Kings clinch first playoff berth since 2006 with win over Trail Blazers

SACRAMENTO, CA - MARCH 9: Domantas Sabonis #10 and DeAaron Fox #5 of the Sacramento Kings talk during the game against the New York Knicks on March 9, 2023 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2023 NBAE (Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images)
By Hunter Patterson
Mar 30, 2023

The Sacramento Kings have clinched the franchise’s first playoff berth since the 2005-2006 season with a 120-80 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday. Here’s what you should know:

  • The Kings have 46 wins for the first time since 2005 with six regular-season games remaining.
  • Sacramento’s offensive rating, 118.9, is the highest in NBA history.
  • The Kings currently sit at third in the Western Conference with a 46-30 record.

The Athletic’s instant analysis:

Background

After scoring just 19 points in the first quarter, Sacramento scored 101 over the remainder of the game, holding the Trail Blazers to just 60 total points over the final three quarters.

Malik Monk paced the Kings in Wednesday night’s victory with 19 points, six assists and six rebounds on 5-of-9 shooting from 3 off the bench. De’Aaron Fox added 18 points and six assists of his own. Domantas Sabonis had yet another double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Keegan Murray set the rookie record for made 3s at 188, breaking Donovan Mitchell’s record of 187 (2017-2018) while dropping 13 points and five rebounds and shooting 3-for-7 from 3-point range.

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This is the 40th game Sacramento has scored at least 120 points this season.

Kings’ turnaround season

Nearing 50 wins likely sounded improbable when the Kings began their season on a four-game losing streak, but it clearly wasn’t impossible. Thanks in large part to coach Mike Brown, who has garnered attention as a potential Coach of the Year candidate, Sacramento has nearly done a 180 in several areas during his first season at the helm.

At the end of last season, when Brown was on his way to another NBA Finals win as a Warriors assistant coach, the Kings were 25th in net rating, 24th in offensive rating and 16th in points per game. Sacramento entered Wednesday with the highest offensive rating of all-time, first in points per game and eighth in net rating.

All-Stars entering their prime

Sabonis and Fox were both All-Stars this season, Fox for the first time, and they’ve played even more deserving of those titles after All-Star Weekend. 

Sabonis’ 62 double-doubles are the most in the NBA, and he leads the league in rebounds per game at 12.5. He’s also the franchise leader in single-season triple-doubles (12) in the Sacramento era, passing Rajon Rondo’s previous record of six (2015-16). 

Lastly, Sabonis is on pace to join Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain as the only two players in NBA history to average at least 19 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists on at least 60 percent from the field. Chamberlain did so during the 1966-67 season.

Fox has become a runaway favorite for the Jerry West Clutch Player of the Year award, tallying two game-winning 3s this season and the most clutch points (185) in the league. Fox also possesses the most fourth-quarter performances with 10-plus points this season at 25.

In addition to his first-time All-Star appearance and knack for scoring during the clutch, Fox is averaging career highs in points, rebounds, free-throw percentage and field-goal percentage.

Required reading

(Photo: Rocky Widner / NBAE via Getty Images)

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Hunter Patterson

Hunter Patterson is a live news editor at The Athletic. A graduate of Loyola Marymount University and USC, Hunter recently worked as a broadcasting assistant for the NBA.