Sacramento head coach Doug Christie rolled with a younger lineup on Saturday, which still saw grit from the Kings.
The Sacramento Kings are officially in "build momentum" mode. Which took place Saturday night inside the State Farm Arena against the Atlanta Hawks.
Building momentum for next season, that is.
Head coach Doug Christie opted to roll with a younger lineup next to DeMar DeRozan. This philosophy still handed Atlanta fits, but the Hawks held on for the 123-113 win.
Kings insider for ESPN 1320 AM James Ham took a liking to what he saw out of the youthful lineup.
"Good fight. Kings head coach Doug Christie stuck with the young guys for much of the second half and they gave the Hawks all they could handle," Ham posted on the social media website X, formerly Twitter.
This wasn't an all-rookie lineup Christie pulled out, though. He also rode Precious Achiuwa...who responded with scoring 16 points and grabbing six rebounds.
"Precious Achiuwa is building personal momentum heading into the offseason with his strong play. Whether it's in Sacramento or elsewhere, he is going to get paid," Ham added.
The Kings really applied the scare on Atlanta in the fourth quarter, nearly outscoring the Hawks 35-31. Sacramento at one point tied things up at 97 early in the fourth quarter with under eight minutes left.
Atlanta managed to ignite the 3-point game late, sinking 18 points off the long range attempts and going on a 26-16 run to close out the evening.
Once again Sacramento went without a number of stars. Russell Westbrook took another rest night with a toe injury, as Christie handed him more injury management. Drew Eubanks remains out with a thumb ailment and is shut down for the rest of the season. Keegan Murray (ankle) also remains out for the Kings.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker led the Hawks with 27 points. Jalen Johnson added 26 points plus dished out 10 assists.
DeRozan once again led the way scoring wise with a 22-point night. He dropped 33 on the Orlando Magic despite the loss.
Maxime Raynaud produced 18 points to finish second on the Kings. Achiuwa was third in scoring while Malik Monk added 10 points to round out the scoring for the starting lineup.
DaQuan Jeffries added 15 points while Daeqwon Plowden scored 14. Killian Hayes chipped in 10 points.
Join our ROUNDTABLE community! It's free to join. Share your thoughts, engage with our Roundtable writers, and chat with fellow members.
Download the free Roundtable APP, and stay even more connected.