Westbrook passed Oscar Robertson for most points scored by a point guard in NBA history when he scored his 26,711th career point on a driving layup with 4:23 left in the Kings’ 129-102 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Friday night at the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix.
He ended the game with 17 points on 50% shooting from the field.
‘I didn’t know he broke another record tonight,’ Kings head coach Doug Christie told reporters after the game. ‘He continues to break records. Russ is a freak of nature, man. His competitiveness, his competitive drive. His spirit to continue to play as hard as he does. … Always been a fan of his and it’s an absolute honor to coach him.’
Growing pains continue to loom for Sacramento, which suffered its fourth consecutive loss after another second-half slump. The Suns managed to outscore the Kings 65-46 in the second half.
Phoenix took advantage of careless turnovers Sacramento committed, scoring 23 points off the Kings’ 21 giveaways.
‘We get to the point like we’re competing and then there’s a moment where, whether it’s their defensive intensity – which it was, you give them credit, they play extremely hard – but the ball can’t stick,’ Christie said. ‘We got to continue to move. That’s not on the players, I have to make sure that you’re trusting them but also you got to make calls.’
‘There’ll just be these moments where we just slow down and that’s the difference in us competing in the first half,’ he added. ‘We’re right there and then we come out in the second half and it’s just a couple, three minutes, that the game gets away from you. … If you’re not fundamental in protecting the basketball it ended up being 21 turnovers for 23 points, it’s not functionally a way to survive in this league.’
Devin Booker ended the game with 33 points to lead the Suns. Dillon Brooks added 18 and Mark Williams, Collin Gillespie and Oso Ighodaro each had 15.
Royce O’Neale was menacing on the defensive end with three blocks and two steals.
Keegan Murray led the way for Sacramento with 23 points and nine rebounds. DeMar DeRozan had 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field and two steals. Dennis Schroder had 12 points off the bench and Keon Ellis had 14.
Rookie center Maxime Raynaud suffered an apparent leg injury late in the contest against Phoenix.
‘Always fingers crossed for young players,’ Christie said. ‘He plays so hard, he plays with heart. When you see stuff like that it doesn’t necessarily sit well with you.’
Kings vs. Suns highlights
Recap: Kings keys
Don’t feed into Dillon Brooks’ antics: Suns guard Dillon Brooks has made a name for himself as an NBA ‘villain.’ He antagonizes opponents with various antics and mental gymnastics, along with his scoring at 21.4 points per game. Whatever the Kings do, don’t allow Brooks to get in your head and off your game. Brooks scored 18 points on 8-of-14 shooting.
Honor Collin Gillespie’s shooting: Collin Gillespie is in his third year out of Villanova but the 6-foot-1 guard is proving that he can shoot the lights out, especially when he gets the hot hand. He averages 14 points per game and shoots 44% from deep. He has made five 3-pointers in each of the previous three games. Gillespie had 15 points but was held to 3-of-9 shooting from deep.
Get physical with Mark Williams: Mark Williams has been a gem for Phoenix; it’s needed a center who can rebound, defend the rim and cause havoc in the paint. Williams averages 12.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game, but he is someone who likes to play physical and Sacramento will need to match that energy for a chance to win. Williams tallied 15 points, nine rebounds, a steal and a block in 22 minutes.
Focus for 48 minutes: Obviously, Devin Booker is someone for the Kings to key on defensively, but none of that matters if Sacramento doesn’t stay locked in and knock down shots for the full duration of the game. In their last game, the Kings remained neck-and-neck with the Celtics before a fourth-quarter dismantling. The Kings give themselves a better chance to win when they’re competing at a high level all game, and not having spurts of letdowns. Sacramento had moments in the second half when it didn’t show up offensively and was outscored 65-46.
Kings’ next five games
Jan. 4 vs. Milwaukee Bucks
Jan. 6 vs. Dallas Mavericks
Jan. 9 at Golden State Warriors
Jan. 11 vs. Houston Rockets
Jan. 12 vs. Los Angeles Lakers