The Milwaukee Bucks put an end to what was an unbeaten start to 2025 for the newly energized Sacramento Kings.
The 130-115 loss is only the second under new interim coach Doug Christie who was given the role after Mike Brown was fired.
Despite 28 points from DeMar DeRozan and a double-double from De’Aaaron Fox, whose Kings future remains uncertain, they were put to the sword by Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The Greek star secured a triple-double with 33-11-13 to hand the Kings their first defeat of the year.
While the defeat will bother the Kings, Christie has named two things that his side can use going forward as fourth-quarter weapons.
The clear change in attitude from the Kings is clear to see under Christie who has got the team playing as one, something that Brown struggled to do at the end of his tenure.
At times Fox was said to refuse to share a changing room with his teammates, something that Christie would not allow.
Another thing the new coach will not allow is the team to switch off at any point throughout the game.
Christie has emphasized how he wants the team to make a difference in the fourth quarter and spoke openly about what he is demanding from his team.
Speaking on Sactown Sports 1140 he said: “I want pressure, I want physicality and those things when you add them up they equal to digging into the opponents’ legs and making them tired and that means we have to be in better shape.
“I think some of what you see is when we get to the fourth quarter the team starts to get tired. I want to apply pressure, and you can’t do it every time but the more times we’re able to accomplish that we’re hoping in the fourth quarter that teams will begin to feel us more and more.
While Christie has been demanding extra from his team in the fourth quarter of games have his expectations been reflected in their performances?
The Kings have played nine games under their new coach and have an impressive 7-2 record which has seen them climb the Western Conference slowly.
In those nine games, they certainly have an impressive fourth-quarter scoring record against their opponents.
- Bucks 28-33 Kings
- Bulls 24-27 Kings
- Celtics 21-38 Kings
- Kings 34-24 Heat
- Warriors 24-24 Kings
- Kings 36-33 Grizzlies
- Kings 33-18 76ers
- Kings 27-23 Mavericks
- Lakers 25-32 Kings
It’s certainly impressive viewing that the Kings have a 284-220 scoring record in the fourth quarter against their opponents under Christie.
They’ve yet to lose a fourth quarter under their new coach and it appears his words and coaching plans are having a major impact on the team.
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