The Sacramento Kings capitalized on the visiting Phoenix Suns playing a depleted roster and secured home-court advantage for their upcoming Western Conference play-in matchup with a 109-98 decision on Sunday.
Sacramento (40-42) was already locked into a No. 9 vs. No. 10 contest with Dallas in the play-in before Sunday’s contest. But with the Kings pulling out of a two-game slump, and the Mavericks losing a blowout to Memphis, Sacramento draws hosting duties in the first of two potential single-elimination play-in dates.
The Kings host the Mavericks on Wednesday, with the winner advancing to play the loser of Tuesday’s play-in game between the host Golden State Warriors and the Memphis Grizzlies.
Jonas Valanciunas came off the bench to lead the Kings with 22 points and helped set the tone with 10 in the first quarter. He successfully converted an and-one before the end of the period to give Sacramento a 33-25 lead, and the Kings maintained the advantage for the rest of the way.
Phoenix (36-46), playing without stars Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, trailed by as many as 17 points. Grayson Allen scored 20 points to lead the Suns, Tyus Jones added 17 and both Colin Gillespie and Ryan Dunn posted 12 points in Phoenix’s makeshift starting five.
Dunn also grabbed 10 rebounds for a double-double. Sacramento countered with a pair of double-doubles from both Valanciunas, who snared 10 boards, and Domantas Sabonis, who finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds for his 62nd double-double of the season.
Sacramento’s frontcourt tandem carried the load with Kings perimeter starters DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine and Keon Ellis having muted scoring performances. DeRozan finished with eight points and Ellis had nine, while LaVine’s 16 points ended a five-game streak of 25-plus point performances.
Despite the three guards scoring below their averages, Sacramento shot a solid 14-of-34 from 3-point range and 46-of-88 from the floor overall. The 98 points the Kings’ defense allowed matched their best performance since a March 3 win over upcoming play-in opponent Dallas.
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