The Sacramento Kings suffered another tough loss when Doug Christie and his team fell to the San Antonio Spurs 132-104, in a game that quickly got out of hand. The Kings continue to be on the rise this season, and the presence of Victor Wembanyama has made the difference even more pronounced. During the game, cameras caught Christie raking smelling salts on the bench and waving them at associate coach Mike Woodson. That moment felt desperate. It also symbolizes the team that is searching for answers that have not yet come.

Doug Christie and Mike Woodson on the Kings Bench 😭😭

Tanking is really affecting teams

(h/t @Brewin07) pic.twitter.com/SXRPIAYKCW

– FullCourtPass (@FullCourtPass) 18 March 2026

The Kings never stood still. Spurs controlled the momentum early and never looked back. Vembanyama decided everything. He scored with confidence, varied shots and made the game look simple. On the contrary, the king looked trapped. His crime stopped. His defenses were broken. Each Spurs run felt heavier than the last. The energy never transferred.

At 18-52, the numbers tell part of the story. A 5-5 record in the last 10 games provides some comfort. Because when the lights get brighter, the same issues come back. Same pattern repeats. And the struggles of the Kings’ season are far from over.

Despair grows as King searches for direction

Doug Christie’s smelling salty moment quickly became the talk of the town online. Fans reacted quickly. Some laughed. Others saw a coach going to great lengths to breathe life into his team. Somehow, it captured the mood surrounding this group.

On the court, the stats told the same story. Nearly every Kings player finished with a negative plus-minus, a clear indication of how one-sided the game had become. Only one player managed to stay positive. That difference reflects overall performance. Defensive lapses piled up. The aggressive rhythm disappeared under pressure. Against a Spurs team brimming with confidence, those flaws were exposed again. Victor Vembanyama took control, and the Kings had no response.

Time is still on the clock. But the urgency keeps increasing. Change is needed in this team. It needs recognition. This requires faith. Otherwise, moments like this will continue to define everything. So the question now is, how much longer will it take for the Kings to finally make some changes this season?

SAN FRANCISCO – Back-to-back losses to two actively trying teams are hard to swallow. But that’s what the Golden State Warriors will have to do after losing 130-124 to the Chicago Bulls in overtime.

The Warriors led by eight with 91 seconds left in regulation, but their performance fizzled out at the end of the game in the final seconds of overtime.

“We couldn’t finish it off,” Kerr said bluntly after the game. “They got two free throws with one second left, and they were able to send it to overtime. And then they were the better team in OT.”

The reason the Bulls got to OT were two mistakes by the Warriors. Two-way rookie LJ Cryer missed a free throw with a chance to give Golden State three points, opening the door for Bulls center Jalen Smith to knock down two free throws to tie the game after Draymond Green fouled him with his hand on his hip as he caught a pass in the corner.

From there, as Kerr said, Chicago attacked the Warriors in overtime. Matas Buzelis finished with a career-high 41 points with a dagger three with 2:20 left in OT, while Josh Giddy topped the scoring with a 21-point, 13-rebound, 17-assist triple-double.

But despite a stellar performance from the Bulls’ young core, the loss was caused by Green’s uncharacteristic mistake at the end of regulation. When Kerr was asked what happened on Green’s mistake, he took responsibility for his mistake.

“It was a foul. I saw the replay, and I’m convinced.” [Green would] Love getting it back. Just his hand fell in the wrong place. And [it] This would have been a tough shot for Smith to hit. And Dre knows he just needs to challenge [Smith]. He was in a difficult situation. He did not play the entire fourth quarter. And then I threw him out there for some defensive possessions, because I know how good he is on that end, but he wasn’t exactly loose and in flow. And I’m sure that didn’t help the case.”

Defensive woes plague Golden State

Still, the Warriors said they haven’t lost a game in a game or two. After the game, Pat Spencer pointed to their defensive issues and how Chicago controlled the flow of the game.

“We were a little soft on the ball,” Spencer said. “Think they’re very smart, and I think if we’re being honest, they didn’t have a group of guys that typically knocked down the three ball at a high rate. They still didn’t shoot that well. It felt like we were a little passive on that side. They’ve got some guys that can create a little bit. It felt like they played at their pace most of the night.”

Golden State lost 64-49 on the boards, holding the Bulls to 20 offensive rebounds. Buzzellis and Giddy got where they wanted, usually breaking down the Warriors’ shell and getting into the paint.

However, it is not that the Warriors did not work hard. While Cryer missed crucial free throws, he finished with 17 points on 3-of-5 from deep. Spencer himself was +18 plus/minus with 17 points and six assists as he led the Dubs’ leads in the third and fourth quarters. They even got a strong game from Kristaps Porzingis, with the big man collecting 17 points and four blocks in his third game with the Warriors. Porzingis got the crowd at Chase Center going when he hit a big three on the wing to cap a 12-0 run late in the third.

But ultimately, the Dubs lost, and that loss on their tab erases any good they did. This is the defeat of a team in the middle of a tank, which had previously lost to a team Fined By the league for tanking.

It doesn’t help that the Warriors are injured, no Steph Curry, no Jimmy Butler, and Moses Moody and De’Anthony Melton are out. But this kind of defeat is devastating for a team trying to survive.

how warriors move forward

With Golden State falling to 32-33 on the season, he hasn’t had time to nurse his wounds. They are in danger of falling far behind the Clippers, who passed them for the eighth seed this week. The Warriors are currently in ninth place, where they need to win two consecutive games to make it to the playoffs. They’ll get an update on Curry’s knee on Wednesday, but in all likelihood they’ll have to do without him when they get him up.

Gary Payton II said, “We can’t feel sorry for ourselves. We know if we play the right way we can be ahead in any game.” “Bus [got to] Finish the season strong. Like I said, late, late in the second half, you know, clear up some mental things. “And I think we’ll put ourselves in a great position to close out the game.”

The Warriors’ optimism still remains. The high end of what this team can be, like the upset over the Houston Rockets, gives them confidence. But consecutive losses to tanking teams shows where the Warriors are at this season. Barely stepping into the water with a faint hope that their star might return in time to save them.

As the NBA world reacts to the New York Knicks breaking Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs’ 11-game winning streak, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst sees it as a warning to fans. Wembanyama and the Spurs’ crushing 114–89 loss to the Knicks ended a long winning streak, but also put San Antonio’s weaknesses on full display.

Spurs never recovered from 19-0 Knicks run in the second quarterThat reminded some of his inexperience, Windhorst said, according to ESPN’s First Take.

Windhorst said, “I’m not going to overreact to the afternoon’s game at the Garden. If you’re making the case why Spurs won’t win, you saw it yesterday.” “When the Knicks threw some punches at them they couldn’t handle it. It was a 19-0 run in the second quarter. You’re not going to win a playoff game when you give up a 19-0 run on the road. So, you see things like that.”

The Spurs also finished 9-for-34 from beyond the 3-point arc (26.5%) against the Knicks.

“They are still, as a team, inconsistent on 3-point shots. When they get to the playoffs, opposing teams, when they’ve got a fully fleshed out game plan for a playoff series, they’re going to force them to take threes. And they want Victor Wembanyama to take threes. They’re still a bottom 10 3-point percentage shooting team. Whether you like it or not, the NBA is still 3-point. League.”

“If you’re making the case why Spurs won’t win, you saw it yesterday.”

—@WindhorstESPN On the concerns over the Spurs’ NBA title hopes 👀 pic.twitter.com/EDFohIBK2g

– First Tech (@FirstTech) 2 March 2026

Brian Windhorst says 3-point shooting and experience are glaring weaknesses for the Spurs.

Victor Wembanyama’s confession after Spurs defeat

Spurs All-Star Victor Wembanyama took responsibility for Sunday’s 25-point loss to the Knicks. While admitting that the Knicks’ defense prevented them from finding their offensive rhythm, Wembanyama also said that he wished he would have passed the ball more, as the Spurs were in a heavy deficit.

“I think they had some physicality, but not what we’ve seen… For some reason, we were a little hesitant… I was especially hesitant on threes… I was holding the ball too much… We gave them a breather. We should have been better, especially in the first quarter. That was the game.”

Wembanyama finished with 25 points on 8-for-17 shooting, 13 rebounds and four blocks in Sunday’s loss.