The Sacramento Kings beat a contender as easily as they lose to a lottery maximizer. The Kings went to northeast Ohio and defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 120-113, sweeping the season series and, handing the class of the Eastern Conference their sixteenth loss, dropping them to 62-16 on the season. 

The Cavaliers came into this game looking to clinch home-court advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs. However, Sacramento had other plans, taking the game tonight to sweep the season series against Cleveland. 

The Kings came into this critical matchup without Keegan Murray (back). Trey Lyles started and played admirably, logging 7 points and 8 rebounds in 40 minutes, winning the Defensive Player of the Game (DPOG) honor for the night. 

Domantas Sabonis came out hot, with 15 points and 6 rebounds in the first quarter. He carried the Kings’ offense in the first half and finished with 27 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists.

Sabonis was aggressive early and relatively unfazed by the Cavaliers’ staunch frontcourt, attacking Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. His willingness to attack the long, shot-blocking tandem up front set the tone for the remainder of the game. 

Trey Lyles ultimately gave the DPOG crown to DeMar DeRozan, who passed Jerry West on the all-time scoring list tonight. DeMar, as usual, was a key cog in the engine that is Sacramento’s offense. He finished with 28/4/7. 

DeRozan saw that his running mate Zach Lavine was hot and willingly fed him in what was one of his best games as a King. 

Sacramento’s deadline acquisition finished with 37 points on a scorching 15/21 (7/11 3PT) from the field. LaVine looked the most comfortable he had in dribble handoffs (DHOs, a staple in the Kings’ offense) tonight, getting several clean looks from Sabonis and hoisting them without hesitation. 

While LaVine and the Kings were hot from three tonight (14/33), Cleveland went 10/38 (26.3%), nowhere near their 38 3P% this season. Cleveland had a similarly poor  night from the free throw line, shooting 11/19. 

The Kings under Doug Christie have leaned heavily on the starters. Tonight, they took this to an extreme. Of the four non-starters to check in during the first half (Malik Monk, Isaac Jones, Devin Carter, Jonas Valanciunas), Malik Monk was the only one to get second-half minutes. All starters, including spot starter Trey Lyles, logged over 40 minutes in a game that ended in regulation. 

Conversely, the Cavaliers lean heavily on their bench. Boasting two Sixth Man of the Year candidates, Cleveland finished with 41 bench points compared to just 10 for the Kings. 

This game showed that basketball truly is a game of runs. The Kings ended the third quarter on a 24-6 run. The Cavaliers then went on a 17-4 run of their own to end the third and begin the fourth quarter. 

The Kings are now in sole possession of the 9-seed, sitting 0.5 games ahead of the Dallas Mavericks and three games ahead of the Phoenix Suns. Sacramento continues their stretch run against the Detroit Pistons, who recently clinched a playoff spot, at 4PM PST Monday on NBATV.