver Nuggets with a 93-84 lead, but fell to the Nuggets 110-116 after the script was flipped in the fourth quarter.
The Kings looked like they were in control of the game and would come away with a perfect 4-0 road trip, but as the fourth quarter took place, the Kings struggled to get any offensive rhythm going.
Part of that was them going to the isolation offense of DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine, mostly due to their two main distributors, Malik Monk and Domantas Sabonis, being out.
And the offensive strategy was working. DeRozan and LaVine both were hitting the shots and showing that they are two tough-shot makers in the league, but as the game got more physical, the whistles weren’t going their way.
The game ended with a huge free throw discpency, as the Kings shot just 14 free throws to the Nuggets 30. In the fourth quarter alone, Sacramento shot just 4 times from the line, compared to 13 for Denver.
While the Kings weren’t necessarily driving and getting to the rim like the Nuggets were, they were shooting through contact, as Denver played tight against the Kings’ stars as the game wore on.
DeRozan got his repeatadly on his shots without getting calls, and made his frustrations known both during the game while pleading with the refs, and after in his postgame interview with the Sacramnto Bee’s Chris Biderman.
DeMar DeRozan on the fourth quarter in which the Kings were outscored 32-17 while there was a 13-4 free-throw disparity:
“The refs were terrible. Terrible as shit. Simple as that.”
— Chris Biderman (@ChrisBiderman) March 6, 2025
What made it more frustrating for the Kings players, coaches, and fans was that the Nuggets were getting the same calls on the other end of the court.
Jamal Murray shot six free throws in the final frame, with what appeared to be the same amount of contact that DeRozan was receiving, and Nikola Jokic shot four, even though he was the one often initiating the contact himself.
While the Kings offense didn’t have the flow in the fourth quarter that they had for the rest of the game, it’s hard to argue that letting DeRozan and LaVine go to work wasn’t the best option as the game slowed down.
Kings Assists by Quarter
1st: 9
2nd: 4
3rd: 8
4th: 1— Will Z. Stats (@will_zimmerle) March 6, 2025
That’s what playoff basketball typically is, and especially without Monk and Sabonis, is a good strategy for the Kings. Having them hit tough shots against the Nuggets is one thing, but asking them to hit those same tough shots through contact is another.
If the game were called fairly and the same on both sides, this loss would be easier to stomach. But the discrepancy makes it frustrating and feel like this one slipped through the Kings fingers.
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