What we learned as Zach LaVine's 27 points not enough in Kings' loss to Nuggets

What we learned as Zach LaVine's 27 points not enough in Kings' loss to Nuggets originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

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SACRAMENTO – Zach LaVine continued to rip it up offensively, pouring in 27 points with 11 assists in the Kings’ 124-116 loss to the Mike Malone-less Denver Nuggets on Wednesday at Golden 1 Center.

Malone, who previously coached the Kings, was fired by Denver on Tuesday, less than two years after guiding the Nuggets to their first and only NBA championship.

That might have lit a fire under the Nuggets, who had been spiraling down the Western Conference standings over the previous five weeks.

Denver led by 16, then held off a late Kings surge in the fourth quarter to complete the season-series sweep of Sacramento.

DeMar DeRozan had 22 points. Domantas Sabonis added 27 points and 11 rebounds while Keon Ellis had 20 points off the bench.

The Kings entered the day on a three-game winning streak. They conclude the regular season with home games against the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday and the Phoenix Suns on Sunday.

Sacramento is locked into the Western Conference’s 9 vs. 10 play-in game against the Dallas Mavericks. The Kings hold a one-game lead in the standings and have the head-to-head tiebreaker.

The Nuggets shot nearly 57 percent in the first half and had four players in double figures by halftime. Conversely, the Kings didn’t have anyone reach double figures in the first half but had four players with nine points apiece and went into the break trailing 66-58.

Here are the takeaways from Wednesday’s game:

It’s getting hot in here

With two regular-season games remaining, the Western Conference standings are tighter than a fat guy in skinny jeans.

Five teams are within two games of one another for the No. 4 seed in the playoffs. That is the final spot for homecourt advantage in the first round.

The Kings are locked into a play-in game and will play the Mavericks. The only remaining question is whether the game will be in California or Texas.

Keep it going, Z

It took a little while to find his rhythm, but LaVine got going once he warmed up and continued his recent scoring surge.

Since joining the Kings, LaVine has been a scoring machine. That was particularly true over Sacramento’s previous five games when he averaged 20.8 points while shooting a solid 47 percent from the floor. That included the last two games before Wednesday, when LaVine had 80 total points in wins over the Cleveland Cavaliers and Detroit Pistons.

The veteran guard started slow against the Nuggets, who limited LaVine to eight points in the first half. He finished minus-eight.

Doing the Dougie

Doug McDermott has played well off the bench this season and has had a few games where he provided instant and quick offense.

Wednesday was one of those games.

During a span of 150 seconds in the second quarter, McDermott canned a pair of deep 3-pointers and made a stellar alley-oop pass to LaVine from behind the 3-point arc.

The No. 11 overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, McDermott has proven capable of getting things done quickly during his first season in Sacramento. He had a memorable night against the Utah Jazz in December when he dropped a season-high 18 points on six 3-pointers in eight and a half minutes. He also had 15 points in 11 minutes against the Nuggets in January.

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