Doug Christie on what has worked for the streaking Kings

Sacramento Kings interim head coach Doug Christie has his team playing its best basketball of the season following a 30-point win in SF.

Jan 7, 2025 - 16:00

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Doug Christie on what has worked for the streaking Kings

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 03: Interim head coach Doug Christie of the Sacramento Kings stands on the sideline during their game against the Memphis Grizzlies in the first half at Golden 1 Center on January 03, 2025 in Sacramento, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Following a six-game losing streak that resulted in the firing of head coach Mike Brown, the Sacramento Kings have turned the page under interim head coach Doug Christie.

Sacramento (17-19) delivered what may have been its most impressive win of the season on Sunday night in the form of a 129-99 win over the Golden State Warriors, the Kings’ most significant margin of victory on their Northern California foe’s home floor since the 1985-86 season.

The win pushed Sacramento’s winning streak to four games, putting the Beam Team just one game back of the Western Conference Play-In picture and 3.5 games back of the fifth seed in the playoff chase.

It seems like the Kings are playing a free-flowing style of basketball under Christie, something the former All-Defensive guard-turned-coach applauded following the impressive win in San Francisco.

“Just a high level of competition and competitive nature,” Christie said of his team’s effort against the Warriors. “Super excited for those guys, they played hard, they played their heart out, and like I tell them this–at the end of the night when you do that, you can look yourself in the mirror, and you can be proud.”

Wins have been sporadic for Sacramento this season, as the recent six-game slide raised alarms around Brown’s job and franchise guard De’Aaron Fox’s future. With Brown gone and teams around the league circling the Kings like vultures, waiting for Sacramento to fall further out of the playoff picture to apply the potential pressure of having to move Fox, Christie’s group has responded.

The Kings have played an aggressive style of basketball, pushing their three-point attempts per game from 35.0 to 38.6 in Christie’s four games as head coach, shooting 36 percent from deep in those contests.

Sacramento is 4-1 under Christie, scoring 122.4 points per game on 48 percent shooting from the field while handing out 30.0 assists per game.

When asked about his team’s recent play on Sunday, Christie pointed to the aggressive approach from the perimeter, constant ball movement, and trust that this group is building with each other as the season nears its midway point.

“You know, just trying to get them to be aggressive, trust each other and play for each other,” Christie said. “When I look down the stat sheet and see 31 assists, I’m smiling. When I see 40-plus threes taken, I’m smiling, and most of those are gonna be, when we get in the paint. Play-off, two feet under control, spray the ball out, you’ve got it, shoot it. When you don’t, give it one more drive, kick it and continue on doing that, and those types of things, it’s contagious. Everyone’s touching the ball, everyone feels good about themselves, then we go to the other end and help the same way.”

Of course, there is still much work to be done for Sacramento to erase its early-season struggles, but the book is still open on the 2024-25 Kings. With 46 games to go and Christie’s fresh perspective, there is hope that this team can overcome the adversity and follow through on its high expectations.

Winning streaks help, but Christie is looking for a sustained level of output and effort from his group.

“You’re not always gonna win, and you’re not always going to have winning streaks and those things,” Chrisite said. “But the one thing you can control is how you go out and how you attack, and I thought that they continued down the path of my expectations.”

More on Doug Christie & the Kings

For the first time this season, the Sacramento Kings would be forced to take the floor without star guard De’Aaron Fox (right glute contusion) on Sunday night, and a matchup against the Golden State Warriors appeared to have arrived at a bad time.

Well, about that.

Even with Fox in street clothes, the Kings put an absolute beatdown on the Warriors at Chase Center, leading by as many as 39 points en route to securing a wire-to-wire 129-99 win–Sacramento’s fourth straight victory.

The Kings’ 30-point win is their most significant margin of victory on Golden State’s home floor since the franchise relocated to Sacramento in 1985.

When is the next Sacramento Kings game?

Sacramento will return home to face the Jimmy Butler-less Miami Heat on Monday night at Golden 1 Center.

The Kings secured a thrilling 111-110 win over the Heat in South Beach on November 4th thanks to a clutch put-back by Domantas Sabonis with 0.7 seconds remaining.

Miami will be without Butler on Monday due to a team-issued suspension that took place after the All-Star forward publicly demanded a trade last week.

Be sure to catch all of the Kings vs. Heat drama right here on Sactown Sports 1140 AM, with pregame coverage starting at 2:00 PM PT on Game Night before action tips off at 7:00 PM PT from downtown Sacramento.