Where Kings stand in West playoff picture after road loss to Knicks originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Things did not go the Kings’ way Thursday as they blew another lead in their 120-109 loss to the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
Aside from the loss, which dropped Sacramento to 44-32 on the season, the Kings also failed to help themselves out in the Western Conference playoff standings. While a win could have helped their case, the loss keeps the Kings in the No. 8 seed and, if the season ended Thursday, they’d be in the NBA play-in tournament and face the No. 7 New Orleans Pelicans.
Currently, Sacramento is a half game ahead of the No. 9-seeded Los Angeles Lakers and one game back of the Pelicans. If the Kings want to secure an outright playoff berth, they’ll need to somehow work their way up to the No. 6 seed during their final six games of the 2023-24 NBA regular season.
They missed a golden opportunity Thursday, as a victory would have tied the Kings with New Orleans and the Phoenix Suns, both 45-31, for that sixth seed.
The Kings also had a shot to clinch at least a top-10 seed Thursday, as a win by them and a loss by the Houston Rockets would have guaranteed the former a spot in the play-in. But despite Houston’s 133-110 loss to the Golden State Warriors, also on Thursday, Sacramento couldn’t hold up its end of the clinch scenario.
Kings guard De’Aaron Fox finished Thursday’s loss with 29 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, while Domantas Sabonis scored 17 and grabbed 11 boards.
As the Kings continue through the second-toughest remaining schedule among playoff contenders, they’ll face another difficult opponent on the East Coast when they take on the Boston Celtics on Friday at TD Garden.
Catch all the action as Sacramento’s playoff push continues though coverage starting with “Kings Pregame Live” at 4 p.m. PT and the game at 4:30 p.m. PT on NBC Sports California.
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