Sacramento Kings forward Keegan Murray furnished a three-game stretch of nearly identical stat lines to aid three victories last week.
Bouncing back from a four-game losing skid, the Kings propelled themselves back into the playoff picture, now the fifth seed in the Western Conference standings.
The Kings had a lighter stretch of opponents this week with the Atlanta Hawks, Golden State Warriors, and Dallas Mavericks — the hardest foe being the Mavs, who currently stand as the eighth seed in the Western Conference.
The second-year star racked up 13 points, six rebounds, two assists, and two steals in 32 minutes in the 122-107 home triumph over the Hawks on Monday. Murray shot 5-for-12 from the field, 2-for-7 from three, and 1-for-2 from the line.
Murray had two days of rest before having defensive priority of all-star Stephen Curry on Thursday. His two-way playstyle was evident in the 134-133 crunch-time road win as he recorded 14 points, six rebounds, one assist, one steal, and two blocks on 5-of-12 shooting from the field and 2-of-7 from three. He also converted a pair of free throws in 38 minutes played.
Curry logged 33 points shooting 13-of-26 from the field and 6-of-14 from deep, but Murray contained the sharpshooter just enough to help grasp the one-point victory.
Saturday’s contest against the Mavericks was no easier than the Warriors game from a defensive standpoint. Murray was tasked to contain the league’s second-highest scorer Luka Doncic. Going into the match averaging 34.4 points per game, Doncic earned his 28 points the hard way as he shot 9-for-26 from the field, 1-for-9 from three, and 9-for-12 from the line.
As for Murray, he finished the game with 15 points, four rebounds, two assists, and three blocks on 5-of-13 shooting from the field, 1-of-6 from beyond the arc, and 4-of-6 free throws in 40 minutes played in the 120-115 road win.
Murray’s similar stat lines led to similar box scores for the three contests, logging a 23 plus-minus during the three-game win streak.
Kris Murray
Portland Trail Blazers forward Kris Murray appeared in just one game through the four-game skid. The lone appearance came in the 116-100 road loss on Friday to the San Antonio Spurs.
In 17 minutes played, the rookie struggled to put the ball through the hoop, scoring just two points on 1-of-9 shooting from the field and 0-of-6 from three. Murray also logged two rebounds and one steal. His impact was far from a positive one, finishing the game with a box plus-minus of -22.
Murray played just 27 of the Trail Blazers’ 46 games this season. It seems as if his G-League stint has come to an end for the season after three appearances for the Rip City Remix. He has seen a slight increase in playing time through the past couple weeks, but the idea of playing every single game is still faint.
Nothing has changed for Portland as it remains a bottom-tier Western Conference team in contention for the first overall pick in the 2024 NBA draft.
Luka Garza
Minnesota Timberwolves center Luka Garza played just one minute of garbage time through the four-game stretch last week.
In that minute, Garza didn’t record a single stat.
The third-year big hasn’t played a G-League game in over three weeks, presumably being a reserve for the Timberwolves the rest of the season.
Minnesota split the four games last week and is now tied with the Oklahoma City Thunder for the first seed in the Western Conference with a 32-14 record.
Joe Wieskamp
Dallas Mavericks guard Joe Wieskamp made an evident impact off the bench through two games for the G-League affiliate Texas Legends.
Both games came against the Iowa Wolves — the G-League affiliate of the Minnesota Timberwolves — which would’ve been against Garza had he not been called up to the NBA.
The Wolves took the first game, 122-118, but Wieskamp had a solid individual all-around game, posting seven points, five rebounds, two assists, and three steals on 3-of-7 shooting from the field. He failed to make any of his attempted three-pointers and knocked in his lone free throw attempt in 28 minutes played.
The second match ended in favor of the Legends, 126-117. In 27 minutes played, the third-year guard notched 17 points, six rebounds, and a steal on 5-of-8 shooting from the field, 3-of-6 from beyond the arc, and 3-of-3 from the charity stripe. Despite nearly fouling out with five personals, Wieskamp put together a good enough performance to earn him a 21-box plus-minus for the game.
As for the NBA, the Mavericks went 1-3 for the week while going 4-6 in their last 10 games, falling to eighth place in the Western Conference standings with a 25-21 record.
