Young Kings shine with career-highs despite 12th straight loss, as Mitchell and Allen lead Cavs' comeback victory.
The Cleveland Cavaliers (32-21) pulled out a 132-126 victory over the Sacramento Kings' (12-42) young core, handing Sacramento their 12th consecutive defeat (T-Longest losing streak in franchise history) in what proved to be an otherwise fun and wildly impressive night for their top prospects.
Sacramento's young guns played inspired basketball all night long, resulting in both Nique Clifford (30 points) and Devin Carter (18 points) registering career-highs in scoring.
Russell Westbrook also chipped in an efficient 21 points, nine assists and five rebounds of his own on 8-for-14 shooting, though it was paired with seven turnovers.
Dylan Cardwell's second straight double-double (12 points, 11 rebounds) helped to propel the Kings to a late 121-114 advantage, but the Cavaliers' future Hall of Famers had a response in store.
Cleveland's superstar shooting guard Donovan Mitchell helped the Cavs come from behind late to capture the victory with a 35-point night, and 2017 MVP James Harden poured in a timely 23 points and eight assists to finish his franchise debut.
The ex-Kings Keon Ellis (six points, three assists, three steals) and Dennis Schröder (seven points, four assists) each made an impact respectively coming off the bench, and the former received an especially loud ovation from the Golden 1 Center crowd upon checking in to start the second quarter.
Among the Kings' standout performers was second-year forward Deaqwon Plowden, who finished with 16 points, six rebounds (all offensive), four assists and one steal after making his first career start, and his impact on the glass was evident from the opening tip.
However, Cleveland's Jarrett Allen had a monster night of his own, hitting his first 11 shots and ending the night with 29 points and 10 boards on 11-for-12 shooting from the floor.
Kings rookie center Maxime Raynaud did his best to counteract Allen's effort at the rim by scoring 14 points and pulling down seven rebounds of his own, but stopping Allen on the roll became an impossibility for Sacramento throughout most of the contest.
When Mitchell and Allen began to hit their stride for Cleveland, it was Sacramento's Clifford who seemed to have an answer at all times. Not only was the first-year guard a game-wrecker and active disruptor defensively, but he also made a bit of franchise history offensively.
With his 30-point night and lethal shooting from outside, Clifford became just the fourth rookie in Kings history to finish with 30+ points and knock down 5+ threes.
Unfortunately, the massive showings from Clifford, Carter, Cardwell, Raynaud and Plowden came in defeat, but their incredible efforts will not go unnoticed by the Kings' faithful.
With Sacramento on the verge of reaching new territory and setting the record for their longest losing streak in franchise history, they'll be thrown a lifeline when they take on the struggling 14-40 New Orleans Pelicans on Monday night.
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