Finish strong. The Sacramento Kings make their final stop of their six-game road trip Sunday afternoon at Staples Center. After surviving Friday night's battle with the Grizzlies, a win against the Clippers would secure a 3-3 record on the trip.
Nemanja Bjelica had a bounce-back game against the Grizzlies, posting 17 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks in the win. Buddy Hield poured in 26 points and De'Aaron Fox put on a show in the final minutes to put Sacramento over the top.
Los Angeles has strung together consecutive wins. Tobias Harris is averaging a career-best 21.1 per game and presents a difficult matchup for the Kings. Lou Williams provides the firepower off the bench and Montrezl Harrell is averaging 23 points and 7.5 rebounds in the two previous matchups between these two teams.
The Clippers currently sit in the eighth spot in the Western Conference playoff chase, just two games above the Kings. They own a 2-0 advantage in the season series, which could come into play later in the year.
Kings Pregame Live on NBC Sports California begins at 12:00 p.m., with tipoff scheduled for 12:30. All coverage can be seen on the MyTeams by NBC Sports app.
Following the game in Los Angeles, the Kings return home after nearly two weeks away. They'll host the Atlanta Hawks Wednesday at Golden 1 Center to kick off a six-game homestand.
Line
NBA
Clippers -4.5
Projected Lineups
Kings
PG De’Aaron Fox
SG Buddy Hield
SF Iman Shumpert
PF Nemanja Bjelica
C Willie Cauley-Stein
Clippers
PG Shai Gilgious-Alexander
SG Patrick Beverley
SF Avery Bradley
PF Tobias Harris
C Marcin Gortat
Injury Report
Kings
No injuries to report.
Clippers
SF Danilo Gallinari (back) out, SF Luc Mbah a Moute (left knee) out.
Rotation Outlook
Kings: Dave Joerger continues to run a 10-man rotation, although he's made adjustments on the fly recently to matchup with the team's opponent. It will be interesting to see how Sacramento's coach adjusts to the Clippers after losing the first two games of the season series.
With Bjelica, Willie Cauley-Stein and Marvin Bagley all putting up solid numbers, Harry Giles saw just three minutes of action against the Grizzlies on Friday. Joerger might need the young big to battle Harrell, who is having a big season for the Clippers.
Iman Shumpert and Justin Jackson are both in prolonged shooting slumps. Joerger has used Bogdan Bogdanovic at the small forward spot at times, but the Kings could use a breakout performance from his two standard wings.
Clippers: Doc Rivers has a veteran squad that has performed better than expected this season. They have the league's 7th highest scoring offense at 113.9 points per game, but they give up 113.4 per game to their opponent. They rank ninth in the league in pace and fourth in 3-point percentage, but they're 29th in the NBA in 3-point attempts at 24.7 shots per game.
With Gallinari out of action, Rivers has turned to a three-guard set with Gilgious-Alexander, Beverley and Bradley. It's a defensive-minded group that might give Sacramento's backcourt some trouble.