Kings vs. Spurs preview: There are stakes again

Photos by Logan Riely/NBAE via Getty ImagesThree weeks ago, Sacramento was at the end of its second nine-game losing streak of the year, falling as many six games back of the tenth seed in the Western Conference. A week later, De’Aaron Fox entered the health and safety protocols, and it seemed like a foregone conclusion that the Kings would extend their playoff drought to 15 years.

Instead, the team has powered through with Fox, and now also without Tyrese Haliburton and Harrison Barnes, and won four in a row, refusing to go out quietly. The Kings have also gotten an assist from the San Antonio Spurs, the team currently occupying the No. 10 seed. The Spurs are also without their starting…