Game ID: 22301185
Phoenix Suns @ Sacramento Kings
Friday, April 12, 2024 at 10:30 PM ET
Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, CA
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
SAC 27 27 31 22 107PHX 22 23 33 30 108
PHX @ SAC ScoutingPHX @ 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.
SAC availability going into 4/05 · back-to-backBACK Lyles back 3/31 after 9, 25 min since (123% of 20)
BACK Vezenkov back 3/31 after 22, 11 min since (91% of 12)
NEW Ellis 17 to 29 min over the last 5
NEW Mitchell 15 to 21 min over the last 5
SAC availability going into 4/07 · 1 day's restBACK Lyles back 3/31 after 9, 23 min since (114% of 20)
BACK Vezenkov back 3/31 after 22, 12 min since (97% of 12)
NEW Ellis 17 to 27 min over the last 5
NEW Mitchell 15 to 23 min over the last 5
SAC availability going into 4/09 · 1 day's restBACK Lyles back 3/31 after 9, 24 min since (120% of 20)
BACK Vezenkov back 3/31 after 22, 10 min since (82% of 12)
NEW Ellis 17 to 23 min over the last 5
NEW Mitchell 15 to 25 min over the last 5
SAC availability going into 4/11 · 1 day's restNEW Ellis 17 to 25 min over the last 5
NEW Mitchell 15 to 25 min over the last 5
SAC availability going into 4/12 · back-to-backNEW Ellis 17 to 25 min over the last 5
NEW Mitchell 15 to 25 min over the last 5
SAC availability going into 4/14 · 1 day's restNEW Murray 34 to 39 min over the last 5
NEW Ellis 17 to 26 min over the last 5
NEW Mitchell 15 to 24 min over the last 5
PHX availability going into 4/05 · 1 day's restOUT Okogie missed 2 since 4/01, returns tonight: 4 min (26% of 16)
PHX availability going into 4/07 · 1 day's restBACK Okogie back 3/29 after 2, 9 min since (57% of 16)
PHX availability going into 4/09 · 1 day's restBACK Okogie back 3/29 after 2, 9 min since (57% of 16)
PHX availability going into 4/10 · back-to-backBACK Okogie back 4/05 after 2, 3 min since (17% of 16)
PHX availability going into 4/12 · 1 day's restBACK Okogie back 4/05 after 2, 2 min since (14% of 16)
PHX availability going into 4/14 · 1 day's restBACK Okogie back 4/05 after 2, 2 min since (14% of 16)
PHX availability going into 4/20 · 5 days' rest
full strength
PHX availability going into 4/23 · 2 days' rest
full strength
PHX availability going into 4/26 · 2 days' rest
full strength
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Sacramento comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 109, shooting 43 percent and 36 from three, 17 free throws a game; Fox at 31 and Murray at 16 a game. Second night of a back-to-back. Phoenix comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 103, shooting 44 percent and 37 from three, 21 free throws a game; Booker at 25 and Durant at 24 a game. One day's rest.
So: Phoenix wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Sacramento has been plus-3 a night and Phoenix minus-3 and the defense, Phoenix allowing 103 a night to Sacramento's 109. Call it Phoenix 112, Sacramento 111, Sacramento keeping it close.
4/05 @ BOS 100-101 — SAC notes
SAC lost 100-101. SAC took 10 more shots (99 to 89), fed by 15 offensive rebounds, but shot 38% to BOS's 43%, 17 of 51 from three. Fox led with 40 (16 of 29, 7 of 13 from three); Sabonis added 16, Murray 10. Q4 was theirs, 28-17, the deficit cut from 12 to 1, but the other 3 periods went 84-72 against them. Edwards's -17 in 10 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/07 @ BKN 107-77 — SAC notes
SAC won 107-77. SAC shot 43% (40 of 94) to BKN's 35%, 15 of 48 from three. SAC turned it over 9 times to BKN's 16. Fox led with 20 (8 of 20, 3 of 11 from three); Murray added 19, Sabonis 18. The hinge was Q4, 29-13: a lead of 14 became 30, and the lead reached 33. Lyles was the night's best plus/minus at +37.
4/09 @ OKC 105-112 — SAC notes
SAC lost 105-112. SAC took 16 more shots (96 to 80), fed by 21 offensive rebounds, but shot 34% to OKC's 49%, 20 of 58 from three. The glass went 56-42 for them. Fox led with 33 (12 of 29, 7 of 17 from three); Ellis added 26, Murray 15. Q2 was theirs, 33-17, but the other 3 periods went 95-72 against them. They led by as many as 20. Sabonis's -18 in 34 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/11 vs NOP 123-135 — SAC notes
SAC lost 123-135. SAC shot 55% (46 of 84) to NOP's 57%, 16 of 38 from three. Fox led with 33 (11 of 18, 3 of 7 from three, 8 of 10 at the line); Barnes added 22, Murray 19. Q2 was theirs, 35-30, the deficit cut from 11 to 6, but the other 3 periods went 105-88 against them. Barnes's -18 in 32 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/12 vs PHX 107-108 — SAC notes
SAC lost 107-108. SAC took 15 more shots (91 to 76), but shot 44% to PHX's 53%, 14 of 38 from three. SAC turned it over 7 times to PHX's 18. Sabonis led with 25 (9 of 18, 2 of 3 from three, 5 of 6 at the line); Murray added 23, Fox 23. Q1 was theirs, 27-22, but the other 3 periods went 86-80 against them. They led by as many as 16. Ellis's -13 in 33 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/14 vs POR — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Sacramento comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 107, shooting 42 percent and 35 from three, 18 free throws a game; Fox at 30 and Murray at 17 a game. That is 3 straight losses. One day's rest. Portland comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 103 a night and allowing 110, shooting 41 percent and 32 from three, 18 free throws a game; Ayton at 23 and Banton at 22 a game. That is 4 straight losses. It has won the glass by 6 a night. Without Simons (11 straight), Sharpe (44 straight), Thybulle (7 straight). One day's rest.
So: Sacramento wins, in a game with no one edge to lean on. Call it Sacramento 114, Portland 106.
4/05 vs MIN 97-87 — PHX notes
PHX won 97-87. PHX shot 43% (33 of 76) to MIN's 39%, 9 of 26 from three, and went to the line 29 times to MIN's 14 — 22 points from the stripe to their 11. Allen led with 23 (6 of 14, 4 of 8 from three, 7 of 8 at the line); Durant added 22, Beal 14. The hinge was Q1, 32-20: from level to 12 ahead, and the lead reached 23. Durant was the night's best plus/minus at +22.
4/07 vs NOP 105-113 — PHX notes
PHX lost 105-113. PHX shot 45% (39 of 87) to NOP's 47%, 14 of 39 from three. Beal led with 33 (13 of 19, 7 of 8 from three); Booker added 25, Durant 23. Q1 was theirs, 26-19, but the other 3 periods went 94-79 against them. They led by as many as 13. Durant's -12 in 38 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/09 vs LAC 92-105 — PHX notes
PHX lost 92-105. PHX shot 34% (30 of 89) to LAC's 47%, 8 of 35 from three, and went to the line 28 times to LAC's 11 — 24 points from the stripe to their 11. PHX turned it over 8 times to LAC's 18. The glass went 38-63 against them. Durant led with 21 (8 of 22, 2 of 5 from three); Beal added 19, Booker 12. Q3 was theirs, 35-18, the deficit cut from 33 to 16, but the other 3 periods went 87-57 against them. Eubanks's -20 in 12 minutes was the worst on the floor.
4/10 @ LAC 124-108 — PHX notes
PHX won 124-108. PHX shot 48% (46 of 95) to LAC's 46%, 18 of 50 from three. Booker led with 37 (13 of 24, 5 of 12 from three, 6 of 6 at the line); Beal added 26, Durant 24. The hinge was Q4, 32-15: PHX came in trailing by 1 and left it ahead by 16. PHX trailed 55-56 at the half and won the second half 69-52. Allen was the night's best plus/minus at +18.
4/12 @ SAC 108-107 — PHX notes
PHX won 108-107. PHX shot 53% (40 of 76) to SAC's 44%, 12 of 32 from three. PHX turned it over 18 times to SAC's 7, and SAC turned those into 12 steals. Durant led with 28 (11 of 20, 3 of 7 from three); Booker added 21, Beal 20. The hinge was Q4, 30-22: PHX came in trailing by 7 and left it ahead by 1. PHX trailed 45-54 at the half and won the second half 63-53. Beal was the night's best plus/minus at +8.
4/14 @ MIN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Minnesota comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 111, shooting 47 percent and 38 from three, 22 free throws a game; Edwards at 27 and Gobert at 16 a game. One day's rest. Phoenix comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 105 a night and allowing 104, shooting 44 percent and 34 from three, 21 free throws a game; Durant at 24 and Beal at 22 a game. One day's rest.
So: Minnesota wins, and the game turns on the defense, Phoenix allowing 104 a night to Minnesota's 111. Call it Minnesota 112, Phoenix 108, Phoenix keeping it close.
4/20 @ MIN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Minnesota comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 117, shooting 50 percent and 38 from three, 25 free throws a game; Edwards at 26 and Gobert at 19 a game. 5 days' rest. Phoenix comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 108, shooting 47 percent and 37 from three, 18 free throws a game; Beal at 27 and Booker at 24 a game. That is 3 straight wins. It has lost the glass by 5 a night. 5 days' rest.
So: Minnesota wins, and the game turns on the defense, Phoenix allowing 108 a night to Minnesota's 117 and the glass, where Minnesota has been plus-1 a night and Phoenix minus-5. Call it Minnesota 114, Phoenix 111, Phoenix keeping it close.
4/23 @ MIN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Minnesota comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 113, shooting 49 percent and 37 from three, 27 free throws a game; Edwards at 27 and Gobert at 18 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. 2 days' rest. Phoenix comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 109, shooting 47 percent and 36 from three, 21 free throws a game; Durant at 24 and Beal at 23 a game. It has lost the glass by 9 a night. 2 days' rest.
So: Minnesota wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Minnesota has been plus-5 a night and Phoenix minus-9 and the line, where Minnesota takes 27 free throws a game to Phoenix's 21. Call it Minnesota 114, Phoenix 109.
4/26 vs MIN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Phoenix comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 109, shooting 49 percent and 39 from three, 19 free throws a game; Booker at 24 and Durant at 23 a game. 2 days' rest. Minnesota comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 107, shooting 49 percent and 34 from three, 27 free throws a game; Edwards at 20 and Gobert at 18 a game. It has won the glass by 4 a night. 2 days' rest.
So: Phoenix wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Minnesota has been plus-4 a night and Phoenix minus-3 and the line, where Minnesota takes 27 free throws a game to Phoenix's 19. Call it Phoenix 111, Minnesota 110, Minnesota keeping it close.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
PHXBB B. Beal
DB D. Booker
DE D. Eubanks
EG E. Gordon
GA G. Allen
JN J. Nurkić
KD K. Durant
NU Nurkic
RO R. O'Neale
SACAL A. Len
DF D. Fox
DM D. Mitchell
DS D. Sabonis
HB H. Barnes
KE K. Ellis
KM K. Murray
TL T. Lyles
PHX/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
Kevin Durant scores 28 points, Jusuf Nurkic makes late free throw as Suns beat Kings 108-107
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- — Kevin Durant scored 28 points, Jusuf Nurkic made a late free throw and the Phoenix Suns rallied to beat the Sacramento Kings 108-107 on Friday night.
With the game tied at 107 after Phoenix overcame a 16-point deficit, Domantas Sabonis fouled Nurkic fighting for the rebound off a missed shot by the Suns' Grayson Allen . Nurkic, who finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds, missed the first, but made the second to give the Suns the lead with 8.1 seconds to play.
Bradley Beal then stripped De’Aaron Fox as Fox attempted to pull up for a potential winning shot on the other end. Fox claimed that Beal fouled him on the play, and Kings coach Mike Brown said it looked as if Beal swiped Fox on the arm.
“He wasn't even close to the ball,” Fox said.
Brown lamented his team not getting the benefit of the whistle, also complaining about the box-out foul on Sabonis in a close affair, “when the game is as physical as it is.”
“From my seat, I'm baffled," Brown said. “I'm not sure why we can't get a call from an NBA official down the stretch.”
Suns coach Frank Vogel called the win “gusty,” praising his team for holding the Kings to 107 points and playing through 18 turnovers. He called Beal the “star of the game defensively.”
“Throughout his career, he hasn’t had a lot of opportunities to go on a deep playoff run,” Vogel said. “So his care factor is as high as anybody in the organization, and you see it with the passion that he’s playing with.”
Devin Booker added 21 points for Phoenix, and Beal had 20. Sabonis had 25 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists for the Kings.
The teams are both headed to the postseason, but the game had major implications for seeding with the Suns seventh and Kings eighth in the West.
The Suns have won nine of their last 13 games, entering the day a game back of sixth-place New Orleans for the final automatic playoff spot. With one game left in the season, Phoenix owns the tiebreaker if the teams finish with the same record.
The Kings have dropped five of six, and can finish no higher than eighth. With the Los Angeles Lakers winning Friday, Sacramento is in danger of falling to the ninth or 10th seed, which would force the Kings to win two play-in games to advance to the full postseason.
“I hope I'm wrong, because to get another two-minute report that says they made a crucial mistake in a game of this magnitude when we're fighting for our playoff lives is just unfair,” Brown said.
Durant said that during the playoffs, the technical part of the game matters less than the desire to win. The Suns won Friday's game by hustling for a rebound and with a key defensive play.
“Every team knows all your sets,” Durant said. “They know who you are, in and out as a player. So it comes down to who wants it more and who’s got the most will out there. We can’t rely on sets that coach draws up all the time.”
The Suns' star-power always gives them a chance, according to Nurkic.
“The confidence part is more like, we got to do it,” Nurkic said.
The Kings led 54-45 at halftime. Keegan Murray scored 12 points in the second quarter, as Sacramento went on a 9-0 spurt.
UP NEXT
Suns: At Minnesota on Sunday to finish the regular season.
Kings: Host Portland on Sunday to finish the regular season.