Photo credit: Rocky Widner NBAE/Getty Images

By Charlie O. Mallonee

The Charlotte Bobcats came into Sacramento on Saturday night having lost five games in a row. The Kings game into the game looking for redemption after the disappointing loss to the Sixers on Thursday night. Both teams saw each other as being a beatable team.

The Bobcats were more motivated than the Kings and left Sacramento with a win 113-103.

The Bobcats were led by point guard Kemba Walker with 30 points. Walker was 12 for 19 from the field and four of six on 3-point attempts. He also dished out six assists and pulled down four rebounds.

Center Al Jefferson also had a big night for Charlotte. He poured in 27 points, grabbed nine rebounds, had two assists and two steals. Gerald Henderson hit for 16 points, Ramon Sessions scored 12 off the bench while Chris Douglas-Roberts added 10.

The Kings finished with some strong performances of their own. Cousins posted his 20^th double-double of the season scoring 26 while grabbing 11 rebounds. Rudy Gay had a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Jason Thompson recorded a double-double putting up 15 points and being credited with 14 rebounds. Isaiah Thomas added 21 points and eight assists.

The problem for the Kings was another slow starting first half. The Bobcats shot 64.3% (27-42) from the field while hitting on five of seven (71.4%) from beyond the 3-point line. Charlotte scored 65 points in the first half. It’s going to be a long night when you give up 32 points in the first and 33 points in the second quarter to your opponents. The Kings trailed 65-52 at the intermission.

The Kings played better basketball in the second half. The defense stepped up and stopped giving up easy shots. Sacramento started moving the ball and attacking the rim. The problem was even with the improved effort the Kings were unable to take back the lead from Charlotte. The Kings cut the lead to three with 8:02 left to play in the game, but the Bobcats roared back to open up a lead of 12 points with 1:02 to go. The Kings had to expel so much effort trying to get back into the game that they were never able to put themselves in a position to win.

After the game, a disappointed Kings Head Coach Michael Malone spoke about his team’s lack of defense in the first half. Allowing Charlotte to score 65 first half points obviously frustrated him. He said that at some point his team needs to become “embarrassed” about being 29^th in multiple defensive categories. Malone feels there will be no significant change until they do.

Malone also pointed out that his team lost two winnable games versus Philadelphia and Charlotte. After playing at such a high level against San Antonio and Houston, the poor effort put forward in the Sixers and Bobcats games is very disappointing.

Things do not get easier for the Kings as they must prepare to play the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday. The Blazers downed the Bobcats 134-104 Thursday. Portland lost to the Sixers 101-99 on Saturday. The Kings need to anticipate facing an angry Blazers team that is looking to revenge a loss to a team they should have beaten.