On Sunday night, the Brooklyn Nets will visit the Sacramento Kings, both teams returning to their regular schedule after struggling in the NBA Cup.
This game features two of the league’s top scorers, with the Nets’ Cameron Johnson (19.3 points per game) going up against the Kings’ De’Aaron Fox (28.8 points per game).
Johnson had a strong performance on Tuesday, scoring 34 points in a 116-115 win over the Charlotte Hornets. He then scored 37 points in a 113-98 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday to start a four-game road trip. His 37-point game was just one point shy of his career high, which he set with Phoenix against the New York Knicks in March 2022.
In his last two games, Johnson has shot 25-for-41 (61 percent) overall and 15-for-25 (60 percent) from three-point range. His nine three-pointers on Friday tied his career high, also set against the Knicks two years ago. Johnson credited his teammates, Ben Simmons and Dennis Schroder, for helping him score with their assists.
“When you play with people like Ben and Schro, they’re able to find you,” Johnson said. “Just know that those looks are coming. There’ll be days I make them. There’ll be days I miss them. I’ll just keep shooting.”
In the loss to the 76ers, only two other teammates scored in double figures. Cam Thomas had 18 points, and Nic Claxton, coming off the bench, scored 12 points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.
The Nets are struggling on the road, having lost seven of their first nine road games, including three straight. The defeat to Philadelphia dropped them to 1-2 in the NBA Cup, which eliminated them from contention in East Group A.
The Kings also lost their second NBA Cup game on Friday, falling 104-88 to the Los Angeles Clippers. They are 0-2 in West Group A.
Fox scored 29 points against the Clippers, marking his fifth straight game with 28 or more points. This run includes 60 and 49 points in back-to-back games against the Minnesota Timberwolves and Utah Jazz last week.
Fox was joined by his teammates Domantas Sabonis and DeMar DeRozan, who returned to the lineup in LA. However, Kings coach Mike Brown pointed out that the team lacked energy during the game.
“That first half was probably … if it wasn’t the worst half of basketball I’ve seen us play since I’ve been here, it was close,” Brown said. “We were not a step slower, we were three to four steps slower to whatever was going on … On both ends of the floor.”
Sabonis, returning from a two-game absence due to a sore back, played 40 minutes against the Clippers, finishing with 24 points and 15 rebounds. DeRozan, who had missed three games due to back issues, struggled in his return, shooting 6-for-19 overall and 0-for-5 on three-pointers. He ended with 16 points in 36 minutes.
Last season, the Kings swept the Nets in both games, winning by a combined 43 points. The Nets have not won in Sacramento since February 2021.
