Monk, Mitchell want Kings to enter All-Star break on ‘high note’ originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The Kings have to find a way to go into the NBA All-Star break on a high note.

That’s the message inside Sacramento’s locker room following the Kings’ 127-113 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday at Paycom Center.

Following a convincing win against the Denver Nuggets on Friday at Golden 1 Center, Sunday’s road loss to the Thunder led by a red-hot Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who erupted for 38 points in 39 minutes, puts the Kings two games closer to their All-Star break.

That’s two games they’ll have to finish with a positive exclamation mark.

“Man, you just said it,” Monk told reporters. “[We need to] end it on the right note. However we can do that… On the defensive end, offensive end.

“However we can do that, we have to end on a high note, so we can come back from All-Star break and finish the season strong.”

Aside from another triple-double from Domantas Sabonis, whose 17 triple-doubles lead the NBA this season, the Kings found a much-needed burst of energy from the bench.

Sacramento guard Davion Mitchell was perfect beyond the arc throughout 20 minutes of play, making all four of his attempts, while Malik Monk ended the night with 26 points – a team high – shooting 50 percent from the floor.

The impact from the Kings’ bench wasn’t enough to overpower Sacramento’s turnover trouble, which resulted in 30 Thunder points off of 18 turnovers.

Sacramento’s loss comes on the front end of a three-game road trip for the Kings, making way for Mitchell to focus on the next stop: Phoenix.

“I think just take one game at a time,” Mitchell told reporters. “Not look forward, not look at the playoffs, just kind of take one game at a time and just focus on that one team and try to get the win every game. I think every team in the West is very good.

“They’re all competitive. They all have really good players and it’s a very good league. So, [just] taking it one game at a time and just try to win more than we lose.”

Fifty-two games in, a badly-needed All-Star break awaits the Kings.

Whether they’ll be able to get to it on a positive note is yet to be answered.