For once, the Kings weren't the most dysfunctional team playing at the Golden 1 Center.
That title on Wednesday went to the Brooklyn Nets. No, seriously, the Brooklyn Nets, one of the NBA's latest super teams with a trio of All-Stars — Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden — that could be in the mix for the NBA Finals in five months.
The Nets were missing Durant, who has been out since last month with a left knee injury, but they still played Sacramento with two of the best players in the world in Irving and Harden, while the Kings were missing their highest-paid player: De'Aaron Fox.
No matter. The Nets were the worse team Wednesday, somehow losing their sixth straight 112-101, and getting outscored 29-15 in the fourth quarter, including a 9-0 run to start the frame. The Kings' win snapped their loathsome seven-game losing streak after they came into the game losers of 13 of 16.
Harden had one of the worst scoring performances of his career, recording just four points on 2-of-11 shooting with no made 3s. Irving wasn't much better, hitting 5 of 15 shots for 14 points, while center Nic Claxton carried Brooklyn with a career night and a personal-best 23 points.
The Nets' issues were particularly galling given what Kings interim coach Alvin Gentry said before the game when asked how fragile his team was in its recent slump.
"Oh, I think we're fragile," Gentry said. "What I think happens in these situations is you got to find a way to win one game. I think that's the main thing."
Brooklyn was clearly lethargic after playing the night before in Phoenix, which the Kings should be leery of given their back-to-back upcoming Thursday night in San Francisco against Golden State.
The Nets' malaise led to a number of of positive developments for the Kings.
Davion Mitchell's perimeter shooting, Damian Jones' activity and timely cutting leading to dunks, Tyrese Haliburton crossing over defenders and finding open teammates, Maurice Harkless' defense, overcoming a 12-point deficit, and rapper Coolio with a stirring rendition of "Gangsta's Paradise" at halftime made Wednesday a uniquely positive experience for Kings fans.
In fact, Coolio, of 1990s fame, made himself part of the postgame scene outside the Nets' news conference room.
Maybe the Kings can have Coolio perform at every game rather than make a splashy move at the trade deadline. That would make for a fantastic voyage over the rest of the season (sorry).
In reality, the Kings should hope something is building in their backcourt between Haliburton and Mitchell, two pillars the team might build around.
The second- and first-year guards complement each other well, particularly if Mitchell is going to show improvement on the offensive side like he did Wednesday, with 18 points and a pair of 3s made. He was able to generate his own shots in ways have that have been hard to come by during this rookie season.
Haliburton controlled the game, dishing 11 assists without a single turnover. It was the third time this season Haliburton didn't turn the ball over. He was the best player on the court for Sacramento despite struggling to shoot the ball (5 of 15 with 12 points, though he was plus-11 in 40 minutes).
Haliburton was tasked with playing alongside a defensive-oriented lineup with Harkless, Chimezie Metu and Jones on the floor proving to be an effective trio against the Nets' perimeter scorers.
On the offensive side, Haliburton had to be the distributor, breaking down Brooklyn's defense with hesitations and cross overs to help create open shots for others. Mitchell scored a number of his points off the dribble and could be evolving into more than just a defensive weapon.
Mitchell's game Wednesday was his 46th of the season. He played 60 combined over his last two years at Baylor and is showing signs of getting more comfortable as a pro.
"I think just confidence and learning," Haliburton said of Mitchell's progress. "When you're a rookie ... you go through a time where it's really a learning period.
"When you're playing with me and Fox, ball-dominant guards, he's having to play off the ball a little bit more. ... So it's just finding that balance and learning how to take care of things. Especially down the stretch today, I was struggling a little bit and he came and got the ball and hit a big, big mid-range shot from the free throw line. That was big for us. Just learning that balance, when to go and when's the right time to make a play."
Said Mitchell: "It's just really fun to play with Tyrese, because he's always going to get you open. He's going to make tough shots. He's a leader on the floor. Guys look to him."
One game is unlikely to change the Kings' season, particularly with a trip to play the Warriors ahead on Thursday. The losing streak before Wednesday's game served as a reminder as how far the Kings have to go before becoming an actual playoff team. They have the third-worst record in the Western Conference, 19-34, ahead of only Houston and Oklahoma City, two teams focused on developing for the future and potentially tanking for draft position.
Of course, a strong case could be made the Kings would be better off trying tank mode, potentially giving them a shot to draft an elite prospect like Duke's Paolo Banchero, Gonzaga's Chet Holmgren or Auburn's Jabari Smith. Landing a player like that would have far more staying power than losing early in the play-in tournament or, if the team survived, going against one of the West's elite teams in the first round in a series that likely wouldn't last longer than five games.
That's the odd thing about Wednesday night. The Kings didn't look like the team that might be tanking. They outplayed the Nets, who are struggling to function without Durant, a player more teams should have tried to tank for back when he entered the league in 2007.
