SACRAMENTO, CA — It’s been over a year since New York Knicks head coach Mike Brown was fired from his role as head coach with the Sacramento Kings. He hadn’t stepped foot in Golden 1 Center since he was let go in December 2024.

On Wednesday, Jan, 14, Brown returned to the place he coached for two seasons – where he became 2023 NBA Coach of the Year with the Kings.

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The short reunion ended with Brown’s Knicks suffering a 112-101 loss to the Kings, who now are on a three-game winning streak.

“I had a great time here (in Sacramento),” Brown told USA TODAY Sports after the loss. “My family had a great time here. … I enjoyed my time here, so it was great to be back.”

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Dribble into this collection of dunk photos as NBA stars posterize opponents

Oct. 26: The Dallas Mavericks’ Cooper Flagg dunks the ball past the Toronto Raptors’ Sandro Mamukelashvili at the American Airlines Center.

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Dribble into this collection of dunk photos as NBA stars posterize opponents

Oct. 26: The Dallas Mavericks’ Cooper Flagg dunks the ball past the Toronto Raptors’ Sandro Mamukelashvili at the American Airlines Center.

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Dribble into this collection of dunk photos as NBA stars posterize opponents

Oct. 26: The Washington Wizards’ Cam Whitmore dunks the ball against the Charlotte Hornets at Capital One Arena.

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Dribble into this collection of dunk photos as NBA stars posterize opponents

Oct. 26: The Brooklyn Nets’ Michael Porter Jr. dunks in front of the San Antonio Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama at Frost Bank Center.

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Dribble into this collection of dunk photos as NBA stars posterize opponents

Oct. 25: The Denver Nuggets’ Christian Braun dunks the ball against the Phoenix Suns’ Grayson Allen at Ball Arena.

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Dribble into this collection of dunk photos as NBA stars posterize opponents

Oct. 24: The Memphis Grizzlies’ Jaren Jackson Jr. dunks against the Miami Heat at FedExForum.

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Dribble into this collection of dunk photos as NBA stars posterize opponents

Oct. 24: The Miami Heat’s Bam Adebayo dunks over the Memphis Grizzlies’ Jaren Jackson Jr. at FedExForum.

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Dribble into this collection of dunk photos as NBA stars posterize opponents

Oct. 22: The New York Knicks’ OG Anunoby goes up for a reverse dunk against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Madison Square Garden.

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Dribble into this collection of dunk photos as NBA stars posterize opponents

Oct. 22: The Utah Jazz’s Lauri Markkanen dunks against the Los Angeles Clippers at Delta Center.

For a third consecutive game, Sacramento fans chanted “light the beam” as they were lifted to victory behind a game-high 27 points from DeMar DeRozan.

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“We got our behinds kicked. We talk about the game and we get ready for the next one,” Brown said to USA TODAY Sports. “That’s what this league is about. Got 82 of them, got to take them one at a time. You have to keep trying to coach and get better and then move on to the next one and that’s kind of how it is.”

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Zach LaVine added 25 points, while Russell Westbrook had another double-double, 19 points and 11 assists.

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The game’s X-factor was Precious Achiuwa, a former Knick, who torched his old team for 20 points, with 14 rebounds, two steals and two blocks.

“Give Precious Achiuwa a lot of credit,” Brown told reporters. “He was with me during the Nigerian national team. He impacts the game in a lot of ways. He had 20 and 14. He’s a guy when you close out on him, we want to be the second jumper. To start the game we ran him off the line three times, so we didn’t do a good job of following our gameplan tonight.”

Brown was greeted with an ovation by the 15,095 fans at Golden 1 Center during the team introduction. The arena as filled by a number of Knicks fans, but mostly Kings fans regarded as Sacramento’s “Sixth Man.”

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“The fans were fantastic,” Brown said to reporters. “We enjoyed living here, so I appreciate it. A lot of love from the fans here. But in the same breathe, we’re happy as hell in New York, we enjoy the organization, we enjoy the fans there and we enjoy where we live.”