The Sacramento Kings’ regular-season opener went the same way their preseason did: badly.
Sacramento was beaten 121-96 by the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday, Oct. 21 in Inglewood, a game that slipped away early and never really came back around. The Clippers controlled the night with better shot-making, cleaner offense and a sharper edge on the glass and from deep.
The numbers told the story fast. Los Angeles made seven more baskets overall, hit six more threes and buried 14 of 35 attempts from beyond the arc.
Sacramento managed just 8 of 28 from three and finished 36 of 85 from the field. The Clippers also won the free-throw battle, going 21 of 31 while the Kings were 16 of 28.
Doug Christie pointed to the defensive end when asked about the loss.
“Got to be able to keep people in front of you,” Kings head coach Doug Christie said. “Shooting the three ball, they were knocking down those shots at a high clip. But it comes from the pride of the defensive intensity of keeping the ball in front of you.”
Zach LaVine carried Sacramento offensively with 28 points on 10-of-19 shooting, including 3 of 8 from the arc. Domantas Sabonis added 14 points and 18 rebounds, doing his damage efficiently by going 5-for-5 from the field and 4-for-4 at the line. Precious Achiuwa chipped in 15 points off the bench.
Rookie Darius Acuff Jr. had a rough NBA debut, finishing with 12 points on 5-of-24 shooting and missing all seven of his three-point tries.
LaVine said after the game that the Kings have to create more perimeter chances if they want to keep up.
“The right people got to shoot them but I mean, certain people aren’t off-the-dribble shooters,” LaVine said. “So you have to help them get shots.”
Darius Garland led the Clippers with 30 points, while Brook Lopez gave them a strong night off the bench with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Rookie guard Keaton Wagler posted 15 points, five rebounds and five assists, and Rui Hachimura, who came over from the Lakers, scored 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds in his debut.
Los Angeles never gave up the lead. Sacramento trailed 41-29 after the first quarter, trimmed the gap by winning the second 25-20, and went into halftime down 61-54. Then the third quarter cracked the game open for good, as the Clippers rolled through a 32-16 period that pushed the Kings into blowout territory.
The Clippers’ bench was a major factor too, outscoring Sacramento’s reserves 53-34.
“Sometimes we’re just letting our offense affect our defense and it just can’t happen,” Christie said. “We got to continue to trust the process.”
The loss came against a Clippers team that has changed plenty since last season. They moved from being one of the oldest rosters in the league to a younger group after trading James Harden and Leonard and letting Chris Paul go. Even with that turnover, they were missing Bradley Beal because of right knee injury management, Brandon Ingram after right heel surgery and Max Strus with a right plantar fascia partial tear.
The Kings return home to face the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday, while the Clippers move on to take on the rival Lakers.
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