Kings lose to Clippers to complete first winless preseason since 1991. What’s going on?
The Kings have struggled to establish continuity and achieve full firepower with a couple of key role players recently returning from injuries and a few more still on the mend.
The Kings continued to have trouble with 3-point shooting and defense in a 113-91 preseason loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday at Intuit Dome, the Clippers' spectacular new $2 billion arena in Inglewood.
The Kings fell to 0-5 in their preseason finale, completing their first winless preseason since going 0-6 in 1991. They went 12 of 24 (.261) from 3-point range while allowing the Clippers to shoot 54.1% from the field.
"We still have some things we need to clean up, but I saw flashes of us doing things the right way on both ends of the floor," Kings coach Mike Brown said. "I understand it's preseason and I want to win. I hate to go 0-5. You want to win as many games as you can, but the stuff we're seeing out there, in my opinion, is correctable."
Domantas Sabonis posted 24 points, nine rebounds and five assists to lead the Kings. Doug McDermott came off the bench to score 14 points in his Kings debut a day after signing with Sacramento.
Keegan Murray had 11 points and seven rebounds. DeMar DeRozan was held to nine points on 3-of-8 shooting.
DeRozan said the Kings have work to do before they face the Minnesota Timberwolves in their season opener Oct. 24 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
"There's a lot to dissect and pick from," DeRozan said. "We did a lot of good things and there are a lot of things we need to work on. We've got time. Whether you go 5-0 or 0-5, it doesn't count to your record. How you come out of this, everything you can learn from it, be better from it, be better prepared individually and team wise come next week."
Jordan Miller scored 21 points to lead the Clippers (4-1). Amir Coffey scored 18 points. Terance Mann added 12 points while Bones Byland posted 10 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Both teams were missing key players. The Kings chose to rest De'Aaron Fox and sit Malik Monk due to right hand soreness. They were out in addition to Kevin Huerter (shoulder), Trey Lyles (groin), Orlando Robinson (knee) and Devin Carter (shoulder).
Los Angeles was missing Kawhi Leonard, who is out indefinitely due to right knee inflammation. The Clippers rested James Harden and Derrick Jones Jr.
With Fox out of the lineup, the Kings elected to start Jordan McLaughlin at point guard. McLaughlin scored three points on 1-of-6 shooting with three rebounds, five assists, three steals and five turnovers.
McLaughlin recently returned after missing time with a sprained ankle. In his first two preseason games, he averaged 9.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.5 steals while shooting 53.3% from the field and 31.5% from 3-point range.
"I feel solid," McLaughlin said before the game. "I'm still getting my legs back and getting my wind back from being hurt, but so far, so good, and I'm just looking forward to growing in this system."
McDermott made his preseason debut for the Kings a day after the veteran small forward signed a free agent deal with Sacramento.
"We met with him last night when he got in around 9:30 or 10 o'clock, and we kind of just Did a quick video playbook," Kings assistant coach Jay Triano said. "We want to see what he can do and get him adjusted to what we're trying to do at both ends of the floor, so he'll get some minutes tonight for sure."
McDermott checked in for the first time midway through the first quarter. His first bucket came on a corner 3-pointer with 4:20 to play in the opening period.
The Kings trailed 30-20 at the end of the first quarter. The game really got away from them in the second quarter as they were outscored 35-18.
The Clippers led 65-38 at the halftime break. The Kings started the second half with a 16-3 run to cut 27-point deficit to 14, but that was as close as they would get.
This story was originally published October 17, 2024, 11:01 PM.
