The Sacramento Kings ran into a buzzsaw in Boston, falling hard to the Celtics in a 112-93 loss that not only halted any momentum they had built but also dropped them to dead last in the Western Conference - and the league overall. It was a sobering night for a team that had just rattled off four straight wins and looked like it might be turning a corner. Instead, the Kings now find themselves sitting at 12-38, staring up at the rest of the NBA.
Let’s be clear: this wasn’t just a bad night. This was a reality check.
From the opening tip, it was clear Sacramento was going to have its hands full. Boston may be missing its two biggest stars - Jayson Tatum, who’s been sidelined all season, and Jaylen Brown, who was out for this one - but the Celtics didn’t miss a beat. This is a team that’s found its identity through depth, defense, and relentless execution, and they brought all of that to the floor.
The Kings, meanwhile, were without key pieces of their own. Keegan Murray remained sidelined.
Russell Westbrook was out with an injury. And Domantas Sabonis, the team’s anchor on both ends, sat for injury management after a long layoff.
That’s a lot of firepower missing, and it showed.
Still, the Celtics didn’t just win - they controlled the game wire to wire. Payton Pritchard led the charge with a scorching 29-point performance, shooting 12-of-16 from the field and a lights-out 5-of-6 from deep.
He was everywhere - hitting tough jumpers, pushing the pace, and carving up Sacramento’s defense with surgical precision. Neemias Queta added a strong double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds, giving Boston a physical presence in the paint that the Kings couldn’t match.
Even without their All-Stars, the Celtics looked like a well-oiled machine. The Kings, on the other hand, looked like a team that’s running on fumes.
By halftime, Sacramento was already down 26. They managed to trim the deficit slightly in the second half, but the damage was done.
The final margin of 19 points doesn’t quite capture how lopsided this game felt for long stretches. And for a team trying to claw its way out of the cellar, moral victories don’t count in the standings.
With the Pelicans picking up a win, the Kings now find themselves in the league’s basement - 30th overall, behind even the struggling Pacers. That’s a tough pill to swallow for a fanbase that had just started to believe again after a brief winning streak.
The hard truth is this: any hopes of salvaging the 2025-26 season are fading fast. Even if the front office pulls off a trade or two before the deadline, there’s no quick fix for a team that’s 50 games in and sitting at 12-38. That kind of hole doesn’t get filled overnight - especially not in the ultra-competitive Western Conference.
There’s still basketball left to play, but the focus in Sacramento may already be shifting toward the future. The draft looms large, and the Kings will likely be in prime position to land a top prospect. That’s not the storyline anyone hoped for back in October, but it’s the reality now.
For the Kings, the rest of this season is about development, evaluation, and building toward something better. Because after a night like this - and a record like that - it’s clear that the turnaround won’t happen this year.