Jaylen Brown led the Celtics with a double-double of 29 points and 10 rebounds. Seven Celtics scored in double figures, including 16 each from Payton Pritchard and Derrick White. White gave Boston a big boost in the fourth quarter, scoring 14 points in the fourth quarter.
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Sacramento was led by veteran guard DeMar DeRozan with 25 points. Dennis Schroder contributed 18 points and Keon Ellis added 16 off the bench.
Keegan Murray scored seven on 3-of-13 shooting from the field.
The Kings let the game slip away in the fourth quarter, as they were outscored 32-18.
“They’re a championship team, so they know down the stretch where they’re going, things like that,” Murray told reporters after the Kings’ fourth-quarter collapse. “At the end of the day, it’s a make-or-break league and we’re failing and they’re succeeding, and unfortunately that was… that was the game right there.”
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The Kings fall to 8-26 and remain in 14th place in the West. The Celtics move to 21-12, the third-best record in the East.
Kings of Sacramento: News, updates, stats, injuries and more
Highlights of Kings vs. Celtics
Game notes
The Kings took an 8-0 lead thanks to forward Precious Achiuwa’s quick five points. He added eight points in the first quarter.
The Kings led 17-12 with 6:54 remaining. Celtics guard Payton Pritchard added seven points in the quarter for Boston.
Boston scored a pair of 3-pointers from Luka Garza and Anfernee Simons. After the first quarter, the Kings had a one-point lead, 29-28.
In the second quarter, both teams continued their tit-for-tat and traded buckets throughout the second quarter.
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No one could pull away in the first half, as both the Kings and Celtics matched each other in three-pointers, easy points in the paint, and free throw opportunities.
However, the Celtics had a slight advantage, entering the locker room at halftime with a 62-61 lead, led by backup guard Anfernee Simons with 14 points and Jaylen Brown with 10 points at halftime. The Kings were led by DeMar DeRozan with 12 points and Achiuwa had 10.
The Celtics opened the third quarter with a 7-0 run in the first two minutes, momentarily extending the lead to 69-61.
DeRozan stopped the run with a lane spin through traffic to get to the cup for a layup. Russell Westbrook followed with his first three-pointer of the game.
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Boston responded with a layup from Brown and a long-distance 3-pointer from Sam Hauser.
But the Kings continued to push forward and took a three-point lead after DeRozan found Dennis Schroder along the 3-point arc in the left corner. The Kings took a 77-74 lead with less than seven minutes left in the third quarter.
Brown turned things around in the third quarter, scoring 11 points in the period. The physicality intensified at the end of the third quarter. Achiuwa and Neemias Queta were given double technical fouls after jockeying for position during a jump and pushing each other.
The score was tied at 88 after 36 minutes.
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It was a back-and-forth affair heading into the final period, where both teams continued to battle.
The Celtics took an early five-point lead with 9:26 left in the game, but the Kings stayed within striking distance.
The Kings couldn’t contain Jaylen Brown as Boston’s lead grew to 10 with less than six minutes left in the game.
Celtics guard Derrick White, who was calm throughout the game, scored 14 points in the fourth quarter to help Boston pull away late in the game. Brown fouled out with 2:09 left.
The match was frozen with a fierce blow from the former king, Neemias Queta.
The Celtics won the game, 120-106.
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Kings next five games
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January 4 against Milwaukee Bucks
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January 6 against Dallas Mavericks
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January 9 at Golden State Warriors
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January 11 against Houston Rockets
➤ Sacramento Kings complete 2025-26 schedule
This article originally appeared in USA TODAY: Celtics vs. Celtics score Kings, highlights, summary