Kings vs Suns:
When: 9:00 PM ET, Tuesday, January 16, 2024
Where: Footprint Center, Phoenix, Arizona
Bradley Beal is rounding into form, but the Phoenix Suns remain an inconsistent team that doesn’t click on all cylinders.
Beal will look to put together his third consecutive strong offensive performance when the Suns host the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday night.
Beal is averaging 30 points over the past two games while making 12 of 16 3-point attempts. Overall, he is 23 of 34 from the field (67.6 percent) during that span, with Phoenix winning both times.
He established season highs of 37 points and eight 3-pointers during Thursday’s 127-109 rout of the host Los Angeles Lakers. Beal followed up with 23 points and four more treys in Sunday’s 127-116 road victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.
Yet Beal was not pleased after the victory in Portland.
The Trail Blazers were down six key players due to injuries or illness — including second-leading scorer Jerami Grant and former Suns center Deandre Ayton — but Portland trimmed Phoenix’s 17-point advantage to four with 6:50 left.
The Suns were able to deliver a decisive run, but the game still left a bad taste in the mouth of Beal.
“I think we took a step back and I think we all know that,” Beal said afterward. “We didn’t come out with energy, we weren’t focused, we didn’t do any of our defensive assignments out the gate. We allowed them to get really comfortable and they stayed comfortable throughout the game.”
Beal was acquired from the Washington Wizards in the offseason to form a big three with Devin Booker and Kevin Durant. But he was bothered by back and ankle injuries and has played in just 15 of Phoenix’s 39 games.
The Suns lost 11 of 19 games prior to the consecutive victories.
Booker led the Suns with 34 points against Portland.
Sacramento has beaten Phoenix four straight times, including twice this season.
De’Aaron Fox scored 34 points when the Kings recorded a 114-106 road win over the Suns on Dec. 8. Beal and Durant both missed that game due to injuries.
Two weeks later, Domantas Sabonis scored 28 points on 12-of-15 shooting and had 12 assists and 11 rebounds as Sacramento posted a 120-105 home win over the Suns. Beal was again sidelined.
The clash on Tuesday is the finale of a five-game road trip for the Kings.
Sacramento won the first two games before losing 112-93 at the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday and 143-142 to the Milwaukee Bucks in overtime on Sunday.
The Kings went down hard Sunday, as Milwaukee’s Damian Lillard nailed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Fox scored 32 points for Sacramento, while Sabonis had 21 points, 15 assists and 13 rebounds for his 10th triple-double of the season.
The postgame chatter had nothing to do with the two star players.
Kings coach Mike Brown, who was ejected after rushing onto the court to argue with 9:27 left in regulation, showed up to his postgame press conference with a laptop to show missed calls by the officiating crew.
“The referees are human, and they’re going to make mistakes, but you just hope — A, there’s some sort of consistency (and) B, there’s some sort of communication between the refs,” Brown said afterward. “The refs (Sunday), they were great, they communicated with me all night. But in terms of consistency, you guys saw it right here. … The consistency that I see (Sunday), wasn’t (there in my opinion).”
The Kings received a strong performance from Kevin Huerter, who missed the Philadelphia game with an ankle injury. Huerter scored 26 points, grabbed a season-high 10 rebounds and matched a season best with six 3-pointers.
Sacramento forward Keegan Murray exited the Milwaukee game with a hip injury and is questionable for Tuesday.
–Field Level Media
