Motor City Monday: Kings Snap Skid With Blowout Win Over Pistons
Nov 15, 2021, 6:27 PM | Updated: Nov 17, 2021, 11:52 am
(USA Today)
(USA Today)
Sacramento picked up a much-needed win on Monday night to snap a four-game losing streak
If there was ever going to be a “must-win” game in November, Monday night was a must win for the Sacramento Kings.
Tyrese Haliburton and Chimezie Metu posted double-doubles, the Kings held a 20-point advantage for most of the night and the four-game losing-streak came to an end in Detroit as Sacramento coasted to a 129-107 win at Little Caesars Arena.
With the win, the Kings (6-8) improve to 4-4 on the road as they set their sights on Wednesday’s road-trip finale in Minneapolis.
In his second game as Sacramento’s starting power forward, Chimezie Metu made his mark early on Monday afternoon.
The 24-year-old scored seven points and collected six boards over nine minutes in the first quarter to help lead the Kings to a commanding 31-12 advantage heading into the second. A swarming Sacramento offense ended the quarter on a 24-2 run to put themselves out in front.
Detroit struggled to find the bottom of the net over the first 12 minutes, shooting just 20-percent from the field and 15-percent from beyond the arc in the period.
Things would get out of hand in the second as the Kings blew things open in convincing fashion, leading by as many as 26 points en route to taking a 68-44 lead at the halftime break. Detroit cut the deficit to 15 points, but Sacramento did a solid job of responding with a run of their own to take a big lead at the half.
Tyrese Haliburton did an incredible job of creating offense in the first half, nearly finishing with a double-double (11 points, eight assists over 18 minutes) as the young guard nearly out-assisted Detroit (10 assists) over the first 24 minutes of play.
Sacramento finished this one out pretty much on cruise control to pick up a much-needed, convincing win over the now 3-10 Pistons.
With rumors swirling regarding Luke Walton’s job security, the Kings came out and brought the hammer down in every aspect on Monday. Not only did the offense control the paint (64-48) and knock down a high-percentage of three-point field goals (16/33, 48%), the defense also held the Pistons to 107 points on 40-percent from the field.
When the Kings departed for this four-game road-trip, many expected a 3-1 record–maybe even a perfect 4-0.
After a devastating 0-2 start to the road-trip that featured an embarrassing loss in San Antonio and a blow lead in Oklahoma City, Sacramento has a chance to return home with a 2-2 trip if they can defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night.
While Monday’s win doesn’t act as a fix-all, this team desperately needed to get back in the win column and silence some of the outside noise.
Rounding Out The Box Score
Tyrese Haliburton put on a passing clinic during the win as the sophomore guard posted his first double-double of the season (15 points, 10 assists) while also picking up two steals over 30 minutes.
The talented guard was a perfect three-for-three from three-point range in what was arguably his strongest performance of the season.
Haliburton wasn’t alone in sharing the ball as De’Aaron Fox dished out nine assists of his own to go along with 19 points, six rebounds and three steals.
Kings center Richaun Holmes celebrated a milestone on Monday night as the fan-favorite collected the 2,000th rebound of his career. Holmes finished with 19 points on nine-of-10 shooting, nine rebounds and an assist in the win.
Buddy Hield had an efficient night from beyond the arc, converting six of his 10 long-range attempts to score 22 points over 24 minutes.
Chimezie Metu was one of if not the storyline of the night as the forward posted the first double-double of his career. Metu scored 16 points on six-of-11 shooting and pulled down 10 rebounds over 32 minutes.
Harrison Barnes added 15 points and six rebounds, while Davion Mitchell contributed with seven points and seven assists off of the bench.
Marvin Bagley III made just his second appearance of the season during Monday’s win, scoring seven points and grabbing three rebounds over 18 minutes.
Coming Up
An overall underwhelming four-game road-trip will come to an end on Wednesday night in chilly Minneapolis when the Kings take on Karl Anthony-Towns and the Timberwolves at Target Center.
Last season, the T-Wolves took two-of-three matchups against Sacramento, although the Kings captured the most-recent contest back on April 21st at Golden 1 Center.
De’Aaron Fox scored 30 points, Buddy Hield added 29 points and the Kings won by a final of 128-125 thanks to some solid play down the closing stretch.
Be sure to get all of your Kings vs T-Wolves coverage right here on Sports 1140 KHTK beginning at 3:00pm PST on The Jason Ross Show prior to a 5:00pm PST tip-off from Minneapolis.
Upcoming Sacramento Kings Schedule
- November 17th @ Minnesota Timberwolves
- November 19th vs Toronto Raptors
- November 20th vs Utah Jazz
- November 22nd vs Philadelphia 76ers
- November 24th vs Portland Trail Blazers
