By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The Sacramento Kings banked on a majestic third-quarter performance to take down the Los Angeles Clippers, 109-95, in the ongoing NBA regular season on April 3, 2024.
Fresh from a lopsided victory over the Utah Jazz, the Kings picked up where they left off and outdueled the Clippers to protect their home court advantage.
Sacramento used a dominant third-quarter outing to pull away from Los Angeles after outscoring them, 35-19, to enter the final frame with the much-needed momentum.
From a slim five-point cushion after the first half, Sacramento turned on the jets in the third canto to balloon their lead to as much as 22 points and sucked the life out of the Clippers.
Without Kawhi Leonard who is currently dealing with a right knee soreness, the Kings just pounced on Los Angeles and took advantage of their defensive lapses in the perimeter.
All hell broke loose in the third quarter when the trio of De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis, and Harrison Barnes connived to put up a massive scoring avalanche for Sacramento.
It was an unfortunate sequence for the Clippers down the stretch as Sacramento continued to wax hot until the final buzzer while they were longing to put up points on board.
Los Angeles’ head coach Tyrone Lue then waived the white flag early in the fourth after deciding to bench Paul George, Norman Powell, and James Harden for the rest of the game.
Sabonis racked up another dominant double-double performance of 22 points, 20 rebounds, nine assists, and two steals while Fox added 20 markers, seven dimes, and three boards.
Meanwhile, Keegan Murray continued his hot-shooting from the outside to end up with 19 points, five rebounds, two assists, a steal, and a block.
Sacramento will look to clinch its third consecutive victory on April 5, 2024 as they take on the New York Knicks on the road.
On the other hand, the Clippers will seek to bounce back and re-enter the NBA winning column on April 5, 2024, against Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets.
