Sacramento controlled the tempo most of the night in pulling the road upset.
The Sacramento Kings entered Scotiabank Arena as a big 12.5-point underdog against the Toronto Raptors.
They walk out pulling off, perhaps, their last major upset of the season.
Sacramento finally earned its 20th regular season in what became a challenging campaign for the Kings, this time toppling the Raptors 123-115 on Wednesday.
And a former Raptors star engineered the upset.
DeMar DeRozan is now 17th on the NBA's all-time scoring list after dropping 28 points. He let it be known that he doesn't take having fun in the league for granted. But also answered if he's envisioning playing 20 seasons in the league.
DeRozan's outing and history won over Sacramento media...despite the feeling the victory could crush the Kings ahead of the NBA Draft lottery.
"I respect the hell out of DeMar DeRozan coming back to Toronto and cooking the franchise he's most connected to in the 2nd half. I sure hope it doesn't come back to crush the Kings in the lottery," Matt George of Sactown 1140 AM posted on the social media website X, formerly Twitter.
James Ham of ESPN 1320 AM became more impressed by how DeRozan earned his points.
"DeMar DeRozan spent the first 9 seasons of his illustrious career with the Raptors. They sent double-teams at him all night as he tried to surpass Dominique Wilkins on the NBA's all-time scoring list. DeRozan got there, posting 28 points to move to No. 17 all-time," Ham said online.
Meanwhile, Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic became left with trying to find answers. He did like the grit of his team, but claimed the Raptors didn't have the right approach.
"We were trying, we were fighting back, we cut down the lead, but when you don’t approach the game from the start with the level of intensity and attention to detail that you need to have, this is the outcome,” said Rajakovic after the loss via Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports.
Precious Achiuwa tied DeRozan for the team lead with 28 points. He also grabbed an astonishing 19 rebounds. Guard Devin Carter chipped in 13 points.
Malik Monk added 18 points while Daeqwon Plowden provided 11 on the night. Sacramento is now 20-57 overall with five regular season games left.
With the win, Sacramento now sits at fourth in the projected draft lottery rankings behind the Indiana Pacers, Brooklyn Nets and Washington Wizards in the race for the No. 1 pick.