Thursday night will feature a clash of East versus West as the New York Knicks (39-28, 5th in East) take on the Sacramento Kings (38-26, 2nd in the West). The Kings will host this one at the Golden 1 Center, with tipoff scheduled for 10:00 pm ET.
The Kings are the favorites in this one playing at home. They are -174 to win, while the Knicks’ moneyline sits at +146. The spread features New York as 4-point underdogs (-110).
Knicks Trying To Start New Streak
Entering play on Tuesday, the New York Knicks were riding a nine-game winning streak. Unfortunately for Knicks’ fans, they were taken down 112-105 by the Hornets and will now look to start up a new streak. To do so, they will have to face a tough Kings team on the road, where they are 20-12 to date.
Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau is known as a demanding coach on the defensive end. For that reason, it is not a surprise that the Knicks rank eighth in the league in scoring defense, allowing opponents just 112.4 points per game.
Offensively, New York comes in ranked 12th overall, averaging 115.3 points per game. They are led by forward Julius Randle, who is averaging 25.3 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game.
Jalen Brunson (23.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, 6.2 assists), RJ Barrett (19.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists), and Immanuel Quickley (13.4 points, four rebounds, 3.2 assists) are also having great seasons. In fact, Quickley is currently the favorite to win the Sixth Man of the Year award at -110. Brunson is questionable for this game with a foot injury.
Kings Look To Stay In Second In The West
At 38-26, it has been a remarkable season for the Sacramento Kings. Even though they sit 7.5 games behind the Nuggets, they still are positioned for a good spot in the playoffs. Technically, the Grizzlies are tied with Sacramento in terms of record, so the Kings will be looking to pick up a win to keep possession of the number two seed.
The Kings have been absolutely electric on the offensive end. They rank first in scoring, averaging 121.1 points per game. They have been even better at home, where they are averaging 124.3 points.
Leading the offensive onslaught has been point guard De’Aaron Fox. In 57 games, he is averaging 25.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, 6.3 assists, and 1.1 steals per game. It is worth noting that Fox is questionable for this game with a hamstring injury.
The Kings actually have six players averaging double digits, with Domantas Sabonis (18.9 points, 12.4 rebounds, seven assists), Kevin Huerter (15.1 points, 3.3 rebounds), Harrison Barnes (15.1 points, 4.7 rebounds), Malik Monk (13.6 points, 3.9 assists), and Keegan Murray (11.9 points, 4.6 rebounds also having great seasons.
Keep An Eye On The Injury Report
Both Jalen Bruson and De’Aaron Fox have been huge for their respective teams on the offensive side. With both of them questionable for this one, their availability could have huge ramifications.
Coming into it, the Knicks are 5-1 against the spread both in their last six road games and their last six games against the Kings. As for Sacramento, they are 6-1 straight up and 5-2 against the spread in their last seven contests.
Again, keep an eye on the injury report, but with both teams playing such good basketball as of late, don’t be surprised if this one comes down to the wire. For that reason, take the Knicks and the +4 points (-110).
