by Michael Martinez

photo credits google images

SACRAMENTO- On a night where the Sacramento Kings honored those effected by breast cancer, they kept all Kings fans happy defeating the San Antonio Spurs, 95-92 at Sleep Train Arena. The win can be attributed to the Kings big 3, Demarcus Cousins, Rajon Rondo and Rudy Gay as well as Willie Cauley-Stein’s defense. The Kings ball movement was outstanding for most of the night and their defense showed signs of improvement as well.

For the Kings it was a tale of odds and evens as they played well in the 1st and 3rd quarters, however their play declined in the 2nd and 4th quarters. Although they started off slow in the 1st quarter, strong shooting by Rudy Gay allowed the Kings to take the lead, 19-14. Gay’s solid shooting, 10 for 13 from the field and 2 for 3 behind the arc in 30 minutes of play, allowed the Kings to hold a lead at the end of the 3rd quarter and maintain it in the 4th quarter even though Gay only played half of the 4th.

When asked about his hot shooting, Gay humbly said “I’ve just been practicing and shooting, doing what NBA players are doing.”

As the Kings played mostly reserves in the 2nd quarter, the Spurs cut into the lead with a 7-0 run after the 1st quarter break. The Kings were not closing out on their defenders and allowed Rasual Butler to score 7 points on 3 consecutive possessions and this allowed the Spurs to come back and tie the game at the half, 47-47.

The Kings came out of the 3rd quarter with fire under their belts and Rajon Rondo really had a chance to shine. After a good 1st quarter and playing very little in the 2nd, Rondo distributed the ball well and ran some uptempo offense in the 3rd that allowed the Kings to get easy points in the paint and open shots behind the three point line. Totaling 4 assists in the first half, Rondo added 6 assists in the 3rd quarter and wound up with 6 points, 10 assists and 8 rebounds almost getting a triple double in almost 25 minutes of play. He also showed tremendous ball handling skills and tossed Gay a big alley-oop to get the crowd pumped up in the 3rd. Rondo rested in the 4th quarter as Coach George Karl decided to keep him off the court.

Gay was asked about Rondo heating up in the 3rd.

He confidently said “That’s what I know he can do, it’s just been a matter of time.”

Rondo was not in present in the locker room for comment.

Demarcus Cousins was the final offensive piece as he totaled a double-double scoring 17 points with 10 boards and 1 assist in 28 minutes of play. In the 3rd, Cousins did a good job of scoring the ball with his usual mid range jumper as he totaled 8 points in the 3rd. Cousins also sat out the 4th quarter as the Kings took an 11 point lead over the Spurs, 78-67.

The 4th quarter was mainly a quarter of reserves similar to the 2nd and it showed when the Kings let the Spurs go on a 10-0 run to start the quarter. The offense looked dormant as Dave Stockton could not move the ball nearly as well as Rondo. The Kings closed out the game after they took a time out following the Spurs big run and Willie Cauley-Stein subbed in helping protect the rim well and get rebounds when needed. Cauley-Stein’s defense was outstanding all night as he held LaMarcus Aldridge to 8 points on 3 of 10 shooting from the field. Cauley-Stein also helped win the game for the Kings with an offensive rebound and kick out to Marco Belinelli who found his shot late and sunk 2 free throws to ultimately give the Kings a W, winning 95-92.

Coach Karl praised Cauley-Stein’s effort when asked about his confidence in their 6th overall draft pick.

Karl said “He’s solid, he’s a good player.”

Even after a win against a playoff caliber team, minus Duncan, Ginobli, Parker, Diaw and Coach Popovich, the Kings can make improvements. The defense can close out even better and their 23 turnovers leading to 24 points may be a point of concern as the regular season approaches. Nonetheless, the win for the Kings is great heading into the regular season as they proved they can close out games and their defense has improved by only allowing 92 points tonight. The Kings are now 2-1 in the preseason.

I would like to finish this article by asking everyone to keep one of our staff members, Jeff Hall, in there thoughts and prayers as he continues to battle for his life in the hospital. We’re pulling for you Jeff and know you are strong.