The Sacra-mento Kings ended their record-breaking 17-year NBA playoff drought on Wednesday as the Dallas Mavericks’ chances of reaching the postseason suf-fered a blow with a crucial loss to Philadelphia.
Sacramento, who had not advanced to the playoffs since the 2005-2006 season — the longest streak of futility in NBA history — clinched their postseason berth with a 120-80 rout of the Trail Blazers in Portland.
Malik Monk led the Kings’ scoring with 19 points while four other players made double digits, including rookie Keegan Murray, whose 13 points included his 188th three-pointer of the season — a new NBA record for a rookie.
Murray expressed satisfaction that the Kings have finally ended their long wait for a playoff berth, 12 months after finishing 12th in the Western Conference with a 30-52 record.
“We’ve had really good teams throughout that 17 years and I think this one exemplifies all of them,” Murray told ESPN.
“It’s really cool to be on this team but we know we have a lot more to do.” The Kings sit in third place in the West on 46-30, trailing Denver and Memphis.
But while Sacramento are now looking forward to a playoff campaign, the Dallas Mavericks risk missing the postseason altogether just a year after reaching the conference finals.
The Mavericks slumped to a 116-108 defeat to Philadelphia, with the 76ers overturning a 12-point deficit as Joel Embiid inspired a fourth-quarter rally to end a three-game losing streak.—APP
