Kings takeaways: What we learned in 117-113 to West-leading Nuggets

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SACRAMENTO -- The Kings didn’t wait until the fourth quarter Thursday evening to blow a big lead. After a stellar first half, they came out flat in the third quarter -- and the Denver Nuggets made them pay.

Buddy Hield and De’Aaron Fox did their best to rally the team late, but in the end, Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic were too much to overcome as the Kings fell 117-113 at Golden 1 Center.

Here are three takeaways as the Kings dropped back to .500 on the season:

Hot and Cold

Murray couldn’t buy a hoop early, missing all four of his shots in the first half. And then, the third quarter happened. 

The Nuggets' leading scorer torched the Kings for 17 points on 6-for-11 shooting in the third, including a pair of makes from behind the arc. 

After the Kings locked him down early, Murray finished the game with 36 points, seven assists and six rebounds.

[RELATED: Former coach Malone pokes Kings in Sacramento return]

Third-Quarter Collapse

The Kings took a 66-53 lead into halftime, but Denver turned the screws on the Kings in the final 24 minutes. 

The Nuggets held the Kings to just 36.8 percent shooting in the third, and outscored the home team 31-18 to even the score headed into the fourth. 

Murray was the driving force for the Nuggets, nearly matching the Kings in scoring output for the 12-minute session.

[RELATED: Kings' Koufos beats Hield 1-on-1, celebrates victory]

Big Baller Buddy

Sacramento was out of it at the midway point of the fourth, and then Hield caught fire. Riding the hot hand of their leading scorer, the Kings nearly tracked down the Nuggets, cutting their lead to as little as three in the final minutes.

Hield finished the game with 29 points on 12-of-19 shooting from the field, and 5-of-9 from long range. When he gets hot, feed him the ball.

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