Rookie Raynaud shines in a historic 13th straight loss. The Kings embrace the tank, eyeing lottery odds despite a brutal defeat.
The Sacramento Kings received a 120-94 beatdown at the hands of the New Orleans Pelicans, tying the longest losing streak of the Sacramento era with 13 consecutive defeats.
While this performance from the Kings was not one that will be looked upon favorably, everything went according to plan. Sacramento's rookie center Maxime Raynaud scored 21 points and pulled down a career-high 19 rebounds in 38 minutes of action, proving to be the only King worth watching.
Fellow rookie Nique Clifford did his best to push the pace, but he'd follow up a career-high 30-point performance against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday night with 10 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds on a rough 4-for-16 shooting night.
New Orleans' star duo of Trey Murphy III (21 points, 7 assists, 5 3PM) and Zion Williamson (18 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds) ran all over Sacramento from start to finish. The Pelicans triggered endless fast break opportunities and connected on alley-oops at will.
The Kings' offense was never on to begin with, but their scoring prowess was truly nonexistent during their combined 41-point second and third quarters. Passing the ball quickly became a chore, and the Pelicans' lengthy wings Murphy III and Herb Jones made life miserable for Sacramento's offensive initiators.
Sacramento also had injury added to the insult, as Russell Westbrook suffered an apparent ankle injury on a layup with 6:46 left in the third frame. The future first-ballot Hall of Famer was still able to leave his mark on the contest, pouring in 17 points of his own to officially cross the 27,000-point threshold for his career, becoming the 14th player in NBA history to do so.
Three-point shooting was an absolute non-factor for the Kings, as they managed to hit only four shots from long-range on 31 attempts (12.9%). Second-year guard Devin Carter tried to get the offense rolling, finishing with a fairly efficient 12 points and 4 assists in a shade under 30 minutes of work.
The Western Conference's No. 14 seed came away with an utterly dominant win over the No. 15 seed, but the war could have been won by Sacramento.
This was an epic tanking battle including the league's two worst clubs, and a more favorable chance at the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft is all that the Kings will be eyeing for the rest of the season.
Sacramento is on the hunt for a franchise-altering talent this summer, and a losing streak of historic proportions is just what they'll need to be best positioned to win the draft lottery.
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