Old friends help Kings earn shot at Summer League title originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
Bring on the Boston Celtics.
With a win over the Dallas Mavericks early on Sunday and some help from a couple of former Kings, Bobby Jackson and his band of defenders have earned a shot to play in the Las Vegas Summer League Finals.
Sacramento took care of business in their 86-70 win over the Mavs, improving to 4-0 in Vegas. The 16-point margin of victory is what set them a step above the competition.
There isn’t a standard playoff bracket in this year’s summer league. Instead, the two teams with the best record will face off for a championship. If multiple teams tie for the best record, the second tie breaker is point differential.
The Kings finished with a +13.8 point differential, but they had to wait to see the final outcome of a pair games that took place later in the day.
Led by former King Frank Mason and big man Paul Reed, the Philadelphia 76ers battled the Minnesota Timberwolves in an overtime thriller. The T-Wolves needed to win by eight points to overtake the Kings in the standings. Despite a late run, they came up five points short in their 99-96 win.
In the late game, it was former King Kyle Guy and the Golden State Warriors that lent the Kings a helping hand in a battle with the New Orleans Pelicans. Needing to win by 11 points to pass Sacramento, the Pelicans were able to force overtime, but they couldn’t make up the point differential to overcome the Kings, winning by a final of 80-79.
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Sacramento will face the Celtics for one last game on Tuesday, with the winner coming home with the hardware.
Jackson’s team has impressed with their gritty style of play throughout the tournament. The starting five of Davion Mitchell, Jahmi’us Ramsey, Louis King, Chimezie Metu and Neemias Queta have played extremely well together, although there is potential for Metu to miss the final game after throwing a punch late in the Kings’ win over the Mavericks.