Kings beat Nets, clinch first winning season since 2005-06

NEW YORK (AP)— Domantas Sabonis had 24 points and 21 rebounds, and theSacramento Kings clinched their first winning season since 2005-06by beating the Brooklyn Nets 101-96 on Thursday night.

De’Aaron Foxadded 18 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Kings, whoimproved to 42-27, second in the Western Conference. They hadn’tfinished above .500 since going 44-38 in 2005-06, the last of eightconsecutive playoff appearances under Rick Adelman.

The Kingshave had a losing record in the other 29 seasons since moving toSacramento but are in good shape to end the NBA’s longest currentpostseason drought in their first season under Mike Brown.

The Sacramento Kings recently passed the40-win mark for the first time since the 2005-06 season.That means the last time the Kings were a 40-win team, KeeganMurray was only 5 years old. 😳 pic.twitter.com/ZiuzftNVtk

They improvedto 10-2 since the All-Star break by turning to their defense on anight their usually potent offense stalled while playing on thesecond night of a back-to-back. They won Wednesday in Chicago whenFox’s 3-pointer gave them a 117-114 victory.

Sabonis had20 points by halftime and the Kings led by as much as 17, but theNets made it close.

Mikal Bridgesscored 23 points for the Nets, who fell 1 1/2 games behind the NewYork Knicks for fifth place in the Eastern Conference and are just1 1/2 ahead of seventh-place Miami as they try to avoid the play-intournament.

SpencerDinwiddie added 18 points and Nic Claxton had 14 points and 14rebounds for the Nets, back in Brooklyn after going 3-2 on theirroad trip and hoping to capitalize on a home-heavy schedule therest of the way. Nine of their remaining 12 games are at BarclaysCenter.

It was tiedat 41 with under 3 1/2 minutes remaining in the first half beforeSabonis converted a three-point play. That kicked off a 13-0 finishfor the Kings, with Fox’s jumper making it 54-41 at the break.

A three-pointplay by Harrison Barnes followed by a 3-pointer from Fox pushed itto 60-43, but the Nets would recover with a 10-0 spurt later in thethird to trim it to six points. Sacramento went on to take an 82-71advantage to the fourth.

TIP-INS

Kings: KevinHuerter was scoreless in six minutes before leaving with a rightleg injury. He came up limping after missing a shot in the firstquarter. ... Sabonis was the first player in the NBA this seasonwith at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks in the firsthalf. He had five assists, falling short of a third straighttriple-double.

Nets:Brooklyn is 19-13 at home. The Nets were trying to join Milwaukeeand Boston as the only teams with 20 wins at home and on theroad.

The Billboard Hot 100 Top Songs on April 8,2006 — the last time the Kings had 40 wins 🤯1. Bad Day - Daniel Powter2. Temperature - Sean Paul3. So Sick - Ne-Yo4. You're Beautiful - James Blunt5. Be Without You - Mary J. Blige6. Unwritten - Natasha Bedingfield pic.twitter.com/9MvO0DYcKk

STILLSEE SIMMONS?

Ben Simmonshas sat out all 12 games since the All-Star break with left kneeand back soreness, but Nets coach Jacque Vaughn said theexpectation remains that he will play again this season. Vaughnsaid the 2016 No. 1 pick was doing some work on the court andhadn’t had any setbacks, but there was no timetable for his return.“So we want him back to hoop, he wants to be back to hoop and thatis definitely the goal,” Vaughn said.

UPNEXT

Kings: AtWashington on Saturday.

Nets: HostDenver on Sunday.