Week in review: Kings rally, finish off 2022 with a bang

Kings record: 19-15

Kings record on the week: 2-1

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After a rocky start to the six game home stand, a major injury concern and coach Mike Brown missing time with a bout of Covid-19, the Kings rallied to finish the week behind one incredible crowd after another.  

Domantas Sabonis injured his right thumb in Friday's loss to the Washington Wizards, but with the holiday weekend, the team wasn't able to address the situation until Monday evening when it was announced that the star center had an avulsion fracture to his ulnar collateral ligament in his right thumb.

Tuesday morning came with more uncertainty when following shootaround, it was announced that Brown had tested positive and would miss Tuesday night's matchup against the Denver Nuggets. 

Without their head coach and their star center, the Kings battled against the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, leading by as many as 20 points in the first half. Associate head coach Jordi Fernandez stepped into his boss's shoes. Alex Len started against Nikola Jokic. Richaun Holmes and Trey Lyles came off the bench to battle the two-time reigning league MVP.

De'Aaron Fox led the Kings with 26 points and Kevin Huerter added 21 points, but no one could contain Jokic, Jamal Murray or Michael Porter Jr. In the end, the Kings couldn't pull off the upset, falling by a final of 113-106 to fall to 1-3 on the home stand.

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