The Phoenix takes on Sacramento and will both be gunning for a victory on 12/27/2020 at 9:00 PM when they meet in a game matchup.
PHOENIX vs SACRAMENTO
When: 12/27/2020 9:00 PM
Where:
| ROT | TEAM | PS | OU | ML |
| 538 | PHOENIX | 3.5 (-110) | 226 (-110) | -165 145 |
| 538 | SACRAMENTO |
TV: 9:00 PM
LINE: 3.5
PREDICTION: SACRAMENTO , PHOENIX
Oddsmakers currently have the SACRAMENTO listed as 3.5 point favorites versus the PHOENIX, while the game’s total is sitting at 226.
| Tony’s Pick | TEAM |
| PHOENIX | -165 |
The Sacramento Kings aim for a weekend sweep of the visiting Phoenix Suns on Sunday at the Golden1 Arena.
Sacramento opened the Pacific Division back-to-back series on Saturday with a 106-103 defeat of Phoenix, snapping the Suns’ nine-game winning streak dating back to last season. Phoenix last lost on March 10 just before the COVID-19 hiatus, went a perfect 8-0 in the Orlando-area bubble over the summer, and beat Dallas in its season opener on Wednesday, 106-102.
“It wasn’t pretty — a lot of games on Christmas or the day after Christmas aren’t pretty,” said Kings coach Luke Walton in his postgame press conference. “We couldn’t make free throws, we were turning the ball over, we didn’t shoot a good percentage (on 3-point attempts), but we found a way to grind out a win.
“There’s a lot of games in an NBA season that are going to take that kind of mentality,” Walton added.
Sacramento shot just 5-of-23 from beyond the arc, and 23-of-33 from the free-throw line. Foul shots proved key, however, with the Kings scoring their final five points on free throws.
Through two games, the Kings have thrived on balancing scoring. They followed a 124-122 season-opening win in Denver in which seven players scored in double figures, with six hitting for at least 11 points against Phoenix — including all five starters.
“We’re doing a hell of a job right now,” said De’Aaron Fox in his postgame press conference. Fox’s 24 points and seven assists set the pace for Sacramento. “We go out there, we play hard, we execute our stuff, we play defense together as a team.”
Saturday’s win improved the Kings to 2-0 for the first time since 2003-04, which also marked the last season in which Sacramento won a playoff series. The Kings have not been to the postseason since 2005-06.
Phoenix last qualified for the postseason in 2009-10. The Suns’ perfect record in last season’s bubble was not enough for them to force a play-in game, but the strong finish and offseason acquisition of the veteran guard Chris Paul lifted expectations for 2020-21.
In its first two outings, Phoenix scored more than seven and 10 points fewer than its 2019-20 per-game average of 113.6.
“This is the first time for me, in a long, long time with our group where we got outworked,” Suns coach Monty Williams said in the postgame press conference.
Paul scored 22 points on Saturday to go with a game-high 12 assists, while Devin Booker posted 26 points. Former No. 1 overall draft pick and third-year center Deandre Ayton scored just nine points in the loss, falling short of his 18.2-point average in 2019-20 for a second straight game. Ayton finished with 13 points against Dallas.
Early foul trouble limited Ayton’s minutes in both contests. Sacramento capitalized to take a critical 56-40 rebounding advantage.
Harrison Barnes and Marvin Bagley III each hauled in 11 boards, while Richaun Holmes added nine. Ayton with 12 was the only Suns player to grab more than eight. Phoenix finished last season with a slight 43.5-to-43.3 per-game rebounding edge; Sacramento was outrebounded 43.5 to 42.6 on the year.
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