On Monday night, it looked like the Sacramento Kings were returning to their standard operating procedure of losing by double digits to teams with playoff aspirations. They did take a huge win over the Denver Nuggets on Saturday, but as the old adage goes, even a blind squirrel manages to find a nut. But the Kings may be turning a corner, as they upset another playoff team in the West, the Minnesota Timberwolves, and took a 117-112 win in overtime.
The Kings were already down by 10 with the clock winding down in the fourth after Anthony Edwards made an and-one layup. But then Malik Monk went nuts and poured it on for the Kings, scoring seven straight points before DeMar DeRozan sent the game to OT with some clutch free throws.
In OT, DeRozan ended up imposing his will, finishing the job that Monk started for the Kings en route to another huge victory. While those two did get Sacramento across the finish line, one player was a major constant for the Kings on Monday — the recently returned Keegan Murray.
In only Murray's third game of the season, he is showing himself to be a transformative presence for the Kings. He put up 26 points on 10-19 shooting from the field and battled on the boards, hauling in 12 against the Timberwolves' supersized frontcourt. Fans then showered him with love now that Sacramento has gone 2-1 with him back in action.
“Keegan Murray was really impressive tonight. Dude is maturing and becoming a complete player,” X user @khaled74 wrote.
“Keegan Murray was a huge [difference] maker for the kings defensively for sure – was guarding both Ant and Julius and doing a great job on both,” @DietBeginsMon furthered.
“So Keegan Murray flipped the Kings season with his return huh?” @TraMurr added.
Shoutout Coach Christie for going into OT with the lineup that kept them in the game
Westbrook, Monk, Murray, Achiuwa, DeRozan
They were +7 in the final 3:28 and scored 10 unanswered points to send the game into OT.
Feel free to shout MVP chants when Keegan’s at the FT line. https://t.co/OXbJTwcV41 pic.twitter.com/6A1F7T5Ivu
— Daily Sabonis (@DailySabonis) November 25, 2025
Are the Kings figuring something out?
This Kings team is not without talent. It's just the fit among their best players is clunky at best. But head coach Doug Christie appears to be figuring something out.
Murray's return has made things easier for Christie and the Kings as they can now play with some size without sacrificing tons of shooting and defense. But surely Monk's performance on Monday convinced Christie that he's at least worthy of a bigger role in the rotation than Dennis Schroder.
