Kings’ compete level answers Doug Christie’s plea in OT thriller vs. Rockets originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SACRAMENTO – The 2025-26 Kings are not a playoff team.
But Doug Christie still would like to see some fight from his guys after losing 22 games before January and plummeting to dead last in the Western Conference.
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Over the past three games, the Kings have shown that competitive edge that Christie was known for as a player and preaches now as a coach. The last two have resulted in losses to the Trail Blazers, with the first in Portland ending in overtime controversy and the second in Sacramento being a back-and-forth battle.
After Saturday’s 98-93 loss to Portland, the first question Christie responded to was whether the competitive level his team had displayed was what he’s been looking for with this roster, given its rocky start to the season and its realistic future.
“Yeah. Ultimately, defensively, I thought we were better,” Christie said. “We’re in a hunt. The competition level was higher. That’s what we need. You have to be in the hunt, and then once you get there, you have to execute down the stretch. [Us] missing 10 free throws, those are the things that are going to get us over the [hump].
“But first and foremost, you got to compete at a high level and be in the hunt. We did a pretty good job in Portland as well [on Thursday]. That’s the biggest thing. We have to compete at a high level. And then, in this league, you have to learn how to win games. And that’s where we’re at right now.”
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Well, Sunday’s showing was a promising start.
In Sacramento’s second overtime game in four days, the Kings once again displayed resilience and, yes, that competition level Christie has been begging for from his squad. This time, though, it didn’t end in heartbreak or controversy; it ended with a win against one of the top Western Conference teams, the Houston Rockets, that snapped a five-game skid.
It was a true collective effort.
A late surge led by Keegan Murray erased Houston’s 14-point lead and kept the Kings alive in crunch time. Murray, who has been struggling offensively really since returning from a UCL injury this season, got going when the Kings needed him to most.
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Over a two-minute-and-30-second span, Murray couldn’t miss. He scored 10 points in that time, including two big 3-pointers that pulled the Kings within two points with just over seven minutes remaining in regulation.
Then it was a cat-and-mouse game from then on.
And even when Houston took a 5-point lead with 2:17 remaining, Sacramento never wavered. In fact, the Rockets never scored again in the fourth quarter, and the Kings went on a 5-0 run to force overtime after Russell Westbrook’s corner triple hit nothing but net to force overtime.
The Kings have been notorious for their inability to close out games, even when starting them off strong. But their competitive spirit never died, not even on the second night of a back-to-back.
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The back-and-forth scoring continued literally until the final seconds of the extra period.
Just when it appeared to be over for the Kings when Westbrook fouled Jabari Smith Jr. at the 3-point line, and Smith Jr. made two of his three free-throw attempts to give Houston a 2-point lead with 10 seconds remaining, it was another Kings veteran guard who stepped up and came up clutch.
Schroder knocked down a trey with 3.1 seconds remaining, and Kevin Durant’s missed jumper on the other end sealed the deal in Sacramento.
After the game, Westbrook stated that it all comes down to putting your best foot forward and competing. He added that Sunday’s win embodied the Kings finally “getting over the hump” and closing a game out.
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Christie, too, was impressed with his team’s fight from start to finish.
“To come out and compete like that, for our guys, after some of the heartbreaks that we’ve had lately, says a lot about their character as individuals and collectively,” Christie said.
Christie also took a moment to shout out who he called two of the “best competitors” in the game in Sacramento in Westbrook and Schroder.
This win doesn’t solve everything for the plethora of issues in Sacramento, but it’s without a doubt a step in the right direction.
And right now, that’s all Christie can ask for.
“We haven’t particularly played at the level that we want to at home. Oddly enough, we’ve done it on the road quite a few times, where we competed really well. But these fans, this is what they deserve, and this is what we will give them. Ultimately, can win them all? No, but they want to know that you are pouring your heart and soul out on the floor when they walk out of the building. And they got that tonight.”
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