The Sacramento Kings spent Tuesday night in Las Vegas fighting two battles at once: the Brooklyn Nets’ pressure on defense, and their own mistakes with the ball. Brooklyn turned that chaos into a 115-83 rout at the Thomas and Mack Center, forcing 28 turnovers and piling up 21 steals in a Summer League game that got away fast.
Sacramento is now 1-2 in Las Vegas, while Brooklyn moved to 2-1. The Nets’ defensive edge showed up everywhere, and the numbers told the story - a plus-14 margin in steals and a steady stream of empty Kings possessions that kept the game tilted from the opening quarter on.
Darius Acuff Jr. was the brightest thing on the floor for Sacramento. The rookie guard finished with 26 points on 9-for-18 shooting and added five assists, repeatedly finding ways to get into the paint or create something off the dribble. His quick first step helped him slip past Danny Wolf for an and-1 layup, and his ball handling gave Brooklyn problems whenever he had space to operate.
Egor Dëmin led Brooklyn with 22 points on 5-for-12 shooting and eight assists, while Drake Powell gave the Nets an early lift from deep. Powell, who had not made a three in four summer league games, knocked down a few in the first quarter as Brooklyn seized control.
Sacramento actually scored first, using crisp ball movement to set up a Dylan Cardwell dunk off an Alex Karaban assist. But that was about as clean as the offense got for the Kings early. Brooklyn’s length and activity kept disrupting everything else, and the Nets answered with an 8-0 run to take over.
From there, the gap widened quickly. Brooklyn led by 20 after the first quarter, 38-18, and pushed the margin to 30 in the second. Nique Clifford and Cardwell tried to keep Sacramento within striking distance with layups set up by Maxime Raynaud, but Powell’s jumper put Brooklyn back at the 30-point line.
Emanuel Sharp gave Sacramento a scoring spark of his own. The Kings’ second-round pick buried 6 of 11 from three and finished with 23 points, using his shooting to chip away at the deficit. He and Acuff Jr. tried to drag the Kings back into it in the third quarter, with Acuff knocking down a couple of threes and Sharp adding four steals while bringing the kind of defensive edge he showed at Houston.
Sacramento played a much better second half and scored 49 points after the break, but the damage was already done. The Kings are now on a two-game skid in Summer League after also losing to the Washington Wizards on Sunday.
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Kings Young Core Just Sent A Brutal Message After Embarrassing Loss
A summer league loss to Brooklyn did more than leave Sacramento with an ugly result on the scoreboard. It also exposed how much work still sits in front of the Kings young group, with Dylan Cardwell, Emanuel Sharp and Darius Acuff Jr. all pointing to the teams sloppiness and the kind of issues that cant be hidden in a developmental setting.
The turnovers were a big part of the mess, and assistant coach Chris Darnell did not try to soften the blow afterward. He said the group was not ready to play and took the blame for that lack of preparation, a reminder that even in July, the Kings are trying to turn rough nights into something useful as they sort out who can help lead the next step. [Read more 🡒]
Doug Christie Finally Has No Excuses With This Kings Roster
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This season feels different because Scott Perry has reshaped the roster with more players who fit Christies approach on that end of the floor. For the first time, the Kings should give their coach a cleaner chance to show what his vision looks like when the personnel lines up with the message, and that makes the coming months a far more revealing test than anything Christie has had so far. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Summer League Suddenly Feels Bigger For Three Young Names
Sacramentos Summer League trip took a sharper turn in the loss to Washington, where the focus shifted from the result itself to what it said about a few young players trying to carve out roles. Darius Acuff Jr. drew attention for a defensive effort that lagged behind the standard he had set earlier, while Alex Karabans scoring remained muted as he works his way back into rhythm. Nique Clifford, meanwhile, has been steady enough to stay in the conversation, even if he has not yet delivered the kind of breakout game that changes the tone around him.
Cliffords line has been the kind that keeps coaches interested and fans waiting, productive without quite becoming a moment. That leaves the Kings with a familiar Summer League question: which of these prospects is actually building momentum, and which one is simply surviving the grind? Acuffs next defensive showing and Karabans shot-making both feel important now, because the margins are getting thinner as the games keep coming. [Read more 🡒]