Kings roll past Spurs, extend winning streak to 4 games

By RAUL DOMINGUEZ
Associated Press

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Harrison Barnes scored 29 points, Domantas Sabonis had 18 points and 18 rebounds, and the Sacramento Kings extended their winning streak to four games with a 132-119 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday night.

“For us, we tried to match that aggression with aggression,” Barnes said. “If they are going to deny passes, force us off our spots, we’re going to try to cut hard and put pressure on the rim.”

The Kings did that, shooting 55% from the field and having six players score at least 12 points.

De’Aaron Fox added 23 points and Davion Mitchell had 19 points for Sacramento.

San Antonio suffered a second consecutive double-digit loss after falling 144-113 to Golden State on Friday night in front of the largest regular-season crowd (68,323) in NBA history in a home-away-from-home game at the Alamodome.

The Spurs have lost four straight overall.

Jakob Poeltl led San Antonio with 23 points, Josh Richardson added 21 points and Keldon Johnson had 20.

“I think we are all aware that this is a learning season for us,” Poeltl said. “Even for the guys that have a little bit more experience, a lot of us have different goals trying to do different things out there. It’s a learning experience for all of us.”

San Antonio has gone 8-28 since opening the season 5-2.

While the Kings remain atop the Pacific Division after winning seven of 10, they are learning as well in Mike Brown’s first season leading Sacramento.

“It was evident that defensively we picked it up in the second half,” Brown said. “We are going to have to do a better job of defending for closer to 48 minutes. We can’t keep defending for 24 minutes of the game, especially in the second half. It’s just something that our guys have to do.”

The Spurs scored 44 points in the paint in the first half.

Poeltl had eight points and two blocks in the opening 4½ minutes as the Spurs opened the game on a 13-4 run. Poeltl was 4 for 4 from the field during the run, driving into Sabonis.

“We were just trying limit points in the paint,” Barnes said. “They got a lot of easy looks in the first half, over 40 points in the paint. We knew we wanted to try to shrink the floor and make them make shots over us.”

The Kings outscored the Spurs 39-26 in the third quarter as a large group of their fans serenaded them with chants of “Sac-ra-mento!” The Spurs were limited to nine field goals while the Kings shot 60% from the field.

“Against them, we make too many mistakes,” San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. “It’s a lot easier to score when you make stops.”

San Antonio did rally, hitting three consecutive 3-pointers in cutting a 12-point deficit to 111-106 four minutes into the final quarter. Johnson capped the run with consecutive 3-pointers, but air-balled his next attempt and the Kings extended their lead to 115-106.

TIP-INS

Kings: Sacramento’s last loss to San Antonio was Nov. 10, 2021, 136-117 at the AT&T Center. …. Former Spurs players Chimezie Metu and Trey Lyles seemed a bit surprised when they were recognized before the game for their two seasons in San Antonio. Metu spent his first two seasons in the league with the Spurs, averaging just over 5 minutes in a very limited role. Lyles played two seasons for the Spurs. Lyles averaged 6.4 points in 20.2 minutes while playing 63 games in his first season with San Antonio in 2019. Lyles played 23 games the following season, averaging five points in 15.6 minutes.

Spurs: F Doug McDermott missed the game due to upper back tightness. McDermott was initially listed as questionable after scoring 14 points in 22 minutes against Golden State on Friday.

UP NEXT

Kings: At Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday.

Spurs: Host Brooklyn on Tuesday.

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