It was a first quarter to remember.
The Kings walked into Talking Stick Resort Arena Tuesday evening, and stifled the Phoenix Suns early.
Playing without leading scorers Devin Booker and T.J. Warren, the Suns looked hopeless early. They turned the ball over and struggled to hit anything from long range.
In all, Sacramento held the Suns to just nine points in the first quarter.
😬 pic.twitter.com/DUNAbVIBH5— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) December 5, 2018
That's the fewest points allowed in the opening quarter since the Kings moved to Sacramento. It was also just the 111th time in NBA history a team allowed nine points (or fewer) in the first quarter.
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The Kings held Phoenix to 3-of-17 shooting in the first 12 minutes of play, and forced seven turnovers. Shooting guard Buddy Hield finished the first with eight points, finishing the frame a single point shy of matching the Suns on his own.
With the Suns giving very little resistance, the Kings finished the period up 36-9. That plus-27 margin was the widest of any Kings first quarter since 1954, and the second-largest to end a quarter. The Suns were shorthanded, but that explanation can only go so far.
Sacramento pushed the lead as high as 35 in the second quarter and went to the half up 68-40.