Sabonis posts 37-point triple-double as Kings rally from 20-point deficit to beat Pistons

The Kings followed Sunday’s 33-point loss to the New Orleans Pelicans with another clunky effort Tuesday in Detroit, continuing their confounding season filled with promising wins and head-scratching losses.

Beating the hapless Pistons, who fell to 3-34 and are in danger of winning the fewest games since the nine-win Philadelphia 76ers in 1972-73, falls somewhere in between.

The Kings had to overcome a 20-point first-quarter deficit and a 10-0 Pistons run late in the third quarter to escape the Motor City with the 131-110 win in the first game of a five-game road trip.

Domantas Sabonis had a season-high 37 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists, posting his ninth triple-double of the season for the Kings (22-14). Keegan Murray scored 32 points, his second-highest scoring total of the season. De’Aaron Fox had 26 points and Malik Monk came off the bench to score 20.

It marked the third time this season head coach Mike Brown’s team won a game in which it trailed by 20 or more. It happened twice before Tuesday: Nov. 28 against the Golden State Warriors (24 points) at Golden 1 Center and Dec. 29 on the road against the Atlanta Hawks (23 points).

Sabonis, vying for his second consecutive All-Star selection, was frustrated with his team’s start that required battling back for the win. The Kings’ allowed Detroit to score 47 points in the first quarter.

“It was just embarrassing,” he said. “Getting (almost) 50 points in the first quarter was not what we expected coming into this game, so we just had to turn it around.”

The Pistons came into the game missing former No. 1 overall draft pick Cade Cunningham, who recently sprained his left knee and left Sunday’s game against the Denver Nuggets. Detroit was paced by Bojan Bogdanovic (26 points) and Jaden Ivey (22), who was taken one pick after Murray was selected with the fourth overall in the 2022 NBA draft.

Murray’s scoring came on efficient shooting. He went 13 of 17 from the floor with 13 of his points coming when the game turned in the second quarter. That stretch included two fastbreak dunks, a midrange jumper and left-handed finish.

“Obviously, it’s human nature to be concerned about the first quarter,” Murray said. “But I feel like the last three quarters is what we know we are.”

The Kings didn’t play with defensive force early and were down by 20 late in the first quarter. The Pistons made nine of their first 11 shots and missed just six shots in the opening frame, shooting 76% while making 7 of 10 from 3-point range, but they missed 15 of 20 field goals in the second quarter.

The Kings took their first lead with 1:09 left in the first half on a Fox bucket. It capped a 39-18 second quarter as the Kings took control of the game. Sabonis hit the break with 22 points on 10-of-11 shooting with seven assists, three rebounds and three steals.

Murray noted the Kings’ defensive aggression led to turning the game around in the second quarter.

“We had nine deflections that quarter. I feel like that was the turning point,” Murray said. “Getting out of the mindset of last game, those last five quarters.”

Sacramento began to break it open with a 15-3 run to start the third quarter. The Kings outscored the Pistons 104-63 after Detroit took its largest lead of the game in the final minute of the first period.

Sacramento is hoping is to parlay the emotional lift from Tuesday’s comeback into another win on Wednesday when the Kings travel to Charlotte for a back-to-back. The Kings are 4-1 on the first leg of back-to-backs, and 1-4 on the second nights. They lost to the Hornets at home last week, 111-104.

Coming off the 33-point loss to New Orleans, Murray said players were more vocal in practices and meetings leading up to Monday’s game, the first of the road trip that includes trips to Philadelphia, Milwaukee and Phoenix.

“We had a lot of players step up and speak, so it wasn’t just coach led,” Murray said. “That was the biggest thing for us, just kind of get everything out in the air. ... As a team, we still have confidence. We’re not going to let one game dictate the last 50 games we have in the season.”

Huerter returns to starting lineup

Brown was in evaluation mode in the second half when the Kings were getting blown out by the Pelicans on Sunday. He has shown a willingness to make changes to lineups and rotations based on how players look while games are out of reach. It happened in early November when he decided to elevate Keon Ellis over Davion Mitchell in the rotation while Fox was dealing with an ankle injury.

The latest version of this pattern: putting Kevin Huerter back into the starting lineup for Tuesday’s game in Detroit.

Huerter was demoted to the bench during the Kings’ last road trip in favor of Chris Duarte. It lasted five games, with Huerter putting up pedestrian numbers while averaging 17 minutes. But he played well in garbage time against the Pelicans, scoring 12 fourth-quarter points and playing improved defense.

It led to Huerter making his 217th start with Sacramento against the Pistons, and putting back together one of the best statistical lineups in the NBA. The Kings’ traditional starters of Fox, Huerter, Murray, Harrison Barnes and Sabonis came into Tuesday with 291 minutes together, the 10th-most used lineup in the league. Their 12.2 net rating ranked sixth among all lineups that have seen 200 minutes.

Huerter finished Tuesday with four points on 2-of-11 shooting, but he made up for his inefficiency by adding five rebounds and five assists. Sacramento was plus-16 during his 29 minutes.

“(It’s been) a roller coaster,” Huerter said afterwards of his season. “Definitely a roller roaster. I think this whole year for me, just trying to find consistency somewhere. A lot of ups and downs and I think really just continuing to find myself and find ways to contribute to help this team win.”

Brown noted how Huerter has improved defensively since his first season with the Kings in 2022-23.

“And it’s not even close,” Brown said. “He’s got to go vertical (while contesting shots) and he’s got to take a charge, just like everybody else on our team. Because we have to defend by committee.”

Brown mentioned the Kings don’t have a traditional rim protector, which puts pressure on the team’s perimeter defenders to stop penetration and make quick rotations to help, which is where Huerter impressed Brown with his play on Sunday, in addition to hitting shots after struggling to make shots throughout the season.

“(The Pelicans) kind of got to the rim when they wanted to, but it was good to see Kevin go vertical,” Brown said. “The reality of it is, if we’re not getting it from any of our guys, if they’re not making shots or making plays offensively, it’s going to be hard for me to keep them on the floor. And so to be able to see him get a rhythm ... let him see the ball go in a little bit, that was good for me and I think it was good for him to play the extended minutes.”

Kings bring back Toscano-Anderson

Forward Juan Toscano-Anderson was back with the Kings after being waived before Sunday’s game against the Pelicans. He returned on a 10-day contract after appearing in eight games and averaging 2.4 minutes.

The Kings are Toscano-Anderson’s fourth NBA team after spending time with the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers and Utah Jazz. The Oakland native signed a non-guaranteed minimum salary contract Dec. 15.

Brown went to Anderson unexpectedly late in the first quarter to provide energy and defense off the bench. He wasn’t part of Brown’s original plan for the rotation coming in.

“When I called his name ... he looked back at me like, ‘Did I hear you right?’” Brown said. “And I was like, ‘Yeah, Juan!’ We had to talk him through a few sets out on the floor.”

Brown credited Anderson’s defense for helping turn around Tuesday’s game. He said the same of Trey Lyles, who was awarded the defensive player of the game crown. Lyles had six points, eight rebounds, three assists and a plus-31 net rating in 32 minutes.