PHOENIX
Sacramento Kings coach Doug Christie spelled out his game plan prior to Wednesday’s season opener against the Phoenix Suns.
“We defend, we rebound and we share,” Christie said. “That’s the overarching thing on the defensive end. We make people feel us, we communicate and we compete. And offensively, we pace, space and share.”
The Kings answered Christie’s call at both ends of the floor in the first half, but they suffered a stunning second-half collapse in a 120-116 loss to the Suns before a sellout crowd of 17,071 at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix.
“In the first half, we did the game plan,” Kings guard Malik Monk said. “In the second half, we just did s— we did last year, started off sloppy in the third quarter and let them back in it.”
Devin Booker scored 31 points for the Suns (1-0), who trailed by 20 in the opening half before outscoring the Kings 36-21 in the third quarter and 30-24 in the fourth.
Dillon Brooks scored 22 points for Phoenix. Grayson Allen had 18 points, five rebounds and seven assists.
Zach LaVine scored 30 points on 13-of-24 shooting but went 2 of 10 from 3-point range for the Kings (0-1). DeMar DeRozan had 29 points, six rebounds and nine assists. Monk came off the bench to score 19 points while going 7 of 13 from the field and 3 of 4 from beyond the arc.
“They made a little adjustment to try to slow our pace down,” LaVine said. “They switched one through five, but the biggest thing is we fouled too much and we gave up a lot of offensive rebounds. With that big of a lead, even going into the fourth, you’ve got to close those games out, so that one hurts.”
The Kings outshot the Suns 50% to 47.4% from the field and 37.5% to 29.4% from 3-point range, but they went 13 of 23 at the free throw line and got outrebounded 51-37 with Domantas Sabonis (hamstring) and Keegan Murray (thumb) out due to injuries.Rookie first-round draft pick Nique Clifford started in his NBA debut and led the team with eight rebounds. Centers Drew Eubanks, Dylan Cardwell and Maxime Raynaud combined for nine rebounds.
Rookie first-round draft pick Nique Clifford started in his NBA debut and led the team with eight rebounds. Centers Drew Eubanks, Dylan Cardwell and Maxime Raynaud combined for nine rebounds
.“We’re just going to have to continue to look at it,” Christie said. “A lot of teams are playing two bigs, so there are going to be moments where we’re going to have to be big as well, but it has to be a concerted effort from everybody.”
Malik Monk of the Sacramento Kings collides with Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns during the first half of the NBA game at Mortgage Matchup Center on October 22, 2025, in Phoenix, Arizona. Christian Petersen Getty Images
Halftime report
The Kings committed five turnovers over the first five minutes, but they overcame a sloppy start to take a 14-10 lead on a three-point play by DeRozan. They went up 21-14 on a 3-pointer by Monk and led 29-19 at the end of the first quarter. Sacramento went 13 of 23 from the field in the opening period while Phoenix went 9 of 30.
The Kings went up by 16 on a breakaway dunk by Keon Ellis early in the second quarter and stretched the lead to 18 on a 3-pointer by Monk. Sacramento led by as many as 20 and carried a 71-54 lead into the halftime break.
LaVine led all scorers with 22 points in the first half. The Kings shot a sizzling 64.4% from the field and 53.8% from 3-point range. The Suns shot 39.3% overall and 17.6% from beyond the arc.
The Kings scored 70 points in the first half of a season opener for the third time in franchise history. They had 77 against the Golden State Warriors on Nov. 6, 1987, and 72 against the Utah Jazz on Oct. 25, 2023.
Second-half collapse
The Suns cut the deficit to 12 after outscoring the Kings 16-11 to start the second half. They got within seven on a 3-pointer by Booker with 4:38 to play in the third quarter, prompting Christie to call a timeout.
The Suns kept coming following the timeout. They cut the deficit to four on a basket by Collin Gillespie and got within one on a three-point play by Allen. The Suns punished the Kings inside in the third period, outrebounding them 14-6 while outscoring them 24-8 on points in the paint.
“We obviously don’t want to give up points in the paint,” LaVine said. “They came out strong in the third quarter. I think that was our point of emphasis, but we didn’t even respond to it, so we’ve got to be able to do a better job of that.”
The Kings led 92-90 at the end of the third, but the Suns went up 96-94 on a 3-pointer by Royce O’Neal early in the fourth. That sparked an 11-0 run that gave Phoenix a 101-94 lead with 8:28 to play.
Sacramento got within four following a 3-pointer by DeRozan and a layup by Schroder. Monk scored to tie the game with 1:17 remaining, but Brooks made three free throws after being fouled by LaVine on a 3-point attempt and Booker hit a big shot to help the Suns hold on for the win.
Up next
The Kings will return to Sacramento to play the Utah Jazz in their home opener Friday at Golden 1 Center.
Utah opened the season with a surprising 129-108 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday in Salt Lake City. The Jazz is led by Lauri Markkanen, a 7-foot-1 forward who averaged 19.0 points and 5.9 rebounds per game last season.
Utah is widely projected to finish last in the Western Conference this season.
This story was originally published October 22, 2025 at 10:48 PM.
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Jason Anderson
The Sacramento Bee
Jason Anderson is The Sacramento Bee’s Kings beat writer. He is a Sacramento native and a graduate of Fresno State, where he studied journalism and college basketball under the late Jerry Tarkanian.
