Kings’ Murray not rattled from shaky Summer League encore originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
Keegan Murray’s debut in the California Classic Summer League was nearly flawless.
His encore performance was not.
Playing over 30 minutes Sunday against the Miami Heat, Murray scored nine points on 4-of-15 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds. He missed all but one of his seven 3-point attempts and committed a game-high six turnovers, a far cry from his 26-point, eight-rebound gem on Saturday.
Although Murray wasn’t at his best, the Kings defeated Miami 81-64 in their second test of the three-game challenge at Chase Center.
And the No. 4 overall pick of the 2022 NBA Draft is not rattled one bit.
“My shot wasn’t falling, obviously, but I feel like my all-around game wasn’t bad,” Murray said following the win.
“I never lose confidence. Every shot I took tonight I thought it was going to go in. For me, I never lose confidence in myself and that’s a big thing. I feel like I did a lot of other good things. I got guys open, pushed the ball up, things like that.”
Sacramento center Neemias Queta had a solid outing, notching 14 points, four rebounds and three steals in 24 minutes. His best play of the night came in the fourth quarter when he finished an alley-oop from Matt Coleman III and drew a foul, later completing the three-point play.
Leading the Kings in scoring was guard Keon Ellis, who, like Queta, is on a two-way contract with Sacramento this season. Ellis poured in 17 points on an efficient 6-of-8 shooting and grabbed four boards for the Kings.
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Frankie Ferrari, who play college ball at San Francisco just down the road from Chase Center, was the other Kings player in double figures with 11 points, six assists and five boards.
Murray’s shot wasn’t falling Sunday, but he’ll get another chance to get back on track Tuesday when the Kings play the Los Angeles Lakers to wrap up the California Classic.
