The Sacramento Kings on Wednesday could not back up their smack talk against the visiting Detroit Pistons.
The jumbotron inside Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, Calif. repeatedly flashed the viral 51-yard catch made by San Francisco 49ers Brandon Aiyuk against the Detroit Lions during the recently concluded 2023 NFC Championship Game.
Aiyuk caught the long pass from quarterback Brock Purdy (which he credited to a ladybug, by the way) after the ball deflected off Lions cornerback Kindle Vildor’s facemask. Aiyuk’s play completely changed the momentum of the NFC title game in favor of the 49ers, who eventually came back to stun the Lions and win a trip to the Super Bowl.
Lmao the @SacramentoKings played this through the Pistons entire lineup introduction. pic.twitter.com/s3OOnX3XX1
— Kyle, a Madson (@KyleAMadson) February 8, 2024
On Wednesday, the arena’s video screen kept showing replays of Aiyuk’s catch on loop as Detroit’s starters were introduced. The Pistons entered Wednesday’s contest with a 6-43 record. They had been even worse on the road with just two wins across 22 road games. Those numbers didn’t seem to matter in the 133-120 beatdown they delivered against the Kings.
Pistons guard Jaden Ivey erupted for a career-high 37 points — including 19 in the fourth quarter. Detroit led by as many as 15 points in the contest.
Jaden Ivey's got a career-high 34 points!
Pistons-Kings | Live on the NBA App
📲 https://t.co/GGafcgmbG3 pic.twitter.com/UmkIe8fL44— NBA (@NBA) February 8, 2024
The diss against the Lions from the Kings’ in-arena staff may have done just enough to motivate the lowly Pistons into a huge upset win.
