Jokic leads Nuggets over Kings amid growing frustration in Sacramento

Jason Anderson, The Sacramento Bee on Nov 12, 2025

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Sacramento Kings coach Doug Christie might have lit a fire in his players when he fired shots at the team’s “haters” during his pregame press conference, but that wasn’t enough against Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets.

Jokic put up 35 points on 16-of-19 shooting with 14 rebounds and seven assists, leading the Nuggets to a 122-108 victory before an announced crowd of 15,106 on Tuesday at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.

Jamal Murray added 23 points for the Nuggets (8-2), who pulled away in the fourth quarter to break open a close game. Aaron Gordon had 17 points and seven rebounds.

Domantas Sabonis had 19 points, eight rebounds and four assists for the Kings (3-8) before fouling out with 3:38 to play. Drew Eubanks came off the bench to post 19 points and seven rebounds.

DeMar DeRozan scored 18 points for Sacramento. Russell Westbrook had 14 points, eight rebounds and 11 assists.

Halftime report

The Nuggets jumped out to a 17-10 lead after going 7 of 9 from the field to start the game. The Kings trailed 24-16 when Keon Ellis checked into the game midway through the first quarter.

Ellis, who wasn’t called on until the fourth quarter in back-to-back blowout losses to the Oklahoma City Thunder and Minnesota Timberwolves, has been a topic of conversation after fans chanted “We want Keon” during Sunday’s loss to Minnesota.

The Kings trailed by as many as nine before staging a 13-3 run to take a 33-31 lead with a bench unit consisting of Malik Monk, Nique Clifford, Ellis, Westbrook and Eubanks. Sacramento led 34-33 at the end of the first period.

The Kings and Nuggets went back and forth in a second quarter that featured five ties and five lead changes. Sacramento outscored Denver 26-12 in points off the bench, but the Nuggets led 60-56 at the halftime break.

Second-half summary

The Nuggets went up 69-62 on a basket by Jokic early in the second half. The Kings cut the deficit to two before Sabonis was whistled for his fourth foul with 7:19 remaining in the third quarter.

Denver staged a 10-2 run to take an 83-74 lead when Murray made a free throw after Monk was called for a technical foul. The Kings responded by outscoring the Nuggets 8-2 over the final 1:58 to get within three at the end of the third period.

The Kings cut the deficit to one with Jokic on the bench at the start of the fourth quarter, but the Nuggets answered with a 16-2 run to open up a 15-point lead.

The Kings made one more charge to get within seven with 1:18 remaining, but Jokic hit a 3-pointer at the other end to squash any hopes of a comeback.

Up next

The Kings will conclude a five-game homestand when they play host to the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday at Golden 1 Center.

The Kings will be on the second night of a back-to-back following Tuesday’s game against the Nuggets. They are 0-1 this season when playing on the second night of a back-to-back.

The Hawks (6-5) had a day off Tuesday after beating the Los Angeles Clippers 105-102 on Monday. They are led by Jalen Johnson, who averages 20.1 points, 8.6 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.3 steals. Trae Young is out with a right MCL sprain.

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