The Kings choked away the entirety of a 19-point lead tonight against the Knicks. That might sound really bad, because the Knicks suck and everyone knows it, but it’s easy to forget that the Kings suck too even though they’re the ones who got the big lead in the first place. There was perhaps a little tanking going on on their side, as Bogdan Bogdanovic remained out of the game for almost the entire time the lead was dwindling, but I think both teams were really trying to win the game.
You could argue that having Skal Labissiere take the game-winning three-pointer with a couple seconds left was a tank move and I’d believe you, though. It went in, and the Kings won, so there will be little discussion of their lead-blowing capabilities.
Bogdanovic was the secondary hero of the night, because he “assisted” Labissiere on the game-winner, but also because of his shot to put the Kings up 2 with 30 seconds left. That was a really nice shot, such a smooth stepback, and I was hoping it would be the decisive blow, but it was not to be. He ended up with 22 and 7, another nice statline for a guy who would’ve been Rookie of the Year had he come over a year earlier. Oops! No takebacks on that one, sorry.