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 Sacramento Kings made a surprise announcement today that George Karl will remain the coach of the team. Multiple sources had been reporting that Karl would be fired between now and the All-Star Break.
Kings general manager Vlade Divac told CSN California,”George is our coach and we’re collectively working through our issues.”
Yahoo Sports is reporting that Vlade Divac and George Karl had a conversation by telephone and the two agreed to work together especially on improving the defense. The Kings have given up an average of 125 points per game to their last three opponents.
The Kings have lost eight of their last 10 games. Even with the recent losing streak the Kings are just five games behind in the battle for the eighth and final playoff berth in the Western Conference.
Why did the Kings choose to stay with Karl? George Karl is the fifth winningest coach in NBA history. He is a sure Hall of Fame coach. Karl did not just get stupid and forget how to coach a team. He also has a great history of taking poor performing franchises and turning them into winners. Karl also has a history of having “prickly” relationships with star players and still being successful.
A second reason the Kings have chosen to keep Karl may be the need to appear to be a stable organization. Sacramento has fired three coaches in two seasons. If they would have fired Karl, the team and its management would have looked to be totally unstable in the eyes of the league, the fans and the press. No free agent or potential coach wants to join an organization that lacks stability.
The third reason may be money. Karl signed a four year $15-million contract and is still owed approximately $10-million. That is a large amount to be paying out as “dead money” while having to pay a new head coach a substantial amount. Even the deep pockets of Vivek Ranadive have their limits.
No matter what the reason – keeping George Karl is the right move for now. Karl deserves the chance to turn the team around and stay in the playoff hunt. If he is unsuccessful in that quest, then the Kings may look elsewhere for head man or woman to lead them into the “promise land” next year.
It was not a super Sunday for the Sacramento Kings. In fact, it was more like Groundhog Day. The Kings lost to the Boston Celtics 128-119 on Sunday. If that score sounds familiar, it was the same identical final score of the Kings loss in Brooklyn on Friday night.
The Kings have now allowed their last eight opponents to score 100 or more points against them. As it has been noted, the Kings score enough points to win. They cannot get enough stops not to lose.
It was another disastrous first quarter for the Kings versus Boston. Sacramento gave up 46 first quarter points to the Celtics. They trailed Boston 46-37 after the first period.
If giving up 46 first quarter points was not bad enough, Sacramento allowed Boston to score 74 first half points. The Celtics led the game 74-58 at the half.
The Kings have consistently been digging themselves into a hole early in games. The team starts slow and then tries to overcome the bad start in the second half. The problem with that approach is it takes so much energy to get back into the game that there is nothing left in the tank to finish the game. That is what happened again on Sunday.
The Kings played a much better game on offense and defense in the second half. They created turnovers and transition situations. Sacramento outscored the Celtics 61-54 in the second half but it was too little too late.
When asked what the team can do to start games faster, Kings head coach George Karl said the coaching staff is “pulling our hair out” trying to come up with a solution.
Karl also pointed out that there is very little practice time available during this time of the season. Karl said the Kings need to “simplify” things. In other words, the team needs to get back to the basics like playing defense.
Multiple sources reported that George Karl’s job was on the line after the humiliating loss in Brooklyn. If those reports are true, the loss in Boston on Sunday did not help Karl’s cause to keep his job.
If things were not bad enough, the Kings have to play second half of back-to-back road games against Cleveland on Monday night. It is a losing team’s worst nightmare to have to face LeBron James and the Cavs when trying to stop a losing streak.
In this reporter’s opinion, firing George Karl will only add instability to a very unstable basketball organization. That being said, I do not believe George Karl will be the Kings head coach when the campaign continues after the All-Star Break.
Kings
DeMarcus Cousins led the Kings scoring attack on Sunday. Cousins scored 31 points but had to take 25 shots to score those points. He pulled down seven rebounds and dished out six assists. Cousins also picked up another technical foul in the first quarter of the game.
Rajon Rondo recorded another double-double against his old team. Rondo scored 14 points and distributed 15 assists to go with six steals.
Marco Belinelli made another start versus the Celtics. He scored 16 points but it required 17 shots to score those points. Belinelli was just 2-for-8 from 3-point range.
Willie Cauley-Stein had a solid game scoring 15 points while shooting 7-for-9 from the floor in 23-minutes of playing time.
James Anderson started at forward for Rudy Gay who was sidelined with a sprained ankle.
Sacramento had a 49.5 field goal percentage for the game. The Kings posted 32 assists and turned the ball over just 14 times. They were out-rebounded by Boston 49-32.
Celtics
Guard Avery Bradley led the Celtics scoring with 25 points. Bradley shot 6-for-7 from “downtown”.
Former Kings and first time All-Star Isaiah Thomas added 22 points of his own. Thomas also had nine assists.
Boston shot 56.0-percent from the floor (51-for-91) and 54.2-percent (13-for-24) from beyond the 3-point line. The Celtics went 13-for-15 (86.7-percent) from the free throw line.
There are numerous reports that Kings owner Vivek Ranadive and vice-president of basketball operations Vlade Divac were furious after Sacramento lost to Brooklyn on Friday night 128-119. The loss dropped the Kings record to 1-6 over the last seven games.
DeMarcus Cousins made reference to a “big issue” that the team needs to deal with in order to move forward. Cousins made it clear it was not just energy and effort. One did not have to stretch the imagination too far to include the coaching staff in the “big issue”.
George Karl has been under fire in since the off-season after it was revealed that he wanted to trade DeMarcus Cousins and reconfigure the team to fit his playing style. Reports surfaced then that Ranadive wanted to fire Karl but cooler heads prevailed and Karl was retained.
Then came the infamous shouting match that followed a Kings loss early in the season when DeMarcus Cousins “unloaded” on Karl. It was reported that Karl wanted to suspend Cousins and he was overruled by Divac and Ranadive. Frankly, that move took away the power of the head coach and gave it to Cousins. To his credit, Karl has tried to work around the problem.
Things were fine when Karl and the Kings won five consecutive games and put themselves in contention for the number eight spot in the playoff race. Now that the team has hit a rough spot and fallen to 10th in the Western Conference standings the talk of a coaching change can be found all over the internet.
The Kings problem is simple. They are not playing defense. Part of the reason the Kings won five straight games was the solid defense they played. Over the last seven games the defensive component has been missing. The Kings can score enough points to win but they cannot stop enough points to keep from losing.
George Karl was not hired to coach defense. Vivek Ranadive wanted his team to play an uptempo offense that scored 100-plus points per game. He did not like the more deliberate defensive style of Michael Malone who he fired for not installing an uptempo game. George Karl has delivered th0se 100-plus games but his team has given up 100-plus points to their opponents.
Vivek Ranadive wants the Kings to make the playoffs. Check that – Ranadive wants the Kings to win the NBA Championship now. The problem is the Kings are not anywhere near a championship level yet. If the Western Conference was not having a down year, the Kings would not be in the playoff race.
It takes time to cultivate a winning organization. In order to turn a team around, it takes five to seven years of solid drafts, player development and organizational stability. Ranadive has owned the team for almost three years and it has not been a stable organization (see the resumes of the three head coaches he has hired). Building a championship team is like developing a fine wine – it takes time.
Ranadive is going to fire George Karl. It may not be on Sunday after the Boston game. It may not be during the All-Star Break. It may not happen until the end of the season but George Karl is a “dead man walking”. He has been since Ranadive wanted to fire him for suggesting the team should trade Cousins during the off-season.
Another coaching change will just add instability to an unstable organization. Changing the coach will not bring the Kings a championship. Only time, solid drafts, good free agent signings and organizational stability will lead the Kings to where they want to be.
In the meantime hang on, it’s going to be a bumpy ride.
Opposing teams have figured out how to defeat the Sacramento Kings. First, you have to start fast because the Kings are slow to start playing defense. Second, shoot the 3-ball because the Sacramento perimeter defense is non-existent.
The Brooklyn Nets came out fast in the first quarter on Friday night against the Kings. The Nets put up 33 points in the first period. In fact, the Nets scored at least 30 points in three of the four quarters in the game. This scoring barrage was from a team that averages just 95 points per game.
The Nets also came prepared to shoot from long distance. Brooklyn connected on 18 of 28 (64.3-percent) 3-point attempts versus the Kings. Bojan Bogdanovic hit on 7-0f-9 3-point shots while Joe Johnson went 5-for-7 from downtown. Donald Sloan shot 4-for-5 from long range.
Brooklyn (13-38) – who had lost five consecutive games – shot 55.8-percent (48-for-86) from the field. Sacramento (21-29) never found its defensive footing in the contest.
George Karl described his team as having a “shootout mentality” rather than a defensive mentality. Karl went on to add that things felt “very empty” after the game.
The fact is the Kings can score enough points to win but they cannot stop enough points to keep from losing.
Sacramento has now lost six of their last seven games. This game versus the Nets was supposed to be one of the most winnable contests on this four game road trip that includes games in Boston and Cleveland before the All-Star break.
It is very apparent that something has to change for the Kings and it has to happen quickly.
DeMarcus Cousins was very cryptic after the game saying his team has a “big issue” to deal with internally. He was clear that the issue went beyond energy and effort.
Even with the loss, the Kings are just three games out of the number eight spot in the Western Conference playoff race. The potential of the playoffs may just be an afterthought if the Kings cannot find solutions to whatever is ailing them in the locker room and on the court.
Kings
Darren Collison led the Kings in scoring by putting up 25 points in 25 minutes of playing time off the bench. Collison went 7-for-9 from the floor including two 3-point baskets. He was also an impressive 9-for-9 from the free throw line.
DeMarcus Cousins posted a triple-double against the Nets. Cousins scored 24 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out 10 assists in the game. He was a perfect 4-for-4 from beyond the 3-point arc.
Rajon Rondo had a double-double game as he scored 15 points and distributed 15 assists. Rondo had three steals and turned the ball over just two times.
Willie Cauley-Stein added 16 points, Marco Belinelli 13, Caron Butler 8 and Omri Casspi 7.
Rudy Gay scored just two points in the game. Gay went down early in first quarter with a twisted ankle. Karl had no update on Gay’s condition after the game.
Sacramento shot 50.6-percent (45-for-89) from the floor hitting on 8 of 26 3-point shots. The Kings shot 21-for-22 from the foul line. They had 30 assists and just 11 turnovers.
All of these numbers support the premise that the Kings score enough to win. They just cannot keep the other team from scoring more.
Nets
Joe Johnson scored a season-high 27 points to lead the Nets scoring attack. Johnson shot 11-for-16 from the floor including 5-for-7 from downtown. Johnson did not make one trip to the free throw line in the game.
Center Brook Lopez posted 26 points in the game. Lopez made it a double-double game by hauling in 12 rebounds.
Bojan Bogdanovic scored a season-high 23 points against the Kings. He shot 8-for-10 from the field and 7-for-9 from long range. Bogdanovic also did not make a trip to the charity stripe in the contest.
Donald Sloan had a season-high 17 points versus the Kings. A team cannot allow that many season high scoring performances from the opposition and expect to win.
Up next
The Kings will return to action on Sunday with an early game in Boston. The Celtics (30-22) beat the Cavs 104-103 in Cleveland on Friday evening. The Kings – Celtics game will tip-off at 10:00 AM Pacific Time.
The Nets play the second game of a back-to-back against the Sixers in Philadelphia on Saturday.
The situation is growing desperate as the Sacramento Kings – who had won five consecutive games – have now lost four straight games after losing to the Grizzlies 121-117 on Saturday night in Memphis.
The game was not close until the fourth quarter when the Kings came alive on offense and defense. Sacramento (20-27) started the game very slow trailing by 14 points after the first 12 minutes were over. At the half, the Kings still trailed the Grizzlies by 14 points.
The Kings lackluster play continued in the third quarter and they found themselves down to Memphis (28-20) by 15 points as the fourth quarter began.
In the fourth quarter, Darren Collison and Rudy Gay led a mad charge on offense that would result in 40 points in the quarter for Sacramento. The Kings cut the lead to just one point off a Collison 3-point bank shot with 16 seconds to go but were unable to score after that basket.
The Kings comeback attempt was hampered when DeMarcus Cousins re-injured his left ankle after Marc Gasol rolled over the ankle with 2:02 left in the game. Cousins missed time in second quarter when he rolled the left ankle while driving to the basket.
Ultimately, the Kings were unable to overcome their slow start and lack of defense which led to their fourth consecutive loss.
Kings
Rudy Gay led the Kings scoring attack putting up 21 points in 38 minutes of playing time. Gay shot 6-for-12 overall, 2-for-3 from 3-point range and was a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line.
DeMarcus Cousins posted another double-double game scoring 17 points and grabbing 14 rebounds in just 30 minutes on the floor. Cousins had a horrible shooting night hitting on just 3-of-17 field goal attempts. He was 10-for-14 from the charity stripe.
Rajon Rondo scored 15 points and recorded eight assists but was charged with seven turnovers. Rondo fouled out of the game late in the fourth quarter.
Darren Collison put up 20 points coming off the bench with 14 of those points coming in the final quarter. Collison shot 50-percent from the field connecting on 7-of-14 shots.
Omri Casspi also supplied some punch off the bench. Casspi also shot 50-percent from the field hitting on 6-of-12 attempts.
Sacramento shot just 41.3-percent (38-of-92) from the field. They turned the ball over 19 times and that resulted in 26 Memphis points. The Kings had just 16 assists in the contest.
Grizzlies
Jeff Green led the Memphis scoring attack coming off the bench and putting up 29 points. Green was 11-for-16 from the floor, 3-for-5 from beyond the 3-point arc and a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line.
Marc Gasol scored 22 points and dished out five assists in the game. The Kings had no answer for Gasol until the fourth quarter.
Courtney Lee was also a force to be reckoned with as he scored 18 points going a perfect 5-for-5 from the floor (3-for-3 from 3-point range).
The Grizzlies shot 51.9-percent (41-for-79) from the floor and were 8-for-18 (44.4-percent) from long distance.
The Grizzlies exceeded their 96-points per game average by 25 points on Saturday night.
Up next
The Kings returned to Sacramento after the game and will host the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday night at Sleep Train Arena. The Bucks have lost two consecutive games and have a 20-29 record on the season.
The Kings need a win over the Bucks as they will have to face the third best team in Eastern Conference – the Chicago Bulls – on Wednesday night in Sacramento.
Sacramento will then head out on a four-game road trip that will take them to Brooklyn, Boston, Cleveland and Philadelphia before the All-Star break.
Sacramento – On Saturday night in Sleep Train Arena, it was DeMarcus Cousins’ world and the rest of us were privileged to live in it.
The Kings won their fifth consecutive game downing the Indiana Pacers 108-97 behind Cousins’ 48 points and 13 rebounds. Cousins literally controlled the paint on the offensive end of the floor fighting off two and three defenders on his way to the basket.
The Kings went on a 7-0 run to open the game and served notice that they had come to play and play hard. Sacramento led the game wire to wire as they posted their 20th win of the season.
A game that appeared to be a possible “cake walk” for the Kings turned into a battle on both ends of the floor. The Kings controlled the paint outscoring the Pacers 58-32 down low. The Pacers turned up their defense and held the Kings to 44.7-percent (38-for-85) shooting from the floor and causing Sacramento to turn the ball over 15 times resulting in 19 Indiana points.
Kings head coach George Karl said before the game that his team would have battle the very athletic hands of the Pacers. Indiana lived up to that billing making the Kings work hard for every point they scored after the opening run.
Sacramento also brought its defense to game. The Kings held the Pacers to just 41.9-percent (36-for-86) shooting from the floor. It was the second consecutive game that the Kings held their opponents under 100 points. Sacramento had averaged giving up 107.4 points per game coming into Saturday night’s contest.
The Kings had not won five consecutive games since October 31 to November 7,2014. Sacramento’s record now stands at 20-23. They are now 12-11 at home.
The loss caused Pacers record to fall to 23-21. Indiana has lost five of their last six games.
Kings
Cousins scored his career-high 48 points going 17-for-29 from the floor. He was 1-for-2 from 3-point range and 13-for-20 from the free throw line. Cousins recorded a double-double by grabbing 13 rebounds. He played a game-high 39 minutes.
Rajon Rondo posted another triple-double against the Pacers. Rondo scored 11 points, distributed 10 assists and pulled down 10 rebounds in the game. It was his sixth triple-double of the season and made Rondo the all-time leader in the Sacramento era in that category.
Willie Cauley-Stein played another strong game for Sacramento. He played 34 minutes scoring six points and recording 12 rebounds. Five of those rebounds were on the offensive end and extended possessions for the Kings.
Darren Collison scored 11 points, Kosta Koufos 9, Omri Casspi 8, Marco Belinelli 7, Ben McLemore 5 and James Anderson 3.
The Kings won their second consecutive game without Rudy Gay on floor. Gay missed the game due to a left heel contusion.
Pacers
Paul George led the Pacers scoring attack putting up 34 points. George shot 9-for-20 from the field but was 4-for-8 from beyond the 3-point arc. He also went 12-for-14 from the free throw line.
Center Jordan Hill scored 17 points and had 13 rebounds to make it a double-double game for him.
Monta Ellis scored 16 points while dishing out seven assists for the Pacers.
Lavoy Allen put up nine points, Myles Turner 11, George Hill 8 and Joe Young 2.
What they said after the game
Kings head coach George Karl called DeMarcus Cousins performance, “Pretty special. They kind of didn’t have an answer and they were letting us have almost everything. I think what Cuz didn’t do at a high level tonight was make the 3-ball. Even his mistakes or turnovers or his forced issues at times were still pretty powerful for us; kept the rhythm, kept the flow.”
Karl added, “His (Cousins) skills are off the chart, his hands, and his ability to put it on the floor and get to the rim. Defensively he’s good, maybe very good. He does all of the fundamental nature of the game of basketball at a high, high level.”
“Honestly I’m more happy about the win,” said Cousins after the game. “I’m glad I got a new career high, but I’m more happy about the way this team is playing. We’ve been through a lot this season – a lot of ups and downs, but we’re on the right path right now. I think we’re growing each and every game. Like I’ve been saying, my mindset is just playoffs.”
“Well they went to him (Cousins) every time down the floor for 48 straight minutes”, said Indiana head coach Frank Vogel. “You get 29 field goal attempts and 20 free throw attempts – that’s high usage. That’s what the analytics people call a high usage rate. Our top big man defender is out. Guys that were in there – our three bigs – battled, did the best they could, but he’s a big load. He’s a load and when he’s going to get touches every single time … he’s going to put up those kind of numbers.”
Up next
The Kings will be back on the floor Monday night when they host the Charlotte Hornets. The Hornets beat the Kings 127-122 in overtime on November 23, 2015.
Indiana heads home to host the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday.
The Golden State Warriors lived by the 3-point basket on Saturday night versus the Sacramento Kings and it led them to a 128-116 victory. The Warriors connected on 19 of 37 3-point attempts (51.4-percent) and broke the back of the Kings in doing so.
Kings head coach George Karl said after game that great shooting is contagious. No one who watched the game against Golden State would be able to mount a defense to counter that notion.
The other area the Warriors dominated in the was rebounding. Golden State out-rebounded the Kings 48-34 in the game. Even though the Warriors played “small ball” most of the night, their ability to rebound the ball was almost uncanny.
There were two key plays that defined the game for the Kings. The first happened in the first period with 5:43 left to play. Rajon Rondo picked up his second personal foul and had to go to the Kings bench. The loss of Rondo and his assists denied the Kings the opportunity to build a lead. He would not return until the 7:37 mark of the second quarter. Rondo was limited to just 13 minutes of playing time in the first half. Another seven to 10 minutes of time on the floor could have been a difference maker in this game.
The second incident happened with 9:44 to go in the third quarter. That is when DeMarcus Cousins was charged with his fourth personal foul. Cousins had to sit down and would not return until the final period. The Kings cannot hang with a team like the Warriors without Cousins working the paint on both ends of floor.
Would the Kings won the game if Rondo and Cousins were able to keep playing rather than sitting on the bench with foul trouble? That is really difficult to project. What can be said is the Kings would have had a better chance to compete with Golden State if Rondo and Cousins had not been lost for extended periods of time.
It was entertaining game that energized the sellout crowd that included a large contingent of Golden State fans. The crowd was loud and loving the basketball they were witnessing on the floor.
The Kings record fell to 15-22 (10-10 at home). Golden State improves to 35-2 on the season and 18-2 on the road.
Kings
DeMarcus Cousins was the Kings leading scorer with 33 points. He recorded another double-double by hauling in 10 rebounds. Cousins shot 12 of 27 from the floor.
Rudy Gay was the “blue collar” workhorse for the Kings in the game. He played 38 minutes scoring 23 points and grabbing nine rebounds. Even when shots were not falling for Gay, he continued to work hard.
Darren Collison was a star off the bench for Sacramento. Collison logged 31 minutes scoring 16 points and dishing out six assists. He went 5-for-10 shooting and was a perfect 5-for-5 from the free throw line.
Marco Belinelli had an “agony and ecstasy” game versus the Warriors. Belinelli shot 0-for-6 from the floor in the first half. He finished the game shooting 5-for-14 and went 3-for-7 from long range. Belinelli just could not find his range in the first half.
Willie Cauley-Stein returned to the Kings lineup putting up 10 points in just nine minutes off the bench.
The Kings shot 46.7-percent (43-for-92) from the floor. They hit on 8 of 23 (34.8-percent) of their 3-point attempts. Sacramento went 22-for-29 from the free throw line.
Sacramento distributed 27 assists in the contest reaching the 20-assists mark for the 33rd straight game.
The Kings took good care of the ball turning it over just 10 times.
Warriors
The reigning MVP of the association – Stephen Curry – led the Warriors in scoring with 38 points. He scored 19 in each half. Curry made it a double-double night by adding 11 assists.
Draymond Green came up big for Golden State again on Saturday night. Green scored 25 points. He shot 5-for-6 from downtown.
The other half of the “splash brothers” – Klay Thompson – had an interesting night. Thompson scored 15 points but shot just 1-for-7 from beyond the 3-point line. He shot 7-for-17 for the game.
Andre Iguodala added 13 points, Brandon Rush 11 and Harrison Barnes 10.
Golden State shot 56.3-percent (49-for-87) from the floor including the 19 3-pointers. The Warriors recorded 35 assists. Their one blemish was turnovers. The Warriors turned it over 18 times.
What they said after the game
“This video is going to be good. This film is going to be good, too many good things (happened),” said Kings head coach George Karl. “I think you can learn from playing a team like this. It doesn’t feel good, but in the 3-minute mark (left to go) we were in a basketball game. I actually think we made a couple good defensive plays, and they made better offensive plays.”
“We played them pretty well for about 38 minutes, (Then) they turned it up in the end and made some tough shots (and) moved the ball around,” explained Rudy Gay. “They make you pay on everything. So, they’re a great team. They’re a championship team and they’ve been there before. That’s probably why they execute so well.”
“We did a better job engaging in the game (after the first quarter),” said Warriors interim head coach Luke Walton. “The first quarter we were turning the ball over. Just awful turnovers – like not even forced. Just throwing it away. This team – Sacramento – is a good team and they’re fighting for a playoff spot. We’ve beaten them three times already so there’s pride they have. Nobody wants to get swept by another team. They came out and they wanted it more than us. They were playing harder than us to start the game but out guys did a great job of getting reengaged and kind of slowly,slowly taking control of the game again.”
When asked about shooting 51-percent from the 3-point line Draymond Green said, “Yeah we were able to get something going. I think we really moved the ball and got good open shots. We got the shot. Guys knocked them down so we kind of took advantage of out ball movement.”
Up next
The Kings are off until Wednesday night when they will host the New Orleans Pelicans in the final game of this home-stand.
The Warriors will host the Miami Heat in Oakland on Monday night.
Darren Collison drives to the basket versus the Suns. Photo Credit: Godofredo Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
By Charlie O. Mallonee
Sacramento – Here are words you have not heard often this season – the Sacramento Kings waltzed their way to a win on Saturday afternoon destroying the Phoenix Suns 142-119.
The win ended a 3-game losing streak for the Kings. It was the eighth consecutive loss for the Suns (12-24) who have to play the Lakers in Los Angeles on Sunday.
The Kings (13-20) led by as many as 17 points in the first half but the Suns would not go down for the count. Phoenix outscored the Kings 35-28 in the second quarter and looked like they were ready to make a game of it.
At the half, the Kings led the Suns 59-53.
Sacramento came out in the third quarter looking like a team that was ready to put away their opponent. The Suns kept fighting and took the lead with 8:16 to go in the period. The Kings took the lead back off a Rudy Gay dunk with an assist from Casspi and they never looked back.
By the end of the third quarter, the Kings led the Suns 103-87 and every one in the building knew the fourth quarter would be a formality.
The Kings kept the hammer down in the fourth quarter outscoring the Suns 39-32. There was even a Willie Cauley-Stein sighting late in the game. Cauley-Stein played for the first time in almost a month due to a dislocated finger. The big rookie scored the first time he had the ball in his hands.
On Saturday, the Kings did what they should have done to Philadelphia on Wednesday night. They beat an inferior team and protected their home court. Sacramento is now 9-9 at home this season.
Kings
George Karl pointed to the play of Darren Collison as one of the main reasons the Kings beat the Suns. Collison came of the bench and scored 21 points hitting on 7-of-10 shooting attempts (2-for-4 3-pointers). He dished out six assists and went 5-for-6 from the free throw line in his 28 minutes of playing time.
DeMarcus Cousins had a positive outing scoring 32 points and grabbing nine rebounds. The big man shot 11-for-15 from the floor and 9-for-11 from the free throw line. Cousins spent a great deal of time in the paint and it payed off for the Kings as the Suns could not stop him.
Rajon Rondo posted another double-double game. He scored 15 points and distributed 15 assists in just 30 minutes on the floor. Rondo continues to amaze with his rebounding ability. He had six rebounds in the game with many coming at crucial moments for the Kings.
Marco Belinelli followed up his 28-point performance against the Sixers with 19 points versus the Suns. Belinelli shot 7-for-11 from the floor (2-for-5 long range) and was a perfect 3-for-3 from the foul line.
Omri Casspi had another solid game as a starter for Sacramento. He put up 13 points and hauled in seven rebounds in his 29 minutes on the floor. It is hard to see Casspi not staying in the starting lineup for the foreseeable future.
As a team, the Kings shot 60.9-percent from the field. They hit on 9-of-23 3-point attempts (39.1-percent). Sacramento outscored the Suns 60-32 in the paint.
Sacramento out-rebounded Phoenix 46-25. The Kings scored 14 second chance points to just nine for the Suns.
The Kings also took good care of the basketball. They turned the ball over 15 times while recording 30 assists for the desired 2-to-1 ratio.
Suns
No statistic of the game may be more important than the eighth consecutive loss for the Suns. If the Suns lose to the Lakers on Sunday, it is very conceivable that Jeff Hornacek will not be the Phoenix coach on Monday. The Suns have already replaced two of their assistant coaches.
Brandon Knight led the Suns scoring attack with 23 points. Rookie Devin Booker had an impressive game putting up 21 points for Phoenix.
The Suns had six players score in double figures.
Phoenix just could not match the Kings play in the paint and it cost them the game.
George Karl
The win over the Suns gave Kings head coach George Karl his 1115th NBA regular season victory. That ties him for fifth all-time with Phil Jackson.
When asked how it felt to tie Jackson on the all-time wins list Karl said, “Its a good, fun thing with my family. My son, my daughter, my son-in-law and my staff, we joke about it all the time. As I said to you before, he’s a great coach, he’s maybe the best. I don’t know what our record is against him, but I’m pretty sure it not very good. I know its not very good in the playoffs, but it might be decent in the regular season.”
What they said after the game
“One thing I just said after the game was we had two really good days of practice,” said Karl. “The effort in the second half, DC (Darren Collison) was incredible. It was effort. I’m not sure it was pretty. I’m not sure it was conceptually excellent. It was just effort. I’m just an old school guy that believes that effort magnifies talent.”
‘Oh it’s huge, it’s huge,” said Darren Collison on the victory. “We were embarrassed by the losses we had previously. We were able to get a win. It always feels good to get a win especially when you (have to) go on the road.”
Rajon Rondo made it clear that only the press is making his return to Dallas a big deal. He said it is just another road game.
He’s been coaching a long, long time,” said Suns head coach Jeff Hornacek about George Karl. “I played against him so he’s been there a long time. He’s always done a great job with his teams. They’ve always been high-scoring, high-flying teams and with the talent they have on the this team, they got them playing that way tonight. He’s one of those great coaches of all time with the amount of wins he’s racked up.”
Up next
The Kings will face the Thunder in Oklahoma City on Monday and the Mavericks in Dallas on Tuesday.
The Suns play the Lakers in Los Angeles on Sunday.
The Sacramento Kings committed four turnovers in their first seven possessions on Sunday night versus the Portland Trail Blazers. By the end of the game, the Kings had turned the ball over 23 times.
The Kings lack of value for the ball clearly frustrated their coach and he said so after the game.
“The first four turnovers were crazy. The beginning of the game was crazy,” said George Karl in his postgame press conference. “We’re trying to throw Aaron Rodgers passes in the window from 30 feet. It’s basketball! You’re supposed to throw a pass that has a 95 – maybe 98-percent chance of getting completed.”
Karl was brutally honest about his team’s performance. “We’ve got to value possessions. I don’t think we’re a talented enough basketball team not to put more value on every possession we play on both ends of the floor.”
Karl ended the press conference by standing and saying, “I’m done. I’m frustrated.” Then, the Kings head man walked back to his office.
The situation does not get easier for the Kings who have to travel to Oakland for a Monday night game with the Golden State Warriors. The Kings need to show a concerted effort versus the Warriors or there will be hell to pay from Karl.
The Kings have two home games following the Golden State contest. Philadelphia comes in on Wednesday and Phoenix visits Sacramento on Sunday. Those two games are really must wins for the Kings. The Sixers and Suns are the type of teams the Kings have to beat if the playoffs are even a remote possibility.
Sacramento – The young Portland Trail Blazers outworked the Sacramento Kings on Sunday night and walked away with a 98-94 victory on the road.
The Blazers won the without their star player – Damian Lillard – who is sidelined with left plantar fasciitis.
There were two keys to the Portland (13-20) victory. The first key was the play of guard CJ McCollum who scored 35 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and recorded 9 assists for a solid double-double game.
The second key to the Trail Blazers win was the solid play of their bench. The Portland bench outscored the Kings bench 42-23. Meyers Leonard (16) and Maurice Harkless (13) provided strong play and scoring while the starters were on the bench.
The Trail Blazers demonstrated energy and effort that the Kings were unable to match. This game was the first time this season the Kings lost after leading at halftime. Sacramento was 10-0 when they took a lead to the locker room at the half until Sunday night.
Sacramento (12-18) lacked consistency versus Portland. Their offense was stagnant.
DeMarcus Cousins led the way for the Kings putting up 36 points. Cousins was 12-for-26 from the floor while going 2-for-7 from beyond the 3-point line. When your center leads the team in 3-point attempts, that spells trouble for the offense.
Rudy Gay (7 points) was 2-for-12 shooting. Starting shooting guard Ben McLemore (5) took just one shot from the floor in his 19 minutes of playing time.
The Kings shot 39.5-percent from the field (30-for-76). It is almost impossible to win a game in the NBA when your team shoots under 40-percent.
The other major problem the Kings experienced in the game was turnovers. They committed 23 turnovers in the contest. Those turnovers led to 28 Portland points. A team cannot be that careless with the ball and expect to win.
For Sacramento, it was a very disappointing loss because this was a game that they should have won on their home court. A win would have moved the Kings into the eighth spot in Western Conference by percentage points. This is the type of loss that keeps teams out of the playoffs.
Things get no easier for the Kings as they have to face the Golden State Warriors in Oakland on Monday night. Sacramento will to bring its “A-game” just to be competitive against the best team in the Association.
by Charlie O. Mallonee
Sports Radio Service 