The Sacramento Kings’ miserable eight-game losing streak is mercifully over.

They put together their best performance of the season Saturday night in Denver, beating the beat-up Nuggets 128-123 at Ball Arena to improve to 4-13 on the season.

The story of the night was the Kings’ offense. They matched their season high in assists when they hit 32 with 6:19 remaining in the game. The isolation ball that doomed them throughout their losing streak turned into driving and breaking down the defense before finding open shooters.

They got a big third quarter from Dennis Schroder, who scored 12 of his 21 points in the frame. Russell Westbrook got his scoring going with 15 points in the fourth, including a fallaway from the baseline with 36 seconds left that gave Sacramento a six-point lead. Westbrook finished with 21 points, 11 assists and six rebounds.

Keegan Murray had a strong two-way performance in his second game back from left thumb surgery — 19 points, five rebounds — and the Kings outlasted the Nuggets, who were missing two starters after playing a night earlier in Houston.

Nikola Jokic, a three-time MVP and perhaps the front-runner early in the season, had 44 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists while Jamal Murray had 23 points and nine assists.

The Kings had a 123-120 lead with 29 seconds remaining. DeMar DeRozan banked in a 20-foot jumper to make it a two-possession game and ice it. DeRozan had a mostly quiet night otherwise, but his performance was notable given what he said two nights earlier in Memphis. He finished with 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

The Kings with their 41-point loss to Memphis on Thursday moved their record to 3-13, tying the worst 16-game start in franchise history, which last happened in 1990-91, when they started 3-15. All eight losses during their streak were by double figures and were by an average of 23.4 points.

The Nuggets were on the second night of a back-to-back following their in-season tournament win Friday night on the road against the Houston Rockets, 112-109. It was their ninth win in 10 games. On Saturday they were without standout forward Aaron Gordon, who strained his right hamstring in Houston, and Christian Braun, who sprained his ankle Nov. 12 and will miss at least six weeks.

Westbrook’s third made shot midway through the first quarter moved him ahead of Oscar Robertson (9,508) for 20th on the NBA’s all-time regular-season field goals made list.

Murray back in the starting lineup

Keegan Murray made his first start of the season after coming off the bench for his first game of the season Thursday in Memphis. It was the first time Murray had come off the bench since the beginning of his rookie season in 2022, snapping a streak of 231 straight starts.

Kings coach Doug Christie had good things to say about Murray’s debut against the Grizzlies despite scoring just 11 points in 33 minutes in the 41-point blowout, including playing him in fourth-quarter garbage time.

“Obviously there’s going to be rust. Loved what I saw from him as far as his aggressiveness,” Christie said. “Wanted to play him down the stretch to make sure that he’s finding his rhythm and finding his way. Defensively, he’s going to do what Keegan does. Just running the floor, being in that position. It can be difficult, because you’re trying to find your way, you’re trying to find your rhythm, but at the same time play team basketball, and blow your lungs out.

“Because you can practice, you can play five-on-five, but there’s nothing like the game. It’s just weird that way.”

Murray had an active start defensively. He blocked a Jamal Murray layup on the first possession, drew a foul on a moving screen and caused a Murray turnover on a baseline drive.

Keegan Murray had eight points on 3-of-8 shooting in the first half. He spent much of the first half guarding Jamal Murray. He added eight more points in the third quarter on a pair of 3s and a mid-range jumper.

Halftime report

The Kings trailed 65-61 at the half. Zach LaVine led the team with 13 points. Notably, Sacramento was moving the ball well by driving to the basket to collapse Denver’s defense and find open shooters. It led to 17 assists on 23 made baskets with just four turnovers. Westbrook had seven assists to just one turnover along with six points. The Kings were also winning in fast break points 14-5.

But Sacramento’s downfall early was the 3-point shooting disparity. The Kings were outscored by 18 points from distance. Denver was led by Cam Johnson, who went 4 of 7, while Peyton Watson make 3 of 4. Both had 13 points. The Kings went 2 of 13 from 3.

Jokic had 13 points, five rebounds and five assists.

Up next

The Kings will return home following their five-game road trip to play the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday and the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday at Golden 1 Center. They will play one road game at Utah on Nov. 28, host the Grizzlies in Sacramento on Nov. 30, and then go on another three-game road trip to Houston (Dec. 3), Miami (Dec. 6) and Indiana (Dec. 8). They have a void in their schedule until Dec. 18, which will get filled with games to account for the in-season tournament.

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