SACRAMENTO – Well, that didn’t go well.
Buoyed by a series of moves meant to shake up their season, including a mid-season coaching change, the Kings looked closer to an also-ran than a legitimate NBA contender while losing to the Orlando Magic 130-111 on Wednesday at Golden 1 Center, spoiling the debut of Zach LaVine.
Acquired as part of a multi-team trade that sent Sacramento point guard De’Aaron Fox to the San Antonio Spurs, LaVine had 13 points and three assists as the Kings (25-25) fell back to .500 following their fifth loss in seven games.
On the bright side, Domantas Sabonis had 21 points and 13 rebounds for his 44th double-double in 50 games this season. DeMar DeRozan added 19 points while Keon Ellis scored 12 and Malik Monk had 10.
DeMar in motion 🔥 pic.twitter.com/c8q8RT72wL
— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) February 6, 2025
The night began on an optimistic note with the arrival of LaVine, who was welcomed with a very loud ovation from the Golden 1 Center crowd.
U.S. & World
New Kings intros with Zach LaVine 🌟
— Tristi Rodriguez (@tristi_r14) February 6, 2025
Loud ovation from the G1C crowd for the newest King. pic.twitter.com/FQpQfpuVbi
Orlando, however, threw a wrench into party plans with one of its best games of the 2024-25 NBA season. The Magic got big nights out of Franz Wagner (31 points) and Paolo Banchero (23 points, nine assists) while snapping a six-game losing streak to the Kings and getting their first win in Sacramento since 2021.
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The Kings got off to a sluggish start and fell behind early while allowing the Magic to shoot better than 65 percent in the first quarter.
Orlando cooled off a little in the second quarter, while DeRozan warmed up and scored 12 points to pull Sacramento within 62-60 at the break.
The game started to slip away from the Kings after halftime. The Magic scored 42 points in the third quarter then coasted to the win in the fourth.
Here are the takeaways from Wednesday’s game:
Sabonis on the Attack
While the spotlight might have been on LaVine, it was Sabonis who stole the show for Sacramento with yet another magnificent night.
Shortly after the Kings announced a trade for 6-foot-11 center Jonas Valančiūnas, Sabonis was in full attack mode against the Magic and ultra aggressive from the beginning.
Sabonis threw down three powerful dunks in the first quarter, including one off an offensive rebound, and kept Orlando’s interior defense on its heels. That, in turn, created good spacing for the Kings’ other players.
Domas to the rim 💨 pic.twitter.com/o7i6nSUpzv
— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) February 6, 2025
In the fourth quarter, Sabonis scrambled for a loose ball then made a backward bounce pass to Ellis cutting through the lane for a dunk.
The arrival of Valančiūnas should free up Sabonis even more if the Kings decide to slot Domas over to his more natural position at power forward, though it’s more likely that Valančiūnas will come off the bench initially as a back-up. It’s also conceivable that at various times, both will be on the court together -- which would give Sacramento a tremendous one-two combo.
Malik's Night Not on Point
Making his second start at point guard since the Fox trade, Monk had varying levels of success against the Magic but was not nearly as efficient as he was two days earlier against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Monk began the night on a good note when he made a steal near midcourt, then fed Ellis for a dunk. The Kings’ offense, however, sputtered throughout the game and never really seemed to find a consistent rhythm.
DeRozan and Ellis also spent time bringing the ball upcourt, so it wasn’t all on Monk’s shoulders. Small sample size either way, but if the Kings are going to make a serious NBA playoff push, they’ll absolutely need to get more from Monk.
Out-hustled, Out-worked
It’s a good thing Kings interim coach Doug Christie has a shaved head, because what he witnessed Wednesday would have had him pulling his hair out.
Playing against a Magic team that had lost nine of its last 10 and failed to score more than 99 points in each of its last three games, the Kings were out-worked most of the night, which silenced the Golden 1 Center crowd.
Sacramento committed 17 turnovers that led to 28 points for Orlando. The Kings also had issues with ball movement, getting 23 assists on 40 buckets.
More critically, Sacramento allowed Orlando to shoot a season-high 56.8 percent. It’s only the second time in 52 games this season that the Magic have connected at a rate higher than 52 percent.
