What we learned as Nique Clifford lone bright spot in Kings' loss to Clippers originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — The Kings seemingly had a chance to earn their ninth win of the 2025-26 NBA season on Tuesday night against a Los Angeles Clippers team that entered with 10.
That was not the case — at all.
Two days after losing 125-101 to LeBron James and the Lakers on Sunday at Crypto.com Arena, the Kings were thrashed 131-90 by Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers just 20 minutes away at Intuit Dome.
Los Angeles continued its midseason resurgence and four-game winning streak to cap off Sacramento’s demoralizing stay in the City of Angels.
The Kings battled early, but trailed 34-20 after the first quarter and 73-40 at halftime. Sacramento, which shot an uncompetitive 34 of 83 to Los Angeles’ 46 of 90, never held a lead.
Rookie guard Nique Clifford led the Kings with 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting with a trio of 3-pointers, two assists and one rebound. Fellow rookie Maxime Raynaud and Russell Westbrook followed with 12 points apiece.
Here are three takeaways from the Kings’ 41-point, blowout loss.
Keegan Murray’s Return
Keegan Murray looked healthy after missing the Kings’ last two games with a calf injury suffered in Sacramento’s 136-127 loss to the Detroit Pistons seven days ago at Golden 1 Center.
Despite posting 11 points on a subpar 4-of-13 shooting, Murray more importantly played a team-high 20 first-half minutes and 30 total minutes without visible limitations mobility-wise.
He got up for one dunk, one block and two rebounds. Notably, he often — and relatively comfortably — guarded Leonard, Los Angeles’ top offensive threat.
Kings coach Doug Christie surely wasn’t satisfied with Sacramento’s two-game stretch in Hollywood. But returning home for New Year’s Day with a healthy Murray must be somewhat pleasing.
Hometown Woes
It always is special when DeMar DeRozan and Russell Westbrook, a pair of Los Angeles natives, have the opportunity to play back home in front of family and friends.
Tuesday night, however, did not feature either of the NBA icons’ best performances.
Westbrook, a former Clipper, quietly finished with 12 points on 4-of-10 shooting with four assists and three rebounds.
And DeRozan, the Kings’ current leading scorer with Zach LaVine and Domantas Sabonis sidelined with injuries, posted a quiet eight points on 2-of-8 shooting with seven boards and three assists.
The Kings needed more out of everybody against the Clippers. Though they could’ve used a boost from their hometown heroes — especially against other big-time local products such as James Harden and Leonard.
Kawhi Keeps Cookin’
Leonard recently has been on a mission, and unfortunately for the Kings, dominating Sacramento was the 6-foot-7 forward’s latest task.
The reigning Western Conference Player of the Week sleepwalked his way into an efficient 33 points in 33 minutes with five assists and five rebounds.
Leonard, of course, was coming off a career-high 55-point game in Los Angeles’ 112-99 win over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday.
“He’s been playing at an incredible level,” Christie said of Leonard pregame. “I had watched some games earlier, and he hadn’t been playing at that level. And I’m looking, it was like 40 [points], then 55, and I was like, ‘Right before you play us.’ ”
There aren’t any superstars that any team wants to face. But at the moment, Leonard is one of the league’s scariest scorers, and the schedule aligned in a way that did the Kings zero favors.
