“33 points” Monk kept his promise by leading Sacramento to a come-from-behind victory
Malik Monk (24, Sacramento Kings), who promised “I should do well” in the last game against Denver, completely washed away the slump.
Sacramento beat Denver 127-126, one point, in the NBA 2022-23 regular league game at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California, on the afternoon of the 29th (Korea Standard Time). As a result, Sacramento became 18-15 and escaped the losing streak. Denver had 22 wins and 12 losses.
Sacramento was active in Malik Monk with 33 points and 3 assists, including 4 three-point shots, Domantas Sabonis with 31 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, and The Aaron Fox with 31 points and 13 assists. Denver’s Nikola Jokic scored 40 points, seven rebounds, and six assists, but the team’s defeat faded.
Denver overwhelmed Sacramento from the first quarter. Denver trampled Sacramento with a basketball that Porter Jr. hit an outer shot when Jokic tapped the paint zone. Denver finished the first quarter with a lead of 40-24 and 16 points as Porter Jr.’s outer shot exploded intensively at the end of the quarter.
Sacramento found the flow of counterattack in the second quarter. Denver held out well by maintaining the score until the middle of the second quarter, but Monk’s performance began in the second half of the quarter. Monk controlled his shooting sense with a free throw and scored eight points in a row, and Savonis and Pax also followed him with scoring support. Denver responded to Sacramento’s flow with a height-saving attack by Yokichi and ended the first half with a 75-62, 13 points difference.
Denver showed that Highland, who perfectly erased Jamal Murray’s absence early in the third quarter, even did a perfect reading. Sacramento then put Monk back, who boasted a hot shot five minutes before the end of the quarter. Monk met expectations by scoring 11 consecutive points and narrowed Denver, where Jokic played, to 105-94, 11 points.
As soon as he entered the fourth quarter, Fox took over Monk’s performance and played a mid-range game to narrow the gap to two points. Then Jokic directly attacked and led the team’s attack, and Monk and Savonis also played a seesaw game against each other. Sacramento won by 127-126, one point, as Monk scored the winning goal himself just before the end of the match.