by Charlie O. Mallonee

“Defense wins in the NBA and tonight we didn’t defend anybody.” Those were the words of Kings Head Coach Michael Malone just after his team had been defeated by the Orlando Magic 105-96 on Saturday night in Sacramento.

Both teams came into the game in similar situations. Both were without their big man due to injury. Both were playing the second game of a back-to-back schedule. Orlando appeared to be at a greater disadvantage as they played in Utah on Friday and had to travel to Sacramento for the Saturday game. Both teams were coming off a win on Friday night.

The Kings came out in the first quarter a bit flat while the Magic showed some initial energy. Ben McLemore hit the first bucket of the game after taking the opening tip to the hole for a lay-up. The Magic kept the ball moving and worked on high percentage shots plus some well-placed 3-Point baskets. After a Kings timeout at 8:33, Sacramento settled down and played improved defense. A steal and slam by Rudy Gay energized the Kings attack. The Sacramento starting five remained in the game until the 1:38 mark of the quarter. The quarter ended with the score tied at 27-all.

The Magic started the second quarter with a 6-0 run as the second units were on the floor for both teams. Reggie Evans scored the Kings first points on two free throws 2:54 into the quarter. After a 4-0 mini-run by Orlando, Rudy Gay and Ray McCallum entered the game. With the Kings shooting poorly, the Magic opened up an 11 point (45-34) lead by the time a timeout was called with 4:55 remaining in the half. After shooting poorly most of the period, the Kings helped themselves with back-to-back high percentage baskets by Collison and Gay. Capitalizing on Orlando turnovers and poor shooting, the Kings closed the gap but trailed the Magic 52-49 at the half.

The Kings shot just 40.0-percent (16 for 40) from the field in the first half while Orlando posted a 52.3-field goal percentage. The Magic out-rebounded the Kings 19-17 in the half.

Tobias Harris opened the scoring in the third quarter with a 3-Pointer and a steal that resulted in an easy lay-up. That opening set the tone for the quarter. The Kings continued to look sluggish while Magic shot 50.0-percent from the field and 50.0-percent from 3-Pointland. The Kings turned the ball over six times in the quarter and fell as many as 12 points behind. Rudy Gay sparked the Kings with a driving lay-up at 2:22, but Magic came back to take an 11 point lead into the fourth quarter. After three quarters Orlando led the Kings 77-66.

Orlando made it a 14 point lead after Ben Gordon hit for five points off two baskets to open the fourth period. It appeared that the Magic might coast to the win, but the Kings had other plans. Derrick Williams converted a 3-Point play that kicked off a 9-0 run for the Kings. Sacramento continued to whittle away at the lead and finally tied the game at 90-90 on a Derrick Williams slam dunk with 3:59 to play. With the game tied at 92-all, Orlando went on a 7-0 run and created a gap that the Kings could not fill. When the final buzzer sounded, the Magic had beaten the Kings 105-96.

The Magic shot 50.6-percent (42 for 83) from the field and hit on 9 of 26 3-Point attempts. Orlando only visited the free throw line 14 times but they converted 12 of those opportunities into points. The Magic recorded 26 assists against just 11 turnovers in the game.

Orlando had five players score in double figures led by Tobias Harris’ 27 points. Harris was 4 of 5 from beyond the 3-Point line. Victor Oladipo added 16 points and seven assists. Evan Fournier put in 15 while Kyle O’Quinn recorded 13 points filling in for injured Nikola Vucevic at center.

With DeMarcus Cousins still out of the lineup, the Magic out-rebounded the Kings 40-35.

“I saw fierce competition, a will to win, a will to compete, being relentless throughout the course of the game. Overall, really impressed with this group to finish the trip with the win,” said Orlando Head Coach Jacque Vaughn.

The Kings shot 44.3-percent (35 for79) as a team from the field and 26.7-percent (4 for 15) from beyond the 3-Point arc. Sacramento was 22 for 28 from the free throw line. They had 22 assists and 11 turnovers.

Darren Collison led the Kings scoring with 22 points. Jason Thompson scored a season-best 18 points. Rudy Gay had 16 points to go with five rebounds and six assists. Derrick Williams scored 14 points in 12 minutes of play coming off the bench to lead the Kings in the fourth quarter.

“You can’t allow a team, who’s coming in here with four games in five nights, to start the game as comfortable as they did. They were shooting 80.0-percent at one point, so it’s tough to start getting stops after a team feels really comfortable,” said Coach Michael Malone after the game.

The Kings are off until Monday when they will host the Utah Jazz.

Game Notes:

The Kings are now 10-10 overall, 5-5 at Sleep Train Arena … the Kings are 1-3 on the five game homestand … Sacramento is 1-4 without DeMarcus Cousins in the lineup this season … the Kings have another set of back-to-backs this week at they host Utah on Monday and visit the Lakers in L.A. on Tuesday … the Magic win ended a four game losing streak to Sacramento