Author: Charlie O. Mallonee

I have been a sports reporter/broadcaster since 1976 which means ... I'm old and I love sports. I have done play-by-play for minor league baseball - including the infamous "Bad News Bees" - San Jose State football and football and high school sports in the Bay Area and on the Monterey Peninsula. I had the great privilege to host a weekly sports talk show on KNRY Radio Monterey/Salinas with my producer the late,great Gary Araki. I also hosted and produced "the Sports Fanatics" talk show on KSAC Radio in Sacramento. For the last 10 years, I have been a beat reporter covering the Oakland Athletics for Sports Radio Service. Three years ago, I became the senior reporter for our Sacramento Kings coverage. My goal is to bring you the news, views, fun and excitement of every event I am assigned to report on for Sports Radio Service.

The Jazz hand Kings their sixth consecutive loss 120-105; rookie Mitchell puts up 34 points for UTA

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IMG_2443

by Charlie O. Mallonee

Sacramento – Wednesday night was game one of the Sacramento Kings “youth movement” where the emphasis would be placed on getting the younger team members more time on the floor. Winning would be the secondary goal.

That sounds like a potentially painful proposition, and it proved to be very painful versus the visiting Utah Jazz.

Both teams entered the contest looking to end losing streaks. The Jazz had lost two consecutive games. The Kings were losers in their previous five match ups. This was Sacramento’s last home game before heading out on their longest road trip of the season to face Memphis, Charlotte, Orlando, Miami, San Antonio and finally Boogie Cousins and the New Orleans Pelicans.

This game looked winnable and they needed a win.

The Kings – who led by as many as 10 points in the first quarter – lost the lead for the final time with 8:58 remaining in the second period. They would trail by 10 points at the half, by 15 points at the end of three quarters and 15 at the final buzzer.

SAC could not find a “lock-down defense” that could stop rookie sensation Donovan Mitchell who seemed to score at will, and Rodney Hood who may have played his best game of the year for the Jazz.

Kings head coach Dave Joerger analyzed the game in nine words, ” … we need to play with a lot more nasty.”

What the coaches had to say after the game

Stars of the Game

Jazz

  • Rookie Guard Donovan Mitchell was without a doubt the star of the game for Utah. He scored a game-high 34 points in just over 34 minutes of playing time. Whenever a player scores a point per minute played, he has had an outstanding game. Mitchell shot 14 for 19 overall and converted five of seven from the free throw line. He also contributed three assists and made three steals.
  • Rodney Hood – the fourth year player out of Duke – also had an outstanding game scoring 25 points to earn co-star honors. Hood hit nine of 16 field goal shots and made four of nine 3-point attempts. He went a perfect three for three from the charity stripe. Hood grabbed eight rebounds and made two steals.
  • Joe Ingles and Derrick Favors must also receive best supporting performance awards. Ingles put up 14 points going four for seven from 3-point land. Favors also scored 14 and he pulled down 11 rebounds to make it a double-double game.

Kings

  • Willie Cauley-Stein receives the star of the game for the Kings for recording a double-double. WCS scored 26 points and hauled in 10 rebounds in almost 37 minutes on the floor. He shot 11 for 18 from the field. Cauley-Stein was the Kings high-scorer.
  • Sacramento’s co-star has to be Bogdan Bogdanovic who posted 25 points in 39 minutes of playing time. Bogey shot nine for 11 overall and was a perfect six for six from behind the 3-point line. He also grabbed six rebounds.
  • George Hill gets a featured player credit for scoring 20 points in 36 minutes versus his former teammates. He shot six for 10 from the floor and four for five from 3-point land. Hill also recorded three steals. Many still believe that the Kings are showcasing Hill for possible trades before the February 8th trade deadline.

Key Stats

Utah

  • The Jazz shot 56.8-percent (46 for 81) overall for the game. They hit 12 of 29 attempts from behind the 3-point line (41.4-percent).
  • Utah took advantage of the free throw line converting 16 of 20 (80-percent) opportunities.
  • The Jazz dished out 26 steals while committing only 10 turnovers to exceed the desired goal of a 2:1 ratio. The Kings scored 19 points off the 10 Jazz turnovers.
  • Utah made 15 steals in the contest.

Sacramento

  • The Kings shot an impressive 52.8-percent (38 for 72) from the floor. They just did not have enough attempts and conversions to keep pace with the Jazz.
  • SAC shot an impressive 13 for 21 (61.9-percent) from behind the 3-point arc.
  • The Kings had 19 assists and 19 turnovers. A 1 to 1 ratio is not acceptable. The Jazz scored 27 points off those 19 Sacramento turnovers.

Up Next

Sacramento

The Kings will return to action on Friday in Memphis versus the Grizzlies. Sacramento lost to Memphis 114-96 on New Year’s Eve in SAC.

Utah

The Jazz will host the Knicks on Friday night in Salt Lake City.

 

 

The Thunder beat the Kings 95-88; Sacramento has lost five in a row

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Photo credit: @SacramentoKings

By Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings suffered their fifth loss in a row as the Oklahoma City Thunder won 95-88 at Chesapeake Energy Arena on Monday night. The Kings’ losing streak may not end anytime soon with their intensified commitment to player development continues.

Sacramento went with a very young starting five on Monday night. Dave Joerger tapped Skal Labissiere, Willie Cauley-Stein, Bogdan Bogdanovic, De’Aaron Fox and Garrett Temple to start the game. Temple was the only starter who was not playing on his original NBA contract and he played just under 18 minutes in the game.

Buddy Hield and Justin Jackson saw significant playing time coming off the bench for Sacramento. Veteran point guard George Hill played just over 24 minutes, but that may be the Kings trying to showcase Hill for a possible trade. There have been persistent rumors that the Nuggets have real interest in picking up Hill who has become expendable with the emergence of Frank Mason.

The Kings played well in the first-half and actually held the lead at halftime 52-46. De’Aaron Fox and George Hill each scored 10 points in the half to lead the Sacramento scoring attack.

As it has been so often this season, the third quarter was the Kings downfall. The Thunder outscored Sacramento 31-16 in the quarter. Carmelo Anthony put up 15 points for OKC shooting 5 for 11 in the period. The Kings used nine players in the quarter but only three of them scored. Willie Cauley-Stein posted seven points, Bogdan Bogdanovic scored six and Garrett Temple recorded three points.

The Kings had a glimmer of hope in the fourth quarter when Russell Westbrook received back-to-back technical fouls and was ejected from the game with 2:51 remaining to play in the contest and the Thunder leading 91-80.

Sacramento was never able to cut the Oklahoma City lead to less than seven points and wound up losing the game 95-88. The Kings are now 13-30 on the season and reside in last-place in the Western Conference. The Thunder’s record improved to 24-20 which puts them in fifth-place in the Western Conference.

Stars of the Game

Thunder

  • The “Big Three” for OKC take the honors and that is really no surprise. Carmelo Anthony scored a game-high 20 points shooting 7 for 19 and grabbing nine rebounds as well. Russell Westbrook posted a double-double with 19 points and 16 rebounds. Paul George put 18 points in the book.
  • Steven Adams receives the award for “mouth of the game”. The big man did not stop chirping at the officials throughout entire contest. If Westbrook was ejected for going overboard with his complaints, Adams should have received the same punishment. The constant negative chatter directed at the officials has to stop. Adams scored 13 points shooting 5 for 11 from the floor, but he hit only 3 of 12 from the charity stripe.

Kings

  • Buddy Hield led the scoring attack for Sacramento. Hield came off the bench to score 16 points in almost 28 minutes on the floor. Hield shot just 6 for 15 and was 0 for 5 from behind the 3-Point line. He was a perfect 4 for 4 at the free throw line.
  • Willie Cauley-Stein had another strong game. The Kings starting center played 39 minutes and 52 seconds in the game and scored 15 points. He hit 6 of 13 field goal attempts while pulling down seven rebounds and adding three steals.

Key Stats

OKC

  • The Thunder out-rebounded the Kings 58-37. Of their 58 rebounds, 18 came on offense. Those 18 offensive rebounds turned into 13 second chance points for the Thunder.
  • Turnovers: OKC had 20 TOV but they led to just seven points for Sacramento. The Kings committed 15 turnovers which the Thunder turned into 18 points.

SAC

  • The Kings had a 15 point lead at one point in the game.
  • SAC scored 13 second chance points converting 5 of 6 opportunities.
  • The used 10 players in the game including Georgios Papagiannis.

Up Next

Kings

SAC will host the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night at the Golden 1 Center. The Kings will then head out on a six game road trip – the longest of the year.

Thunder

OKC will host the Lakers on Wednesday night.

Kings Press Row Podcast for Week 13 in the NBA – who could be traded

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ClipsKingsHosts Charlie O & Jordan “Chape” Chapin

A look back at Week 13 in the NBA for the Sacramento Kings.

      • The Kings offense vs. Spurs, Lakers & Clippers
        Which Kings excelled in Week 13
      • Who should be starting for the Kings
      • Who may not be a King after February 8th
      • A look ahead at the schedule for Week 14

Kings fall in Los Angeles to the Lakers 99-86

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Photo credit: @SacramentoKings

By Jordan Chapin

On a Tuesday night in the Staples Center, the Sacramento Kings loss a roller coaster game to the Los Angeles Lakers, 99-86. In a always anticipated Fox vs. Ball match up, it was pretty even, Fox shot 6-for-16 from the field with 15 points, three assists, and one rebound, while Ball struggled from the field shooting 2-for-10, but had 11 assists and 11 rebounds. Tonight the Lakers channeled their inner “showtime,” and frankly ran the Kings out of the building, scoring 35 points via fast break.

The Kings put themselves in a hole quick, as the Lakers went on a 17-0 run and went up 24-6 only five minutes into the game. Despite being down early, the Kings led by Bogdan Bogdanovic and De’Aaron Fox who had 10 of his 15 points in the first quarter came surging back with a run of their own, cutting the Lakers lead to just 31-27 at the end of the first quarter.

Sacramento trailed only 53-52 going into halftime, but frustration began to kick in when the Kings came out on the floor for the second half. The outside shooting of Brook Lopez and the inside presence of Julius Randle was too much for Sacramento to handle. Despite Los Angeles turning the ball over 25 times, the Kings shot a minuscule 34% from the field and never gave themselves a chance to get back in the game scoring only 12 points in the fourth quarter.

The Sacramento Kings will try their luck on Thursday with the other team from “La La Land”, the Los Angeles Clippers, who continue to battle with injuries to key players such as Blake Griffin and Patrick Beverly. With the first half of the season winding down, the Kings and Lakers now sit with the same record of 13-27.

Sacramento Kings:
Star of the Game: Bogdan Bogdanovic

Bogy

Tying his career high with 19 points, Bogdanovic was key in keeping the Kings in the game for as long as they did. Bogey shot 7-for-13 from the field with 4 assists and 2 rebounds. Despite one of his most efficient games of the year, it wasn’t enough to slow down a speedy Lakers team.

Kings’ Key Stats:
Forced 25 turnover and had 15 assists

Shot 34% from the field and 38% from 3 point land

Went to the free throw line 27 times, only made 18 of 27 shots

Kosta Koufas: 15 rebounds, one away from career high

Vintage Vince Carter Dunkage: 1

Los Angeles Lakers:
Star of the Game: Julius Randle

Randle was the most dominant player on the floor tonight with 22 points, 14 rebounds and six assists. Bringing energy off the bench, Randle opened up the floor for his teammates tonight with a heavy presence down low and reckless abandon to the rim.

Key Stats:
Shot 48% from the field and 34% from 3-point land, despite shooting 35 shots behind the arc.

30 assists as a team, 11 of which came from Lonzo Ball

Went to the line 21 times, made only 13 of 21

Two players with a double-double

35 points scored from fast breaks

The losing streak is over: Kings beat the Nuggets 106-98 Saturday night in SAC

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Carter win over Den
Vince Carter savors the moment; Kings down Nuggets 106-98

by Charlie O. Mallonee

Saturday night did not get off to a great start for the Sacramento Kings who were hoping to end a three-game home losing streak. The Kings announced that they would have to play the game without three of their key players. Zach Randolph could not play because of oral surgery. George Hill was unavailable due to personal reasons, and Frank Mason III was unable to dress because of the contusion to his heel that he suffered in Memphis game.

No team wants to face an opponent like the Nuggets – who average 107.7-points per game – short-handed but that is exactly the situation the Kings faced on Saturday night. FiveThirtyEight.com gave Sacramento just a 36-percent chance of winning the game before the loss of the Randolph, Hill and Mason. The situation looked grim indeed for the Kings before tipoff.

Sacramento went with a starting five of Malachi Richardson, Skal Labissiere, Willie Cauley-Stein, Buddy Hield and De’Aaron Fox. Two seasons from now, this starting five could be the norm but not now, they just do not have enough experience to carry their squad to victory on a regular basis. Fortunately for Kings fans, no one told the starting five that they could not be a winning combination.

The Kings would never trail in the game. The contest was tied one time at 27-27 with 46.7-seconds remaining in the first quarter. Sacramento was never able to open a lead of more than 12-points in the game, but they jealously held on to their lead for the entire contest.

The Kings took a 46-41 lead to the locker room at halftime knowing the real test for them was going to come in the third quarter. The Nuggets have become known as a third quarter team. On Friday night, Denver scored 38-points in the third period to put away the Jazz.

The Nuggets did come on strong in the third quarter scoring 30-points while shooting 50-percent (13-for-26) from the floor. The problem for Denver was Sacramento scored 33-points in third period shooting 54.2-percent from the field (13-for-24) that included converting 4-of-5 attempts from behind the 3-point line. Buddy Hield went a perfect 3-for-3 from downtown in the quarter. The Kings took a 79-71 lead over the Nuggets into the final quarter.

The Nuggets were able to cut the Kings lead to three-points midway through the quarter but that is as close as they would come to taking the lead. Denver could have taken the lead if they could have converted free throw opportunities.

At the 6:38 mark, Garrett Temple fouled the Nuggets center – Mason Plumlee. Plumlee missed both free throws. Less than a minute later, Vince Carter fouled Trey Lyles. The sharp-shooting forward stepped to the line and promptly missed both free throw. Lyles would grab the rebound of his second miss and hit a four-foot jumper that cut the Sacramento lead to just three-points. Converting two of those four free throw opportunities could have changed the outcome of the game.

The Kings opened up a lead of 11-points with 11.9-seconds to go in the game. Gary Harris hit a 3-pointer for the final score of the game which cut the Sacramento winning margin to eight-points – 106-98.

Top Performances

Kings Lion logo

  • Star of the Game: this award goes to the entire Kings team. They could have easily phoned this one in with Z-Bo, Hill and Mason on the shelf. Instead, they pulled it together and took advantage of a very talented team who was playing the second game of a back-to-back set on the road after beating the Jazz at home on Friday. The Kings never trailed in the game. That is a real recovery after suffering three consecutive – demoralizing losses at home.

Co-Star: De’Aaron Fox who played just over 35-minutes while scoring a team-high 18-points. Fox also dished out seven assists while using the dribble-drive to go to the hoop or dish it off to a teammate to score. The rookie PG went to the free throw line eight times and converted six of those opportunities.

  • Co-Star: Willie Cauley-Stein came up big for his team on Saturday night as he grabbed a career-high seven-steals. That is aggressive basketball at any level. The big man also posted 17-points to go with four rebounds and two assists. Cauley-Stein shot 8-for-12 in the contest.

  • Co-Star: Skal Labissiere makes it an all-Kentucky co-star lineup for the Kings on Saturday night. Labissiere not only made the start but he scored 12 points, blocked three shots and hauled in four rebounds in just over 15-minutes of playing time. His coach thought his third-quarter play may have been his best of the season.

Skal

Nuggets 5-DNuggets_2nd

  • Star of the Game: Trey Lyles came off the bench to lead his team and score a game-high 19-points. The third-year forward shot 8-for-11 overall including going 2-for-3 from downtown. Lyles also grabbed nine rebounds. When Lyles and Murray are on the floor together, every team in the NBA should be very, very concerned.

5-Lyles

  • Co-Star: Jamal Murray who recorded 18-points while shooting 7-for-16 from the floor. Murray who hit 6-of-7 from 3-point land versus the Jazz on Friday cooled off against the Kings sinking 3-of-8 three-point opportunities. It may have been fatigue, but Murray really allowed his temper to get the best of him late in the game. He has to learn to let the coach do the arguing while he focuses on the game.

5-Murray

  • Co-Star: Gary Harris really asserted himself in the second-half of the game shooting a perfect 3-for-3 from the floor, 2-for-2 from the charity stripe and dishing out two assists. Harris finished with 17-points for Denver in 36-minutes on the floor.

5-Harris

 

 

 

 

Up Next

Kings: Sacramento will not be able to enjoy this victory for long as they must prepare to face the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night at the Golden 1 Center. The Spurs were in Sacramento on December 23, 2017 and defeated the Kings 108-99.

Nuggets: Denver will not be able to rest on Sunday as they have to prepare to face the World Champion Golden State Warriors in Oakland on Monday night.

Kings Press Row Podcast January 5, 2018 with Charlie O & Jordan Chapin

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press row podcast

Hosts Charlie O and Jordan “Chape” Chapin

  • Kings beat the Cavs and the expectations became very big for the men in purple and white

  • The loss to the Suns at home was a real “buzz kill” for the Kings and their momentum

  • The Grizzlies came to Sacramento and dominated the Kings. The fans were vocal with their displeasure

  • The Hornets continued the pattern of dominating the Kings with their big win at the Golden 1 Center

  • Denver visits Sacramento on Saturday and brings their high-powered offense in to challenge the Kings

  • If there haven’t been enough challenges, the Spurs come back to town on Monday

  • Charlie O & Chape break it all down for you on this edition of the Kings Press Row Podcast

New Year’s Eve Nightmare as Kings lose to the Grizzlies 114-96

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DSC00860
Skal Labissiere takes it to the hoop against the Grizzlies Photo: Jordan Chapin SportsRadioService.com

by Charlie O. Mallonee with Jordan Chapin

On New Year’s Eve at the Golden 1 Center, something happened that has not really been heard in the new building. In the third quarter, fans began booing their hometown Kings. They were frustrated with their play and the fact that the Kings were trailing the Grizzlies 90-63.

When the third quarter ended, a large number of fans headed for their cars in order to beat crowds coming into downtown and to get to their New Year’s parties early. Those who left had no hope that their Kings would mount a comeback in the final period. They were right.

Sacramento held the lead only twice in the contest. They took the first lead of the game on a Bogdan Bogdanovic 26-foot three-point basket for the first score of the game. After the Grizzlies tied the game on a Tyreke Evans 3-pointer – the Kings took a 5-3 lead when George Hill scored on a fast break. That would be the last time the home team would hold the lead in the game.

The Grizzlies lead was 14-points at the end of the first quarter and 18 at the half. Memphis built their lead to as many as 32-points in the third period and to a game-high 33-points in the fourth quarter.

After losing to the Warriors 141-128 on Saturday night, the Grizzlies should have been tired and ripe for the pickings in the second game of a back-to-back set on the road. Instead, they seemed pumped up by their performance and used that energy against the Kings for the entire 48-minutes on Sunday afternoon.

Kings Head Coach Dave Joerger Postgame Comment

Top Performers

Grizzlies

DSC00848
Tyreke Evans scored a game-high 26 points versus the Kings Photo: Jordan Chapin SportsRadioService.com
  • Star of the Game: Former King Tyreke Evans came back to Sacramento and showed off his skills in front of the fans who once cheered for him when he wore purple and white. Evans – who has stepped up to really help a team that has been beset by injury and the loss of free agents – scored a game-high 26 points. He hit 10-of-16 shots from the field and 5-of-7 from beyond the 3-point line. Evans also grabbed seven rebounds and five assists. His +/- rating was an impressive plus-23.
  • Co-Star: Jarell Martin -third-year player out of LSU. The 6-10 forward put up 11-points in 24-minutes off the bench. He went 5-for-8 from the field and 1-for-1 from 3-point land.
  • Co-Star: Deyonta Davis came off the bench to score 10-points and pull down nine rebounds in just over 23-minutes of playing time. The Grizzlies bench scored 64-points in the game.
  • Supporting Player Kings fans know: Ben McLemore is now a member of the Grizzlies and he played the entire fourth quarter. Ben Mac scored eight-points making two 3-point baskets and sinking two free throws.

Kings

DSC00859
Willie Cauley-Stein was the Kings leading scorer with 21-points Photo: Jordan Chapin SportsRadioService.com
  • Star of the Game: Willie Cauley-Stein takes the honors for the Kings on Sunday night. He posted 21-points shooting 8-for-14 from the floor and going 5-for-9 from the free throw line. Cauley-Stein also grabbed eight rebounds and made to two steals in his almost 29-minutes on the court.
  • Co-Star: Buddy Hield worked hard in his 30-minutes of playing time off the bench. Hield scored 15-points shooting 5-for-14 for the game and hit 3-of-7 from downtown. He also dished out two assists as well.

Team Stats

Memphis (12-25)

  • The Grizzlies shot an impressive 53.9-percent (41-for-76) for the game. They hit 14-of-30 (46.7-percent) tries from behind the 3-point line.
  • Memphis took advantage of the free throw line converting 18-of-24 opportunities (75-percent).
  • The Grizzlies recorded 11 steals in the contest – five more than the Kings
  • Blocked shots: Memphis posted eight in the game. Veteran Marc Gasol had four of those blocks in the first quarter of the game.

Sacramento (12-24)

  • The Kings shot 43-percent for the game but only because the shot almost 58-percent in “garbage time” in the fourth quarter when the outcome of the game had already been decided.
  • Sacramento did not help themselves at the free throw line. The Kings went to the line 25 times but hit only 13 of those shots (52-percent). They are called free throws for a reason. A team must take advantage of those opportunities.
  • The Kings did do a better job working the boards on Sunday. They grabbed 42 rebounds while Memphis recorded 44 rebounds. That was a real improvement over the Phoenix game.

Up Next

Kings

The Kings first game of the new year will be versus the Charlotte Hornets at the Golden 1 Center on Tuesday, January 2. The Hornets are coming in off a 106-98 New Year’s Eve loss to the Clippers. This will be the first meeting of the season between the two teams.

Grizzlies

The Grizzlies will wrap up their West Coast swing with a game in Los Angeles versus the Clippers on Tuesday at Staples Center.

 

Scoring duo of Warren and Booker too much for Kings to handle: Suns win 111-101

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DSC00802
Devin Booker scores two of his 26 points against the Kings Photo: Jordan Chapin SportsRadioService.com

by Jordan Chapin with Charlie O. Mallonee

Sacramento- Friday night at the Golden 1 Center, the Sacramento Kings fell to Devin Booker, and the Phoenix Suns, 111-101. Kings started out hot, as Skal Labissiere scored 10 of the Kings first 17 points, including an emphatic put back dunk. The Suns had an answer, by the name of T.J Warren, who hit seven of his first eight shots from the field. Phoenix finished off the first with a 14-0 run in the final two minutes. 

 
The Kings trailed the Suns throughout the entirety of the second and third quarters, as T.J Warren continued his efficient night with a bit of help from Marquese Chriss who finished with 14-points (3-for-3 from 3P). Sacramento struggled from 3-point land tonight, shooting only 8-for-24 from behind the arc. 
 
In the first several minutes of the fourth, the Kings put together a 8-0 run, capped off by a Willie Cauley-Stein, alley-oop dunk, from Bogdan Bogdanovic resulting in a 97-93 lead by the Kings. With just over four minutes left to go, Phoenix tied the game 98-98, then it was the Devin Booker show.  In the last four minutes, Booker and the Suns took over the game, scoring 12 unanswered points, and Devin booker handed the Kings their 23rd loss of the season by scoring nine of those final 12-points on his own. 
 
Despite having seven players in double digits, the Kings fell to a hot Phoenix Suns team, who has won five of their last seven games. The Kings will try to split the season series at two games a piece when they face the Suns in Phoenix, on April 3rd. Sacramento will continue there homestand, New Years Eve, against Marc Gasol and the Memphis Grizzlies. 
DSC00798
Battle of the big men as Zach Randolph attacks the basket against Tyson Chandler Photo Jordan Chapin SportsRadioService.com
 
Top Performers
Kings 
Star of the Game: Skal Labissiere 
Skal played only 15 minutes, but made the best of them. Despite having sub-par performances and a couple DNP’s in his last few games, Labissiere ended with 12-points, 5-of-6 from the field, four rebounds, including two offensive rebounds, and an assist. Skal played with a lot of energy and scored 10 of the Kings first 17 points. 
 
Co-star: Garrett Temple 
 Temple helped keep Sacramento in the game shooting 5-of-8 from the field(2-for-3 from 3P)and ended with 12-points to go along with five dimes and three boards. Temple hit a few big shots throughout the game, but it wasn’t enough to get the victory. 
 
Suns 
Star of the Game: T.J Warren 
Warren was the thorn in the Kings side tonight, racking up a double-double, finishing with 26-points and 10 rebounds. T.J Warren was very steady throughout tonight’s game and was the biggest key in the Suns win. 
 
Co-star: Devin Booker 
 Despite a below average shooting night from Booker, he finished with 26-points, three assists and three rebounds. He shot only 3-for-9 from behind the arc, but in the end, hit the dagger that put the Suns over the top in a 111-101 victory.
Coach’s Comments after the game

Team Stats

Phoenix (14-23)

  • Field goal shooting: 41-for-85 (48.2-percent)
  • 3-Point shooting: 13-for-30 (43.3-percent)
  • Free Throws: the Suns converted 16-of-24 chances at the charity stripe (66.7-percent)
  • Rebounds: 16 offensive 29 defensive 45 total +7 over the Kings
  • Assists to Turnovers: 26 assists; 11 turnovers that became 12 Sacramento points
  • Second chance points: Suns 19 Kings 11
  • Fast Break Points: Suns 18 Kings 14

Sacramento (12-23)

  • Field goal shooting: 37-for-80 (46.2-percent)
  • 3-Point shooting: 8-for-24 (33.3-percent)
  • Free Throws: the Kings put in 19-of-23 opportunities from the line (82.6-percent)
  • Rebounds: 9 offensive 29 defensive 38 total -7 to the Suns
  • Assists to Turnovers: 22 assists; 10 turnovers that turned into 15 Phoenix points
  • Points in the paint: Kings 40 Suns 38
DSC00788
Frank Mason III drives through traffic to the basket versus the Suns Photo Jordon Chapin SportsRadioService.com

Up Next

Phoenix

The Suns headed home after the game and will host the Philadelphia 76ers on New Year’s Eve. The Suns and Kings will meet one more time this season on April 3, 2018 in Phoenix.

Sacramento

The Kings will also be back in action on last day of 2017 when they will host the Memphis Grizzlies at the Golden 1 Center in a 4:00 pm tilt. Sacramento will then have a busy first week of the New Year as they will host the Hornets, Nuggets and Spurs to kickoff the month of January.

 

 

The latest edition of the Kings Press Row Podcast is now available for all of you hoop fanatics

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press row podcast

Vince Carter vs Cavs
Vince Carter became the first 40-year old to score 20 or more points off the bench in NBA history Photo USA Today Sports

Charlie O & Jordan “Chape” Chapin talk all things Kings:

  • Should referees be allowed to call fouls when using video replay to review calls such as who touched the ball last?

  • How have Willie Cauley-Stein and Buddy Hield responded to being placed back into the starting lineup?

  • How much are the Kings missing De’Aaron Fox right now?

  • There has been talk of teams being interested in trading for Zach Randolph – should the Kings try to trade Z-Bo?

  • What about George Hill? Should the Kings try to move him and his salary?

  • Sacramento has lost two consecutive games: to the Spurs last Saturday and the Clippers on Tuesday – what happened?

  • What’s coming up for the Kings?

 

Too much Aldridge, Gasol and Ginobili ends the Kings two-game win streak: Spurs win 108-99 on Saturday night

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More Hield SAS
Buddy Hield drives to the hoop for two of his 24 points Photo: USA Today Sports

by Charlie O. Mallonee

Sacramento – The Kings stayed with the Spurs stride for stride in the opening quarter and played them to a 33-33 tie at the end of 12-minutes. The energy was high in the Golden 1 Center. Kawahi Leonard was declared unavailable due to injury management, so Sacramento fans felt their team was on a more even playing field talent wise.

They were wrong.

The Spurs outscored the Kings 29-16 in the second quarter as they shot 50-percent (11-for-22) from the field, hit 3-of-5 three-point attempts and converted 4-of-5 free throw attempts. San Antonio began a scoring drive at the 10:10 mark of the quarter and built up a 13 point lead by the time the horn sounded for halftime.

The Spurs went to the locker room at the half with a 62-49 lead over the Kings.

Sacramento came out in the third quarter knowing they had to make a run at the Spurs immediately. The Kings kept chipping away at the San Antonio lead and cut it to six-points twice. When the third period ended, SAC trailed by just eight points, 84-76.

Buddy Hield scored 10-points shooting 4-for-6 (including two 3-pointers) to lead the Kings 27-point scoring attack. Willie Cauley-Stein added eight-points.

The Kings needed to put together a run and cut the Spurs lead to five-points or less with two-minutes to go in the game to have a chance to win. That did not happen.

Former King Rudy Gay – who had previously not scored in the game – sank two jump shots and 25-foot 3-pointer in the opening 2:18 of the final quarter to help the Spurs rebuild a 14-point lead. The San Antonio lead would reach 15-points twice in the period which was too much for the Kings to overcome.

San Antonio won the game 108-99.

Top Performers

Spurs (22-11)

Gasol SAS
Pau Gasol recorded a triple-double versus the Kings on Saturday night Photo: USA Today Sports
  • Star of the Game: Paul Gasol – the Spurs 37-year old, 17-year NBA veteran – recorded a triple-double on Saturday night. Gasol scored 14-points, grabbed 11 rebounds and dished out 10 assists in just over 30-minutes on the floor. After the game Gasol said, “I have to give credit to my teammates. Without them, I wouldn’t be able to get the assists, so it’s a team accomplishment. Just happy it turned out that way tonight. It’s been a couple of years since my last triple-double.” (February 27, 2016 as a member of the Chicago Bulls)
  • Co-star: LaMarcus Aldridge only gets a co-star billing for the game because he recorded just a double-double putting up a game-high 29-points and pulling down 10 rebounds. He also played a game-high 38-minutes and 33-seconds.

  • Ginobili to hoop
    The ageless Ginobili goes to the rack versus the Kings Photo: USA Today Sports
  • Co-star: The final co-star for the Spurs is man who should probably be playing “wheelchair basketball” if you listen to “the experts” who say he should retire at the end of every season he plays. 40-year old Manu Ginobili evidently does not know he is too old to play in the NBA. On Saturday night, he scored 15-points in just over 21-minutes of playing time coming off the bench.

Kings (11-21)

  • Star of the Game: Buddy Hield was the Kings leading scorer with 24 points versus the Spurs on Saturday night. He played almost 32-minutes shooting 9-for-17 overall and 4-for-7 from behind the 3-point arc. Hield also hauled in eight rebounds in the contest. In what was also a major improvement, he committed no turnovers.

  • WCS vs SAS
    Willie Cauley-Stein posted a double-double on Saturday night Photo: USA Today Sports
  • Co-star: Willie Cauley-Stein posted his fifth double-double of the season as he scored 22 points and recorded 11 rebounds. Cauley-Stein shot 10-for-18 for the game and added three assists.
  • Co-star: Bogdan Bogdanovic had a perfect shooting night as he was 6-for-6 overall and 3-for-3 from 3-point land. Bogdanovic played 28-plus minutes against the Spurs.

Key Team Stats

San Antonio

  • Field Goal Shooting: 44-for-88 (50-percent) It’s tough to beat a team that is sinking half of its shots
  • 3-point Shooting: the Spurs made 11-of-23 (47.8-percent) 3-point attempts. Six different players made 3-point baskets
  • Free throw shooting: the Spurs went to the line only 11 times but the made nine free throws (81.8-percent) which helped them to win this game
  • The Spurs also had a fantastic assists to turnover ratio. They dished out 29 assists and turned the ball over just eight times. That is very close to a 4 to 1 ratio with a 2 to 1 ratio being the goal

Sacramento

  • Field Goal Shooting: 46.5-percent (49-for-86) which is respectable until you look and see your opponent shot 50-percent from the field
  • 3-point Shooting: The Kings actually out-shot the Spurs from behind the 3-point line. They hit 12-of-22 3-point attempts (54.5-percent). Four Kings did all of their 3-point scoring – Randolph, Temple, Hield and Bogdanovic.
  • Free throw shooting: the Kings went to the line just 11 times and converted just seven of those shots. They still need to get more attempts per game
  • Assists to turnover ratio – The Kings finished with 20 assists and 10 turnovers or the magic 2 to 1 formula. It just was not enough in this case.

Up Next

Sacramento

The Kings are done until after Christmas. Sacramento will return to action on Tuesday, December 26 when the team will travel to Los Angeles to face the Clippers at the Staples Center.

San Antonio

The Spurs headed home after the game and will have Christmas Day off. San Antonio will host the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday night.