Knicks vs Kings

Jalen Brunson leads a Knicks group that, despite going just 2-5 over its last seven, is still sitting at 25-14 and near the top of the East while the Kings limp in at 10-30, propped up by a brief surge after wins over Houston and the Lakers. With New York close to full strength outside of Landry Shamet’s ongoing shoulder absence, Sacramento is on the opposite end of the health spectrum, missing Domantas Sabonis (knee) and Keegan Murray (ankle) while Dennis Schroder serves the final game of his suspension, leaving DeMar DeRozan, Malik Monk and Zach LaVine to carry a thin rotation. The Knicks’ elite 121+ offensive rating and improved spacing around Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns now face a Kings defense leaking points at roughly a 120 defensive rating, and New York has dominated this matchup recently, winning four straight and eight of the last nine against Sacramento by an average margin in the low teens. With the season approaching its midpoint, the Knicks are motivated by top-three seeding leverage while the Kings are already drifting toward the lottery, so I’m comfortable laying the juice and backing New York on the moneyline at -500, grading it an A- pick for reliability even if the raw return is modest. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 14/01/2026 09:50([espn.com](https://www.espn.com/nba/preview/_/gameId/401810431?utm_source=openai))

Sacramento’s veteran scorers — especially DeMar DeRozan and Malik Monk — have ignited the offense during this two-game win streak, dropping 124 on the Lakers with absurd shooting, and they now face a Knicks team whose games are already averaging roughly 236 combined points thanks to a top-tier 121.3 offensive rating and 119.5 points per night allowed by their own still-leaky defense. Even without Sabonis and Murray to stabilize the Kings’ half-court attack, their remaining perimeter-heavy lineup leans into pace and three-point volume, while their 120.4 defensive rating and frequent breakdowns at the point of attack give Brunson, Towns, OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges a green light to attack mismatches and live at the arc. Historically this matchup has trended high-scoring — New York has taken four of the last five while averaging over 120 points and producing recent totals of 247 and 237 — and with both teams’ opponents combining for over 236 points per game this season, the posted 232.5 feels only slightly inflated relative to the underlying offensive and defensive efficiencies. There is some downside risk if the Kings’ recent hot shooting regresses and their short-handed depth runs out of gas, but overall I like the Over 232.5 (-110) as a B-grade play given the structural defensive weaknesses on both sides and New York’s elite spacing and shooting. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 14/01/2026 09:50([statmuse.com](https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/new-york-knicks-offensive-rating?utm_source=openai))

Karl-Anthony Towns gives New York a massive frontcourt edge against a Kings team missing Sabonis and Murray, and that size plus shooting advantage is a big reason I’m willing to lay the -11.5 with the Knicks on the road. Sacramento has covered just 14 times in 40 games and now has to lean heavily on perimeter creators like DeRozan, LaVine, Monk and Russell Westbrook against a Knicks defense that, while inconsistent during a recent 2-5 skid, still has long, switchable wings in Bridges and Anunoby and is trending back toward form as the roster gets healthier outside of Shamet. Head-to-head, New York has repeatedly blown this Kings core off the floor, winning four straight and eight of nine with double-digit average margins, including last season’s 29-point and 23-point demolitions that showcased just how badly Sacramento can struggle with the Knicks’ physicality and three-point volume. The market’s 11.5-point spread does respect that power gap — and New York is only modestly above .500 ATS with a weaker road cover rate — but a top-10 net rating profile facing one of the league’s worst defenses and poorest records, plus the Knicks’ incentive to stack wins for home-court in the first round, pushes me to a B-grade recommendation on Knicks -11.5 (-110), acknowledging the usual backdoor-cover risk from a Kings team full of streaky shot-makers. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 14/01/2026 09:50([fanduel.com](https://www.fanduel.com/research/kings-vs-knicks-prediction-nba-odds-spread-best-bets-for-1-14-2026?utm_source=openai))