The Kings finished with a league-best 77 wins. The Bucks, who came in second, won 10 fewer games, finishing with 67.
In the First Round, the Kings faced the Clippers.
Paul's former team.
But Paul couldn't play at the time.
Over the first three games, Wang Yi scored 45, 44, and 47 points.
James scored 32, 29, and 30 points.
Wang Yi was performing as expected.
James had averaged just 22.7 points during the Regular Season, but he put up 30 points per game in the Playoffs. It had spectators exclaiming, "The King never ages!"
Danny also shot the three well in those three games.
He scored 15, 27, and 22 points, respectively.
The Clippers had no way to stop the Kings.
The Kings nearly swept them aside, taking a 3–0 lead.
It wasn't until Game 4 that Paul finally returned.
Wang Yi's shot was off that game, and James made just three of his 12 shots.
Although Paul was back, he still wasn't in great form.
He scored only two points in the first half and none in the third quarter.
Danny was the one keeping them in it, hitting eight of his 11 threes.
By contrast, the Clippers seemed to be on fire from beyond the arc.
With three minutes left, they were already up by 15.
Then Danny hit two more threes.
Wang Yi and James each made one as well.
They kept the Kings alive against all odds.
But the Clippers were resilient, too. Even as the Kings scored 12 unanswered points, they stayed composed and played with discipline.
With 12 seconds left, the Kings had finally cut the deficit to just one.
As Coach De'Anthony drew up a play, Paul, who had been quiet most of the game, suddenly spoke up. "Coach, let me take