Game ID: 22300786
Sacramento Kings @ Denver Nuggets
Wednesday, February 14, 2024 at 9:00 PM ET
Ball Arena, Denver, CO
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
DEN 27 26 21 24 98SAC 16 25 30 31 102
DEN vs SAC ScoutingDEN vs SAC Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
DEN availability going into 2/04 · 1 day's restOUT Strawther missed 14 since 1/05, out tonight
BACK Holiday back 1/25 after 2, 12 min since (79% of 15)
DEN availability going into 2/08 · 3 days' restOUT Strawther missed 15 since 1/05, out tonight
BACK Holiday back 1/31 after 2, 12 min since (78% of 15)
NEW Watson 18 to 23 min over the last 5
DEN availability going into 2/09 · back-to-backOUT Strawther missed 16 since 1/05, returns tonight: 20 min (192% of 11)
BACK Holiday back 1/31 after 2, 15 min since (103% of 15)
NEW Watson 18 to 24 min over the last 5
DEN availability going into 2/12 · 2 days' restOUT Caldwell-Pope missed 2 since 2/08, returns tonight: 9 min (29% of 32)
BACK Holiday back 1/31 after 2, 20 min since (139% of 15)
BACK Strawther back 2/09 after 16, 20 min since (192% of 11)
NEW Watson 18 to 24 min over the last 5
DEN availability going into 2/14 · 1 day's restBACK Caldwell-Pope back 2/12 after 2, 9 min since (29% of 32)
BACK Strawther back 2/09 after 16, 14 min since (127% of 11)
NEW Watson 18 to 24 min over the last 5
NEW Holiday 15 to 22 min over the last 4
DEN availability going into 2/22 · 7 days' restBACK Caldwell-Pope back 2/12 after 2, 9 min since (29% of 32)
BACK Strawther back 2/09 after 16, 14 min since (127% of 11)
NEW Holiday 15 to 28 min over the last 4
DEN availability going into 2/23 · back-to-backOUT Jordan missed 2 since 2/14, out tonight
BACK Caldwell-Pope back 2/12 after 2, 13 min since (39% of 32)
BACK Strawther back 2/09 after 16, 10 min since (98% of 11)
NEW Holiday 15 to 26 min over the last 5
DEN availability going into 2/25 · 1 day's restOUT Jordan missed 3 since 2/14, out tonight
BACK Caldwell-Pope back 2/12 after 2, 19 min since (60% of 32)
BACK Strawther back 2/09 after 16, 8 min since (79% of 11)
NEW Holiday 15 to 23 min over the last 5
DEN availability going into 2/28 · 2 days' restOUT Jordan missed 4 since 2/14, out tonight
BACK Caldwell-Pope back 2/12 after 2, 23 min since (72% of 32)
SAC availability going into 2/07 · 1 day's restOUT Vezenkov missed 7 since 1/25, returns tonight: 6 min (45% of 12)
BACK Ellis back 2/05 after 7, 3 min since (19% of 17)
BACK Duarte back 2/05 after 5, 3 min since (26% of 12)
NEW Barnes 29 to 35 min over the last 5
NEW Huerter 24 to 32 min over the last 5
SAC availability going into 2/09 · 1 day's restBACK Ellis back 2/05 after 7, 3 min since (19% of 17)
BACK Duarte back 2/05 after 5, 3 min since (26% of 12)
BACK Vezenkov back 2/07 after 7, 6 min since (45% of 12)
NEW Huerter 24 to 31 min over the last 5
SAC availability going into 2/11 · 1 day's restOUT Duarte missed 2 since 2/07, out tonight
BACK Ellis back 2/05 after 7, 4 min since (26% of 17)
BACK Vezenkov back 2/07 after 7, 11 min since (86% of 12)
SAC availability going into 2/13 · 1 day's restOUT Duarte missed 3 since 2/07, out tonight
BACK Ellis back 2/05 after 7, 9 min since (51% of 17)
BACK Vezenkov back 2/07 after 7, 11 min since (86% of 12)
SAC availability going into 2/14 · back-to-backOUT Duarte missed 4 since 2/07, returns tonight: 8 min (64% of 12)
OUT Vezenkov missed 2 since 2/11, out tonight
BACK Ellis back 2/05 after 7, 8 min since (49% of 17)
SAC availability going into 2/22 · 7 days' restOUT Vezenkov missed 3 since 2/11, out tonight
BACK Duarte back 2/14 after 4, 8 min since (64% of 12)
SAC availability going into 2/25 · 2 days' restOUT Vezenkov missed 4 since 2/11, out tonight
BACK Duarte back 2/14 after 4, 14 min since (114% of 12)
SAC availability going into 2/26 · back-to-backOUT Ellis missed 2 since 2/22, out tonight
OUT Vezenkov missed 5 since 2/11, out tonight
BACK Duarte back 2/14 after 4, 15 min since (119% of 12)
SAC availability going into 2/28 · 1 day's restOUT Ellis missed 3 since 2/22, returns tonight: 8 min (48% of 17)
OUT Vezenkov missed 6 since 2/11, out tonight
BACK Duarte back 2/14 after 4, 15 min since (124% of 12)
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Denver comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 113, shooting 46 percent and 36 from three, 18 free throws a game; Jokić at 26 and Porter Jr. at 16 a game. One day's rest. Sacramento comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 126, shooting 50 percent and 38 from three, 18 free throws a game; Sabonis at 23 and Monk at 22 a game. Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Denver wins, and the game turns on the defense, Denver allowing 113 a night to Sacramento's 126. Call it Denver 119, Sacramento 114.
2/04 vs POR 112-103 — DEN notes
DEN won 112-103. DEN shot 49% (42 of 86) to POR's 46%, 12 of 28 from three. DEN turned it over 8 times to POR's 13. Jokić led with 29 (12 of 20, 1 of 3 from three); Murray added 21, Watson 12. The hinge was Q2, 35-26: the deficit went from 12 to 3, and the lead reached 15. DEN trailed 60-63 at the half and won the second half 52-40. Braun was the night's best plus/minus at +18.
2/08 @ LAL 114-106 — DEN notes
DEN won 114-106. DEN shot 48% (47 of 97) to LAL's 46%, 14 of 32 from three, and got to the line 7 times to LAL's 22. DEN turned it over 12 times to LAL's 7, and LAL turned those into 12 steals. The glass went 50-39 for them. Murray led with 29 (12 of 25, 5 of 9 from three); Porter Jr. added 27, Jokić 24. The hinge was Q1, 29-23: from level to 6 ahead, and the lead reached 15. Gordon was the night's best plus/minus at +18.
2/09 @ SAC 106-135 — DEN notes
DEN lost 106-135. DEN shot 46% (38 of 82) to SAC's 59%, 10 of 29 from three, and went to the line 28 times to SAC's 18 — 20 points from the stripe to their 16. Jokić led with 23 (9 of 17); Gordon added 14, Braun 13. Q1 was theirs, 35-32, but the other 3 periods went 103-71 against them. Gordon's -28 in 27 minutes was the worst on the floor.
2/12 @ MIL 95-112 — DEN notes
DEN lost 95-112. DEN took 10 more shots (94 to 84), fed by 12 offensive rebounds, but shot 38% to MIL's 50%, 11 of 40 from three. Jokić led with 29 (13 of 25, 2 of 5 from three); Gordon added 14, Porter Jr. 11. Q4 was theirs, 32-21, the deficit cut from 28 to 17, but the other 3 periods went 91-63 against them. Murray's -18 in 18 minutes was the worst on the floor.
2/14 vs SAC 98-102 — DEN notes
DEN lost 98-102. DEN shot 39% (35 of 89) to SAC's 44%, 9 of 26 from three. Gordon led with 25 (8 of 15, 8 of 8 at the line); Porter Jr. added 19, Jokić 15. Q1 was theirs, 27-16, but the other 3 periods went 86-71 against them. They led by as many as 16. Porter Jr.'s -10 in 37 minutes was the worst on the floor.
2/22 vs WAS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Denver comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 105 a night and allowing 112, shooting 44 percent and 36 from three, 19 free throws a game; Jokić at 24 and Porter Jr. at 17 a game. That is 3 straight losses. 7 days' rest. Washington comes in 0-5 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 122, shooting 46 percent and 39 from three, 17 free throws a game; Avdija at 24 and Kuzma at 22 a game. That is 5 straight losses. 7 days' rest.
So: Denver wins, and the game turns on the defense, Denver allowing 112 a night to Washington's 122. Call it Denver 118, Washington 111.
2/23 @ POR — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Portland comes in 0-5 over its last five, scoring 102 a night and allowing 116, shooting 44 percent and 34 from three, 24 free throws a game; Grant at 26 and Simons at 22 a game. That is 5 straight losses. Without Sharpe (17 straight), Brogdon (5 straight), Rupert (7 straight). 7 days' rest. Denver comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 113, shooting 46 percent and 32 from three, 18 free throws a game; Jokić at 22 and Porter Jr. at 20 a game. Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Denver wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Denver has been plus-4 a night and Portland minus-3 and the line, where Portland takes 24 free throws a game to Denver's 18. Call it Denver 112, Portland 110, Portland keeping it close.
2/25 @ GSW — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Golden State comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 124 a night and allowing 114, shooting 47 percent and 40 from three, 17 free throws a game; Curry at 26 and Thompson at 18 a game. That is 3 straight wins. Without Paul (20 straight). One day's rest. Denver comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 114, shooting 48 percent and 31 from three, 21 free throws a game; Jokić at 23 and Porter Jr. at 22 a game. One day's rest.
So: Golden State wins, and the game turns on the arc, Golden State at 40 percent from three to Denver's 31. Call it Golden State 118, Denver 113.
2/28 vs SAC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Denver comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 108, shooting 48 percent and 31 from three, 20 free throws a game; Jokić at 25 and Porter Jr. at 19 a game. That is 3 straight wins. 2 days' rest. Sacramento comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 116, shooting 51 percent and 36 from three, 18 free throws a game; Fox at 32 and Sabonis at 22 a game. Without Ellis (3 straight). One day's rest.
So: Denver wins, and the game turns on the defense, Denver allowing 108 a night to Sacramento's 116 and the arc, Sacramento at 36 percent from three to Denver's 31. Call it Denver 117, Sacramento 112.
2/07 vs DET 120-133 — SAC notes
SAC lost 120-133. SAC took 11 more shots (95 to 84), but shot 47% to DET's 56%, 15 of 44 from three. SAC turned it over 4 times to DET's 11. The glass went 33-48 against them. Sabonis led with 30 (11 of 17, 1 of 3 from three, 7 of 10 at the line); Monk added 23, Lyles 19. Q3 was theirs, 36-27, turning a 7-point deficit into a 2-point lead, but the other 3 periods went 106-84 against them. Sabonis's -17 in 41 minutes was the worst on the floor.
2/09 vs DEN 135-106 — SAC notes
SAC won 135-106. SAC shot 59% (51 of 87) to DEN's 46%, 17 of 34 from three, and got to the line 18 times to DEN's 28. Monk led with 23 (9 of 13, 3 of 7 from three); Sabonis added 17, K. Murray 17. The hinge was Q2, 35-22: SAC came in trailing by 3 and left it ahead by 10, and the lead reached 32. Fox was the night's best plus/minus at +26.
2/11 @ OKC 113-127 — SAC notes
SAC lost 113-127. SAC shot 49% (44 of 90) to OKC's 54%, 16 of 42 from three, and got to the line 13 times to OKC's 27. SAC turned it over 18 times to OKC's 9, and OKC turned those into 8 steals. Monk led with 26 (10 of 20, 6 of 10 from three); Sabonis added 21, Fox 15. Q4 was theirs, 30-27, the deficit cut from 17 to 14, but the other 3 periods went 100-83 against them. Fox's -27 in 33 minutes was the worst on the floor.
2/13 @ PHX 125-130 — SAC notes
SAC lost 125-130. SAC took 10 more shots (95 to 85), fed by 15 offensive rebounds, but shot 52% to PHX's 52%, 9 of 31 from three, and got to the line 24 times to PHX's 36. The glass went 50-39 for them. Fox led with 40 (14 of 31, 5 of 12 from three, 7 of 10 at the line); Sabonis added 35, Monk 22. Q2 was theirs, 28-26, but the other 3 periods went 104-97 against them. They led by as many as 11. Fox's -9 in 40 minutes was the worst on the floor.
2/14 @ DEN 102-98 — SAC notes
SAC won 102-98. SAC shot 44% (39 of 89) to DEN's 39%, 9 of 33 from three. Fox led with 30 (12 of 26, 2 of 7 from three, 4 of 6 at the line); Sabonis added 20, Barnes 20. The hinge was Q3, 30-21: the deficit went from 12 to 3. SAC trailed 41-53 at the half and won the second half 61-45. Fox was the night's best plus/minus at +12.
2/22 vs SAS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Sacramento comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 119, shooting 50 percent and 36 from three, 19 free throws a game; Sabonis at 25 and Fox at 22 a game. 7 days' rest. San Antonio comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 107 a night and allowing 116, shooting 45 percent and 31 from three, 19 free throws a game; Wembanyama at 21 and Vassell at 20 a game. It has lost the glass by 5 a night. 7 days' rest.
So: Sacramento wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Sacramento has been plus-2 a night and San Antonio minus-5 and the arc, Sacramento at 36 percent from three to San Antonio's 31. Call it Sacramento 120, San Antonio 112.
2/25 @ LAC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
The Clippers come in 3-2 over their last five, scoring 110 a night and allowing 115, shooting 45 percent and 35 from three, 24 free throws a game; Leonard at 22 and George at 21 a game. Without Theis (3 straight). One day's rest. Sacramento comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 120 a night and allowing 117, shooting 52 percent and 37 from three, 18 free throws a game; Fox at 26 and Sabonis at 23 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. 2 days' rest.
So: The Clippers win, and the game turns on the glass, where Sacramento has been plus-5 a night and the Clippers minus-4 and the line, where the Clippers take 24 free throws a game to Sacramento's 18. Call it the Clippers 117, Sacramento 115, Sacramento keeping it close.
2/26 vs MIA — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Sacramento comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 117, shooting 50 percent and 35 from three, 18 free throws a game; Fox at 29 and Sabonis at 23 a game. That is 3 straight wins. It has won the glass by 4 a night. Without Ellis (2 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Miami comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 102, shooting 47 percent and 37 from three, 19 free throws a game; Adebayo at 21 and Herro at 21 a game. That is 3 straight wins. Without Rozier (3 straight), Richardson (3 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: Sacramento wins, and the game turns on the defense, Miami allowing 102 a night to Sacramento's 117. Call it Sacramento 114, Miami 113, Miami keeping it close.
2/28 @ DEN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Denver comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 108, shooting 48 percent and 31 from three, 20 free throws a game; Jokić at 25 and Porter Jr. at 19 a game. That is 3 straight wins. 2 days' rest. Sacramento comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 116, shooting 51 percent and 36 from three, 18 free throws a game; Fox at 32 and Sabonis at 22 a game. Without Ellis (3 straight). One day's rest.
So: Denver wins, and the game turns on the defense, Denver allowing 108 a night to Sacramento's 116 and the arc, Sacramento at 36 percent from three to Denver's 31. Call it Denver 117, Sacramento 112.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
DENAG A. Gordon
CB C. Braun
CG C. Gillespie
JH J. Holiday
JO Jokic
MP M. Porter Jr.
NJ N. Jokić
PW P. Watson
RJ R. Jackson
ZN Z. Nnaji
SACAL A. Len
CD C. Duarte
DF D. Fox
DM D. Mitchell
DS D. Sabonis
HB H. Barnes
KE K. Ellis
KH K. Huerter
KM K. Murray
MM M. Monk
TL T. Lyles
DEN/SAC the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Fox scores 30 points, rallies Kings from 16 down for 102-98 victory over Nuggets
DENVER -- — De’Aaron Fox had 30 points, eight assists and eight rebounds, Domantas Sabonis had 20 points and 13 rebounds, and the Sacramento Kings rallied from a 16-point, second-half deficit to beat the Denver Nuggets 102-98 Wednesday night in the final game for both teams before the NBA All-Star break.
The win was the Kings’ second in a five-day stretch against the Nuggets, who they had defeated 135-106 last Friday in Sacramento.
“We know our destiny is still in our hands, but at the end of the day we’ve got to get it,” Kings coach Mike Brown said. “And when you have less than 30 games (left) in the season, things start to get tight and every game matters for us.”
Coming off a 40-point effort in a loss the previous night against the Phoenix Suns , Fox ignited his team’s comeback. He scored 15 points in the fourth quarter, including one stretch in the final 2:02 in which he had a personal 8-0 run that turned a one-point deficit into a seven-point lead.
It was Fox’s fifth game this season with at least 15 points in the fourth quarter, tied for the third-highest total in the league.
“When your entire bench and everybody out there on the court with you have that confidence in you for you to go make a play, I can’t help but have confidence in myself,” Fox said. “Sometimes, it doesn’t go my way. That’s fine, but tonight it went my way and we were able to grind out this win.”
It was Sabonis’ 37th consecutive game with at least a double-double. Harrison Barnes added 20 points for the Kings while making six of his nine field-goal attempts.
The reigning NBA champion Nuggets entered the game with a 21-4 record at home this season, the second-best mark in the league. The loss was their third in a row, matching their longest skid of the season.
Aaron Gordon had 25 points and season-high 15 rebounds for Denver. Nikola Jokic had an uncharacteristically poor night, missing 11 of his 17 shots and finishing with 15 points, his lowest scoring output in a game since Jan. 7.
“We have a bullseye on our back now,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “For 82 games, we’re going to get everybody’s best, from a team in Sacramento or from teams that may be down in the standings. There are no easy nights for us.”
Aided by the cold shooting and carelessness of Sacramento, which shot 34.8% from the field and had 11 turnovers in the first half, the Nuggets stormed out to a 62-46 lead in the third quarter. The lead was down to three by the end of the period and Sabonis’ layup with 4:56 remaining in the game gave the Kings took their first lead of the night.
Denver was without starting guards Jamal Murray (tibia inflammation) and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (hamstring tendinosis). Murray is the team’s second-leading scorer at 20.5 points per game and the team’s top 3-point shooter, making 41.1% of his shots from beyond the arc this season.
“We’re not healthy,” Malone said. “We have the best five-man starting unit in the league. The last three games we haven’t had those five guys together. I think it’s more of that.”