For the better part of three quarters, it was as if the Nets and Kings were looking into a mirror and matching each other in terms of pace and 3-point shooting. Both came into the game on hot streaks, but it was the Nets who stayed that way in a 123-94 victory that was highlighted by a 31-point, eight-assist effort by D'Angelo Russell on Martin Luther King Day at Barclays Center.
Earlier in the day, Russell was named Eastern Conference player of the week, coming off the Nets' 3-0 week in which he averaged 28.0 points and 7.0 assists. Russell had a 7-for-14 performance from 3-point range as the Nets (25-23) won their fourth straight game and sixth straight at home. They also got 19 points from Joe Harris and 16 from Rodions Kurucs.
The Kings (24-23) were topped by 22 points from Bogdan Bogdanovic, but they were held to just 34 points in the second half.
The MLK Day matinee matched two developing young teams that are following the same surprising trajectory. Nets coach Kenny Atkinson described the holiday game as "a celebration. I know when I was younger, I'd watch games all day on MLK Day. Nobel Peace Prize winner, champion of fighting racial inequality. What's more important than that? It's an absolute honor to play on such an important day."
The Nets came in on a hot streak that pushed them a game over .500, and the Kings had won four of their previous five to climb two games over .500 with a team led by the backcourt combination of Buddy Hield and point guard De'Aaron Fox.
Atkinson was wary of a team that plays the same high-tempo, 3-point shooting style. In fact, the Kings came in ranked second in the NBA in pace, third in 3-point percentage and first in points off turnovers. "It's very rare a team jumps off the video screen like their athleticism does," Atkinson said. "I think they're one of the most athletic teams in the league. They're playing at a pace rarely seen in this league. Their speed is impressive, and you feel that on film ... Just their overall talent level is impressive."
Thee was little to separate the two teams in the opening quarter except for poor 2-for-8 3-point shooting by the Kings that left them looking at a 29-23 deficit. But they heated up big-time in a 37-point second quarter that opened with a 15-4 run, including eight points from Justin Jackson, to take a 38-33 lead. The Kings' 3-point shooting improved drastically with a 6-for-9 effort in the period as they built a 60-55 halftime lead.
Russell took charge early in the third for the Nets, scoring 11 points in a 22-11 run that gave them a 77-66 lead. The Kings cut their deficit to five points near the end of the period, But Russell's seventh three of the game ignited a 20-6 run that carried into the fourth period and pushed the Nets' lead to 108-89. Treveon Graham had seven points in that stretch and Russell added five. They just kept going from there to a 29-point blowout.
