Russell Westbrook’s 17 Points Mask Shocking Nuggets Dominance—What Really Went Wrong for the Kings?

Sacramento’s night at the Golden 1 Center was a tough pill to swallow, as the Kings took on the Denver Nuggets missing three of their top guns — Zach LaVine, Dennis Schroder, and Domantas Sabonis. Facing the relentless Nikola Jokić and his Nuggets, who weren’t just winning, but dominating by as much as 37 points, it was clear this wasn’t going to be an ordinary game. The Kings’ struggle to keep pace, compounded by injuries and absences, stretched their losing skid even further, dragging the team deeper into a mire that’s lingered for weeks. Even Russell Westbrook’s 17 points and DeMar DeRozan’s personal milestone couldn’t brighten a tough night where the Nuggets pretty much ran the show from the jump. It’s a snapshot of a team trying to find footing amid chaos and challenges — a story rich with lessons and moments worth unpacking. LEARN MORE

What we learned as Russell Westbrook scores 17 in Kings’ blowout loss to Nuggets originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

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SACRAMENTO – Playing the Denver Nuggets at even strength is a tough enough battle in itself. Doing it without three of your best players only magnified the disparity on the court.

The Kings found that out the very hard way Thursday night at Golden 1 Center, extending their own miseries that have been lingering for the better part of five weeks.

Backed by another mercurial effort from three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokić, Denver took control of this one early, led by as many as 37 points and steamrolled the Kings 136-105.

Jokic had 36 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists.

That should have been expected when Sacramento was without Zach LaVine (thumb, illness), Dennis Schroder (hip) and Domantas Sabonis (left MCL partial tear).

It was Sacramento’s second consecutive loss, sixth in seven games and 14th in 17 games dating to early November.

Russell Westbrook had 17 points, three rebounds and five assists for the Kings. Keegan Murray added 15 points and six rebounds.

Maxime Raynaud had 15 points and nine boards. Malik Monk added 18 points and five assists while DeMar DeRozan scored 11 and passed Vince Carter for 23rd place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.

The Kings fell to 6-19. They were 9-10 at this point last season, about a month before firing coach Mike Brown.

Not even a career milestone for DeRozan was enough to erase the stain from this one.

The short-handed Kings dug themselves a huge hole in the second quarter and spent the rest of the evening trying, albeit unsuccessfully, to climb out.

Jokic had 16 points in the first quarter and was in full triple-double mode as the teams went into halftime with Denver leading 77-54.

The Kings committed five turnovers and scored only 17 points in the third quarter.

Here are the takeaways from the Kings’ latest loss:

Max meets the Joker

With Sabonis nursing his injury, the Kings have been in scramble mode for inside help. The situation got a little worse when Drew Eubanks suffered a left thumb injury and was pulled after playing fewer than four minutes.

Raynaud, whose playing time has incrementally been increasing the past few weeks, was forced to shoulder an even heavier workload as a result and did decent enough against one of the NBA’s best players.

While Jokic did what Jokic always does, Raynaud got a passing grade against the Joker while making his third consecutive start for the Kings. The rookie shot 7-of-13 and made his only 3-point attempt.

Precious Achiuwa also got some time going against Jokic but it was primarily Raynaud who spent the night matching up against the Nuggets’ 7-foot star.

It was another step in Raynaud’s learning curve, who two weeks ago went head-to-head and held his own against Memphis Grizzlies’ 7-foot-3 center Zach Edey.

Deebo passes Vinsanity

On a night when Kings fans didn’t have much to cheer for, DeRozan gave the Golden 1 Center crowd a memorable moment when he slipped past former Kings player and Hall of Famer Vince Carter into 23rd place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list

The milestone moment came about two minutes into the second period when DeRozan was fouled by Denver’s Cam Johnson and made a pair of free throws.

DeRozan now has 25,734 points in his career. Carter had 25,728 points. He played in 54 games during his only season with Sacramento in 2017-18.

Next up on the list is a familiar face, one that DeRozan likely will be chasing for a long while. Stephen Curry is No. 22 on the list with 25,832, and the two-time scoring champ hasn’t shown many signs of slowing down.

Devin Carter sighting

The Kings’ first-round draft pick a year ago played in an NBA game for the first time in nearly a month and one night after playing for Sacramento’s G League team in nearby Stockton.

Carter, the 13th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, scored 15 points in 21 minutes against the Nuggets.

A night earlier, Carter scored 14 points in 30 minutes for the Stockton Kings. He had been sent there to get some playing time because he wasn’t getting much run in Sacramento and had 10 DNPs and two inactives during a 12-game stretch.

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