Kings fall to Western Conference leading Nuggets

The Sacramento Kings fell 117-113 to the Denver Nuggets on Thursday night at Golden 1 Center.

Here are three takeaways from the game.

Decent shooting not enough

Offense wasn’t a problem for the Kings. Other than rough nights from the field for Iman Shumpert (0 for 7) and Justin Jackson (1 for 5), Sacramento shot quite well.

The Kings were 45 for 90 (50 percent) from the field and made 13 of their 31 3-point attempts for a solid 41.9 percent clip.

Buddy Hield, the team’s leading scorer, paced the Kings with 29 points, including 11 of those in the final period. He hit 5 of 9 3-pointers.

However, the Nuggets got hot in the second half and held off the Kings (1919) to improve their Western Conference-leading record to 25-11.

A rare halftime lead

Coming into Thursday’s contest, the Kings enjoyed a halftime lead just twice in their previous 10 games.

A strong second quarter gave the Kings a 66-53 advantage at the break, but the Nuggets erased that lead in the third behind guard Jamal Murray.

After shooting 0 of 4 and scoring two points before the break, Murray exploded for 17 points in both of the final two quarters. He finished with a game-high 36 points.

Kings coach Dave Joerger said free throws helped Murray get on track.

“He got to the foul line 10 times,” Joerger said. “It’s a lot easier when you’re a shooter, and he is a shooter, to catch a rhythm when you’re at the foul line.”

Second chances prove costly

Joerger has said during multiple postgame interviews this season that allowing offensive rebounds is an area of concern. That issue was evident in this loss.

The Nuggets outrebounded the Kings 54-33, including a staggering 16 on the offensive end that led to 23 second-chance points. The Kings had just six points in that department.

“I think the storyline for us is in the second half: too many offensive rebounds,” Joerger said.