Monk drops 32 as Kings survive Nets’ late push, 126-122

The Kings don’t run away from Brooklyn — they outlast it. In a game that swings back and forth from the opening quarter to the final possessions, Sacramento leans on Malik Monk’s shot-making and a late flurry from DeMar DeRozan to hold off the Nets, 126-122, in a game that feels tight nearly the entire way.

Brooklyn comes out hot and never really lets Sacramento breathe. The Nets score 34 in the first quarter and lead by as many as six, then keep the pressure on into the second behind Ben Saraf’s downhill creation and a steady stream of paint touches. One of the first real tone-setters comes when T. Etienne buries a 28-foot three during a 10-0 Brooklyn run that flips a 16-12 deficit into a 22-16 advantage. The Kings answer, but the Nets keep finding enough offense to take a 62-57 lead into halftime.

Sacramento’s response starts with DeRozan doing what he always does when the game starts leaning the wrong way: he slows it down and gets to a spot. Early in the second quarter, he turns in a 12-foot turnaround fadeaway to spark an 8-0 home run that puts the Kings ahead 38-36. That’s the kind of basket that changes the feel of a game without blowing it open. From there, the scoring becomes a track meet. The Kings score 33 in the third, Brooklyn 20 in the second, and the lead keeps changing hands until the final minutes of the fourth.

The turning point comes late. With the game sitting on a knife edge at 106-105, D. Carter finishes a 6-foot driving layup to ignite an 8-0 Sacramento burst that pushes the lead to 113-105. Brooklyn is far from done — M. Smith answers with a running reverse layup, Saraf counters with a floating bank shot and then a running layup of his own, and the Nets keep chopping away at the margin. But every time Brooklyn gets close, Sacramento has a counterpunch ready. DeRozan nails an 18-foot pullup, N. Traore scores on a driving layup, and Monk rises from 28 feet to bury a massive three with 1:41 left to make it 120-113.

That Monk triple is the exhale moment for Sacramento. He finishes with 32 points, hits seven threes, and keeps the Kings afloat whenever the Nets threaten to steal the building. Ben Saraf is terrific in defeat with 22 points and five assists, repeatedly getting into the lane and finishing or creating, including a driving layup that cuts it to 121-120 with 18.2 seconds left. But the Kings keep answering. Traore’s late layup keeps Brooklyn within a possession, and Sacramento’s execution down the stretch is just a little cleaner, a little calmer, a little more composed.

This wasn’t a blowout, and it never pretended to be. It was a high-leverage, possession-by-possession fight with 22 lead changes and only an eight-point Sacramento lead all night. Monk’s scoring burst, DeRozan’s late-midrange control, and the Kings’ ability to make one more play in the final two minutes are the difference. For Sacramento, it’s a valuable win in a game that could have easily slipped away. For Brooklyn, it’s another close loss in a competitive road showing that should sting because they were right there all night.

Going forward, this is the kind of victory that matters in the standings and in the locker room: Sacramento proves it can survive a shootout and close with veteran shot-making, while Brooklyn leaves with evidence that its young guards can pressure defenses — but also with a reminder that finishing these games is still a work in progress.