Domantas Sabonis' 19 points, 8 Boards, 4 Assists Not Enough, Denver Beat Kings 122-108

DIGITALIZED EDITORIALS ? .PUBLIC RECORD – 30 – ?????✍️ .Tony ‌Ray‌ ‌Harvey‌ ‌|‌ Public Information Officer ?✍️???✍? SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Doug Christie, the head coach of the Sacramento Kings, conducted a 2-minute and 25-second pregame news conference before the team played against the Denver Nuggets. The session was more like a message to a 'hater (or haters)' than a conversation. The Kings have suffered two straight blowouts at Golden 1 Center, and Christie, who earned the job over the summer, is committed to changing things around despite three wins through 10 games. Obviously, he has been hearing the chatter and critique from the local media and maybe paying attention to social media. At any rate, Christie reaffirmed to the media, with Denver's reporters in the room, that he and the organization have a "standard' and they expect to stick with it. He didn't specify what irked him, but everyone heard him loud and clear. "We, and I say we, as an organization, make no mistake, we're aligned in what we do. I've said this before, you heard me, I am going to say again, 'we're going to play to a standard.' That's what we're going to do: Tough, Competitive, Disciplined, Professional, Team-Oriented, and Accountable. That's what we're going to play. So, when you look out there, everybody in this organization is held to that. Now, as an identity, that's defense, rebound, and share the damn basketball. That's what we're going to do every single time we get on the floor." – Doug Christie, HC Sacramento Kings Nikola Jokić had 35 points, 15 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 assists in 32 minutes as the Denver Nuggets take down the Sacramento Kings 122-108 at Golden 1 Center. Jokić made 16 of 19 shots from the field, 1 of 2 3-pointers, and 2 of 3 at the free-throw line for the Nuggets (8-2), who have won 5-straight games and 8 of the last 9. They beat the Kings for the second time in 8 days. Jamal Murray had 23 points, 8 assists, and 3 rebounds, while Aaron Gordon added 17 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists for the Nuggets. Jonas Valančiūnas had 14 points and 7 rebounds off the bench. Christian Braun scored 12 points. Domantas Sabonis had 19 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists in 25 minutes for the Kings (3-8), who lost their fourth-straight game. Drew Eubanks had 19 points off the bench, and DeMar DeRozan contributed 18 points. The Kings trailed 24-15 before going on an 18-9 run to take the lead 33-31 with 49 seconds remaining in the 1st quarter. They ended the frame with a 34-33 advantage. Jokić made all 5 of his shots from the field in the 1st quarter for 12 points. Sabonis had 11 points. Tied 53-all, the Nuggets closed out the 1st half on 3 free throws by Gordon for a 60-56 lead. Jokić had 19 points in the first half, making 9 of 10 shots from the floor without going to the line. Drew Eubanks’ 12-foot jump shot cut Denver’s lead 73-72 with 5:20 left to play in the 3rd quarter. The Nuggets held to lead of 85-82 after 3 quarters of action. At this juncture, 13 of the Nuggets’ 44 rebounds were on the offensive end. After DeRozan’s basket cut the Nuggets' lead 85-84, Denver raced off to a 16-2 run, capped off by Bruce Brown’s layup with 7:10 remaining in the 4th quarter. Two back-to-back 3-pointers by Brown and another by Braun gave the Nuggets a winning score of 122-108. Dennis Schröder missed all 3 of his attempts from the field and dished out 3 assists in 25 minutes. The Kings' starting point guard played 3 minutes in the 4th quarter, producing 2 turnovers in the final frame’s stat line. Schröder has made 1 of 19 shots from the field in the last 3 games. Reserve Keon Ellis checks in at the 5:25 mark of the 1st quarter for the Kings after entering the game in the 4th in the last two games when the Kings were losing by 20 or more points. He had 3 points in 14 minutes. Next On the Menu Kings: Host Atlanta on Wednesday night. #sacramentokings #sacramento #DenverNuggets #NBA #DougChristie