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Kings ascend to Western Conference No. 2 seed with Grizzlies loss

Kings ascend to No. 2 seed in West with Grizzlies loss originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea

The Kings’ dream season took another surprising twist Tuesday night, and they didn’t even play a game.

With the Memphis Grizzlies’ 112-103 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena, the Kings moved up to the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference.

The Kings and Grizzlies have identical records (38-26) and split their four games this season, so the conference record is the next tiebreaker, with Sacramento drawing the edge, 26-14 to 20-19.

If the NBA playoffs started today, the Kings would await the No. 7 seed, which would be determined by the winner of the No. 7 vs. No. 8 matchups in the play-in tournament. At the moment, the Minnesota Timberwolves would host the Los Angeles Clippers for the right to be the No. 7 seeds.

The Kings have been one of the most surprising NBA teams this season, led by All-Stars De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis, and in short order, the franchise will snap its 16-year playoff drought.

While the basketball world wonders how far Sacramento can actually go in the postseason, reserve forward Chimezie Metu revealed Monday night that first-year Kings coach Mike Brown has them dreaming big.

“Honestly, Coach [Mike Brown] has us talking championship,” Metu said to NBC Sports California’s Kyle Draper and Kenny Thomas on “Kings Postgame Live” Monday night.

“That’s our mentality. Obviously, we need to clean up defensively. I don’t think anybody in the league can score with us. If we start getting stops, it’s going to be scary.”

RELATED: Why Kings advancing to the Western Conference finals wouldn’t surprise Lowe

Can the Kings win the NBA title? That remains to be seen. But they are proving they are for real, and if they can hold on to the No. 2 seed over the final 18 games of the season, they will have an easier road to their desired destination.