Missing Free Throws And Losing To Damian Lillard’s 32 Foot Game-Winner, Malik Monk Takes Responsibility: “My Fault Sac! I’ll Be Better”

The Sacramento Kings suffered a tough loss against the Milwaukee Bucks. After leading the entirety of overtime, Damian Lillard’s buzzer-beater three-pointer allowed Giannis Antetokounmpo and Co. to clinch the 143-142 win. Despite putting up a terrific performance, Malik Monk took to X (formerly “Twitter”), apologizing to the fans of the franchise by admitting that he was responsible for the tough loss.

With 18.4 seconds remaining in the extra period, Malik Monk was sent to the charity stripe to shoot two free throws. The Sacramento Kings were leading 141-137 and even a single shot would make it extremely difficult for the Milwaukee Bucks’ chances of a comeback. Unfortunately, Monk missed both his attempts, resulting in Brook Lopez knocking down a corner three, cutting the Kings’ lead to merely a single point.

Later, with 5.2 seconds remaining on the game clock, De’Aaron Fox was sent to the line to shoot a pair of free throws. Fox, who was 5/5 from the line previously in the game, missed the 1^st shot and knocked down the second. In classic Damian Lillard style, the sharpshooter emphatically knocked down a 32-foot buzzer-beating three-pointer, resulting in the Bucks’ 143-142 victory.

It was the Kings’ game to lose. Monk was aware of this fact. Apologizing to franchise fans, the guard pinned the blame on himself, posting the following on X.

“My fault Sac!! I’ll be better,” the 25-year-old wrote.

Monk acknowledging his fault was too big of him. Yes, the Kings would’ve had a better chance of winning the game even if he had knocked down a single free throw. But to blame Monk for the entire loss is illogical. Instead, the former Kentucky Wildcat had an exceptional performance throughout the contest. Coming off the bench, he hit some clutch shots and ended the night with 28 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists.

Usually, social media users are very cruel and would be ready to bash any player in Monk’s position. However, it was pleasantly surprising to see the positive reaction from the fans in the comments section of the Kings star’s tweet.

Malik Monk missing free throws led to the Bucks grabbing three straight wins

Living up to the hype, the contest witnessed 14 lead changes & ties. The Milwaukee Bucks-Sacramento Kings bout was an action-packed thriller. But, the officiating could’ve been much better. Or at least that’s what Mike Brown believes.

During the final period, with more than 9 minutes remaining on the game clock, the Kings’ head coach was livid with the referee’s decisions. Having an outburst, Brown couldn’t prevent himself from directing his frustrations at a referee. A bad decision that led him to get ejected from the game.

Brown didn’t stop criticizing the referees despite being slapped with the penalty. During the postgame conference, the 53-year-old used his laptop and went on a nearly five-minute rant about the controversial foul calls.

Suffering yet another loss, the California side is on a two-game losing skid. Whereas, the Bucks have been on an incredible roll. After beginning their four-game homestand with an unexpected loss against the Utah Jazz, Adrian Griffin’s boys have managed to grab three straight wins, defeating the Boston Celtics, the Golden State Warriors, and the Sacramento Kings.

The Bucks are currently sitting 2^nd in the Eastern Conference standings with a 28-12 record. Facing the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Detroit Pistons as their next five matchups, the Bucks can realistically improve their winning streak to eight games by 24^th January.