Kings coach Mike Brown makes lineup change in overtime win against Portland Trail Blazers
Kings coach Mike Brown kept the media guessing prior to Wednesday’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers, saying everyone would have to “wait and see” if he was making a change to his starting lineup.
Brown hinted at changes following two blowout losses to the Houston Rockets, saying he would review the film and sleep on it before making any decisions. Brown made his move Wednesday, giving Keon Ellis his first career start with All-Star De’Aaron Fox still sidelined due to injury.
At the end of the night, it was Ellis who lit the beam after helping the Kings end a three-game losing streak with a 121-118 overtime win over the Blazers before an announced sellout crowd of 17,829 at Golden 1 Center.
“That was a grimy, gritty, ugly win,” Brown said. “I’m proud of our guys because there were plenty of times down the stretch that they could have folded and just said, ‘Hey, we fought hard. It was close and we’ll just go get ready for the next one,’ but to our guys’ credit, they found a way to win.”
Domantas Sabonis flirted with a triple-double, posting 27 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists for the Kings (3-4). Malik Monk had 23 points, six rebounds and a career-high 10 assists, posting his third career double-double.
“It’s always great to win without an All-Star on the court — your star,” Monk said. “Like I said before, it just shows that we know how to win together. We’ve been losing. We’ve been down a little bit, but it’s basketball. It just shows that we’re together.”
Monk went 4 of 16 from the field, but he made 15 free throws on 19 attempts — both career highs — and scored 14 points in the fourth quarter to help the Kings force overtime.
“If I’m not hitting shots, I always find another way to impact the game, and I finally got 10 assists for the first time in my career,” Monk said. “So, I just try to do stuff different if I’m not hitting shots. I don’t care about the misses. I have crazy confidence, so I knew I was just going to keep going to the lane and getting fouled.”
Monk’s ability to attack the basket and get to the line was crucial with Fox missing his fourth consecutive game with a right ankle sprain.
“He had a huge game for us,” Brown said. “He just found a way to get something done.”
Kevin Huerter added 17 points, five rebounds and four assists for the Kings. Davion Mitchell, who went back to the bench after starting the past three games, had a season-high 16 points, making 6 of 9 from the field and 3 of 4 from 3-point range.
Jerami Grant put up a season-high 38 points and nine rebounds for the Blazers (3-5). Deandre Ayton had 18 points and 10 rebounds. Skylar Mays had 18 points and 11 assists. Shaedon Sharpe also scored 18 points.
The two teams combined for 39 turnovers, 53 personal fouls and 67 free-throw attempts.
“These are the type of games we have to win, especially in this building, so it wasn’t pretty, but we found a way to get it done,” Huerter said. “I’d rather win ugly than lose pretty. These are the ones you need. You’re going to look back on this game and it goes in the win column. That’s kind of all that matters.”
Brown didn’t stop with the change to his starting lineup. He shook up his whole rotation, choosing to play reserves Kessler Edwards and Alex Len over the likes of Sasha Vezenkov and JaVale McGee. Brown said he was rewarding the players who finished strong against the Rockets on Monday after the Kings trailed by as many as 40 points.
“He changed the rotation in general with a lot of the guys,” Sabonis said. “He’s just (saying) anybody can play if we’re not ready. We had two embarrassing losses in Houston and that’s not part of our plan.”
The Kings led 34-29 at the end of the first quarter. They went up by 10 in the second, but they allowed the Blazers to come back to take a 60-56 halftime lead, drawing a chorus of boos as they headed to the locker room at the break. After shooting 56.5% in the first period, the Kings went 9 of 25 (.360) in the second, making just 2 of 11 from 3-point range.
Sacramento took a 72-67 lead after outscoring Portland 16-7 to start the second half before the Blazers responded with an 8-0 run to reclaim the lead. The Kings were up 85-84 going into the fourth quarter, but they found themselves trailing 111-109 when Monk drove to the basket with a chance to tie the game with 8.3 seconds remaining.
Monk was initially called for an offensive foul, but the call was overturned upon review when officials ruled Sharpe was in the restricted area. Monk went to the line to make two free throws, sending the game to overtime.
The Kings were clinging to a one-point lead when Monk missed a floater in the lane, but he grabbed his own rebound, forcing the Blazers to foul with 13 seconds to go. Again, Monk made both free throws, and Grant missed a 3-pointer on Portland’s final possession.
The Kings needed everything from everyone to secure a much-needed victory, something that could be good for the team’s togetherness moving forward.
“Yeah, you need that,” Huerter said. “It’s a long season. We’ve got a lot of guys in this locker room who can play, and we need everybody to be a good team in this league and make it through. You’ve got to be a deep team to win in the regular season, and, obviously, with Fox out, we need a lot of guys to step up.”
Seeing double
Wednesday’s game marked the first NBA matchup between Keegan Murray and his twin brother, Blazers rookie Kris Murray, with mother Michelle and father Kenyon in attendance. After the game, the Murray twins met at midcourt to swap jerseys.
Kris Murray came on for three minutes at the start of the second quarter, sharing an NBA floor with his brother for the first time in their careers. When Keegan Murray attempted a baseline jumper with 9:48 to play in the first half, his brother was there to block the shot.
The Kings selected Keegan Murray out of Iowa with the No. 4 pick in the 2022 draft. He was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team after breaking the rookie record for 3-point goals (206).
The Blazers took Kris Murray out of Iowa with the 23rd pick in the 2023 draft. He has appeared in three games, logging a total of 20 minutes, and is still searching for his first NBA basket.
Brogdon out
Blazers guard Malcolm Brogdon scored five points in five minutes before leaving the game. The Blazers later announced Brogdon would not return due to a left hamstring strain.
The loss of Brogdon added to Portland’s injury problems. Rookie Scoot Henderson (ankle), Anfernee Simons (thumb), Ish Wainright (calf) and Robert Williams III (knee) were all ruled out before the game.
Up next
The Kings will continue their three-game homestand when they play host to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday in their first game in West Group C as part of the NBA’s new in-season tournament.
The Thunder was 4-3 going into Wednesday’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was averaging 25.7 points, 7.0 rebounds and 6.5 assists. Chet Holmgren was averaging 17.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.4 blocks.
The Kings, Thunder, Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves were grouped together in a random drawing prior to the season. Each team will play four group stage games on Tuesdays and Fridays in November. Eight teams will advance from group play to the quarterfinals, which will also be played at home arenas, with four teams advancing to the Final Four Dec. 7-9 in Las Vegas.
