The Brooklyn Nets are ready to host the Sacramento Kings in their penultimate home game Sunday night.
The Kings (44-33) aim to finish the home-and-home series sweep over the Nets (31-47) for the second straight year.
When these teams most recently faced each other on Dec. 11, Sacramento set a franchise record for 3-pointers made. The Kings hit 25 shots from beyond the arc en route to 131-118 win at home.
Sacramento has clinched a postseason play-in game spot, but it could improve its seeding and host a play-in contest. The Kings are in ninth place in the Western Conference, a half-game behind the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Kings hope to end a two-game skid and shake off a 101-100 loss Friday to Boston, where there was a controversial no-call in the final seconds.
Sacramento’s Colby Jones appeared to receive contact to the face from Boston’s Svi Mykhailiuk during a putback shot attempt with 1.9 seconds remaining, but there was no whistle and Boston hung on for the win.
The NBA later admitted the referees’ error in its Last 2 Minute Report and released a statement after the game, but there is no overturning the result.
“Colby just gets smacked on the face,” Sacramento coach Mike Brown said. “You’re yelling, ‘Foul! Foul!’ and they said nobody got hit, it was just physical, clean basketball.”
Brown continued: “It’s tough; maybe we didn’t deserve to win. I don’t know, I’m not sure. We for sure wanted to win. You gotta call the game for what it is. I don’t know how you miss that one, but we have to move on and get ready for Brooklyn.”
Sacramento standout De’Aaron Fox is averaging 26.6 points and 5.7 assists per game this season. He had a 40-point performance against the Celtics and has led the Kings in scoring in eight of the past 10 contests.
Meanwhile, Domantas Sabonis continues to be an all-around contributor. Through 77 appearances, he has logged a double-double in 73 games and triple-doubles in 26. He is averaging 19.6 points, 13.7 rebounds and 8.3 assists per game.
Brooklyn has been eliminated from playoff contention but isn’t going away quietly.
The Nets enter Sunday’s game with back-to-back wins, including a fourth-quarter comeback against the Pistons on Saturday night in which they outscored Detroit 38-20 in the final 12 minutes of a 113-103 win.
“I’ll be honest with them. I try to let them know that tomorrow is not promised and we have to give everything we have today,” Brooklyn interim coach Kevin Ollie said. “I’m so happy when they do it, play together and get some fruit for their labor. We’ve been through a lot. Those guys never went in separate directions. They stayed in the boat, rowing together.”
During the Nets’ recent wins, Brooklyn has gotten quality minutes from rookies Jalen Wilson and Noah Clowney. In the win against the Pistons, they combined for 27 points off the bench on 9-of-12 shooting from the field.
Cam Thomas leads Brooklyn with an average of 22.2 points per game.
