The Sacramento Kings split their four-game stretch last week that featured increased scoring numbers from Keegan Murray.
The third-year forward scored 18 points to go along with five rebounds and three assists to aid the 122-98 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Monday.
The Kings turned around and lost a close battle to the Denver Nuggets, 116-110, on Wednesday. Murray logged his lowest scoring performance of the week with six points, three rebounds, and two blocks.
The 127-109 bounce back victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Friday featured a near Murray double-double of 19 points and nine rebounds as well as two blocks and one assist.
His 15-point, six-rebound, two-assist outing wasn’t enough to get Sacramento over the hump as it suffered the 111-110 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday.
As the Golden State Warriors, seeded sixth, and Los Angeles Clippers, seeded eighth, are all on win streaks of at least three games, the Kings’ two losses will play a pivotal part in their pursuit for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Sacramento, now 33-30 overall, currently owns a two-game advantage over the 10th-seeded Mavericks with a little over one month to play in the regular season.
Kris Murray
The Portland Trail Blazers, nearly out of reach of any postseason spot with a 28-37 record, have lost their last three games and are four games behind Dallas for the 10th spot in the Western Conference.
Second-year forward Kris Murray played a total of 44 minutes in the first three games of the week for Portland. His four-point, six-rebound, two-assist outing came in 14 minutes of action in the 119-102 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday — the only win for the Trail Blazers last week.
The 128-118 loss to the Boston Celtics on Wednesday featured two points, four rebounds, and one assist from Kris, followed by a two–point, one-rebound performance in the 107-89 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday. He played 15 minutes in each game. Kris didn’t see any playing time in the 119-112 defeat to the Detroit Pistons on Sunday.
The Trail Blazers are on track to earning themselves a top 10 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.
Luka Garza
The Timberwolves stole wins in all four games last week and are currently on a five-game win streak, but Luka Garza only appeared in two of those games.
The fourth-year center played a total of six minutes between the 126-112 victory over the Sixers on Tuesday and the 141-124 victory over the Spurs on Sunday, logging four points and one rebound on two shot attempts between the two appearances.
Minnesota also secured a 125-110 win over the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday and a 106-104 win over the Miami Heat on Friday.
With their last five wins, the Timberwolves, 37-29, are tied with the Warriors, 36-28, for the sixth spot in the West in terms of games behind the first-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder. And with the Houston Rockets, 39-25, slipping due to injuries to key players, Minnesota could possibly slide into a playoff spot should Houston’s struggles continue.