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.
Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
by Charlie O. Mallonee
In projecting the Kings possible wins and losses on the current four-game road trip, the team at Sports Radio Service had the game versus the Raptors solidly in the loss column. It appears the Kings did not read our projections.
On Sunday night in Toronto, the Kings led wire-to-wire beating the Raptors 104-94. The victory also gave Sacramento a series sweep over Toronto (2-0) for the 2015-16 season.
The Kings used a 17-2 first quarter run to take a commanding 37-18 lead after the first quarter. For that first 12 minutes, Sacramento looked like a championship basketball team.
In the second quarter, things did not go the Kings way. The offense fell off and the Raptors came alive outscoring the Kings 30-18. Coach George Karl felt the referee’s whistles were very tough on his team in the quarter.
Sacramento took a 55-48 lead to the locker room at halftime.
The contest became more of possession game rather than a fast paced game in the second half. The Kings continued to hold their lead using strong defense when the offense was lacking.
The Kings received a big break in the third quarter when the Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry was ejected from the game. Lowry fouled DeMarcus Cousins on a defensive rebound and Lowry disputed the call. After receiving his first technical foul, Lowry continued to argue with the official. Finally, the referee had enough and he issued the second technical foul which meant Lowry was automatically ejected from contest.
The Raptors were not able to overcome the loss of Lowry and the Kings strong play on both sides of the ball. Sacramento (11-16) defeated Toronto (17-12) 104-94.
Kings
Sacramento used an eight-man rotation in defeating the Raptors. All five of the Kings starters scored in double digits.
Rajon Rondo was magic on the court again. Rondo recorded another double-double scoring 19 points and dishing out 13 assists.
Rudy Gay tied Rondo as the Kings high scorer putting up 19 points as well. He also grabbed nine rebounds and had three steals.
DeMarcus Cousins scored 15 points, pulled down nine rebounds, distributed five assists, blocked four shots and had two steals.
Omri Casspi had another strong game as a starter. Casspi scored 15 points and had 11 rebounds for a double-double game of his own. He shot 6-for-8 from the field while connecting on 3-of-4 three-point attempts.
Ben McLemore added 12 points in his 19 minutes of playing time as a starter.
Marco Belinelli (6), Kosta Kufos (7) and Darren Collison (11) had a productive night coming off the bench for the Kings.
Sacramento shot 52.6-percent (40-for-76) from the floor for the game. The hit on 9-of-21 (42.9-percent) of their 3-point shots.
The Kings recorded 26 assists and had just 15 turnovers.
Up next
The Kings will face the Washington Wizards on Monday night in Washington, D.C.
The Heat and Condors salute the crowd. Photo credit: Asvitt Photo
by Charlie O. Mallonee
West Sacramento – We now know how to get it to rain in California. Just plan an outdoor professional hockey match and wait for the rain to fall.
The Stockton Heat and the Bakersfield Condors of the American Hockey League (AHL) were scheduled to play an outdoor hockey game at Raley Field in West Sacramento on Friday night. Mother Nature had other plans. The skies opened up and brought much needed rain to the Capital City.
The good news was it rained. The bad news is the rain made it impossible to skate on the outdoor ice without compromising the safety of the players. The game was postponed until Saturday afternoon.
The weather was much more cooperative on Saturday and hockey was played outdoors in front of 9,357 fans. The large attendance would have made the game a success but a close game made the event even better.
The Heat defeated the Condors 3-2 in the outdoor affair.
Bakersfield took the lead on first period goal. Stockton came back and tied the game in the second period on a goal by forward Derek Grant. The teams headed to the final period tied 1-1. The Heat struck for two more goals in the third period. Defenseman Oliver Kylington put one through the 5-hole at 7:26 and forward Drew Shore scored an unassisted goal at the 10:59 mark.
Kyle Platzer scored a late goal for the Condors but it was too little too late. The Heat prevailed and won the game 3 goals to 2.
Many are wondering if this game might have been a market test to see how Sacramento might support professional hockey. There has been speculation that the AHL would like to expand on the West Coast and Sacramento will have a new arena available in October 2016.
Speculation aside, over 9,000 fans witnessed an great show on the ice, outdoors on Saturday night.
The Sacramento Kings went into the game on Sunday having never won a contest in Oklahoma City (0-13). After the game on Sunday night, the Kings still have yet to win in OKC as they lost another winnable game 98-95.
One of the hardest things to do in the NBA is to win the second game of a back-to-back series on the road. The Kings lost a wild affair in Houston on Saturday and played well versus the Thunder but lost both ends of the back-to-back road games.
The Kings and Thunder played even in the first half. Neither was able to establish a solid lead as both teams played tough defense. At the half, the Thunder led the Kings 51-48.
Sacramento came out in the third quarter and played lifeless basketball. Early on they reverted to playing a one-on-one game and did so poorly. The Thunder outscored the Kings 25-16 in the quarter and Oklahoma City led the game 76-64 after three quarters.
The Kings came alive in the final quarter led by the solid play of Darren Collison (10 points) and Marco Belinelli (9) off the bench. Rajon Rondo added five rebounds and four assists. DeMarcus Cousins had a very quiet fourth period as he scored just two points shooting 1-for-6. Sacramento outscored the Thunder 31-22 in fourth quarter.
The Thunder was able to hang on in fourth due to the play of Kevin Durant and Dion Walters. Durant had a terrible game overall but scored six critical points at the end of the game. Walters added seven points in the final quarter to help lead his team to the victory.
Kings
Rudy Gay led the Kings scoring putting up 20 points but he had to take 18 shots to score those points. Gay shot 8-for-18 from the floor.
DeMarcus Cousins struggled shooting in the game going 5-for-20 from the field and 3-for-9 from the free throw line. Cousins scored 13 points.
Darren Collison and Marco Belinelli scored 16 points apiece. Collison was a perfect 6-for-6 free throw shooting. Belinelli shot 6-for-13 in the game.
Rajon Rondo added 10 assists, nine rebounds and seven points in the loss.
Sacramento shot just 39.8-percent (35-for-88) for the game. They converted just 18-of-30 free throw attempts. Hitting four additional free throws would have resulted in a Kings victory.
Thunder
Russell Westbrook posted a triple-double for OKC. He scored 19 points, pulled down 11 rebounds and distributed 10 assists.
Kevin Durant finished the game as the Thunder’s leading scorer. He scored 20 points but shot 1-for-6 from behind the 3-point line and turned the ball over 10 times.
Enes Kanter (14), Serge Ibaka (12) and Dion Walters (10) all scored in double figures.
The Thunder shot just 40.7-percent (35-for-86) well below their season average of 46.8-percent. OKC also shot below their average for free throws but their 22 conversions off 31 attempts was the difference maker in the game.
Up next
The Kings (7-15) return to Sacramento where they will host the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night. That game will be the first of a three-game home stand.
The Thunder (12-8) travel to Memphis to take on the Grizzlies on Tuesday night.
The Sacramento Kings lost a winnable game in Houston on Saturday night 120-113. It was game that featured some boring play in the first half and uptempo play in the second half. The game turned into a true seesaw battle until the final two minutes of play.
It was a two-point game with 3:11 left to go in the game. DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay were playing with five personal fouls each. Cousins fouled out with 2:14 remaining in the contest. The Rockets responded by hitting 3-point baskets and converting opportunities at the free throw line. In the end, the Kings could only commit fouls and pray for Houston misses which did not happen. The game ended with the Rockets on top 120-113.
The Kings started the game with their 12th different starting lineup of the season due to the loss of Willie Cauley-Stein to injury (dislocated index finger) for the next four to six weeks. Rudy Gay moved to the power forward position and Omri Casspi started at small forward.
Sacramento fell behind quickly in the first quarter shooting an appalling 36.8-percent from the field and going 0-5 for 3-point attempts. The Kings were also hampered by personal fouls. Gay and Cousins both picked two personals in the first period and had spend time on the bench. The Rockets shot just 41.7-percent from the floor but hit on 4-of-12 3-point attemps which helped them establish a 29-16 lead after one quarter of play.
Things turned around for the Kings in the second quarter. Ben McLemore led the attack with 11 points and Omri Casspi added seven points. Sacramento also made 4-of-9 shots from behind the 3-point line. Houston was unable to put together any scoring runs and watched as the Kings outscored them 34-23 in the quarter. The Rockets led the game 52-50 at the half.
Both teams looked like different squads coming out of halftime DeMarcus Cousins had to spend considerable time on the bench after committing his fourth foul. The Kings caught fire shooting 70-percent (14-for-20) from the floor. Rajon Rondo (8), Ben McLemore (6), Kosta Koufos (6) and Darren Collison (5) led the charge for Sacramento. The Rockets shot 58.8-percent behind the scoring of James Harden (10) and Dwight Howard (9). The third quarter ended with the Kings leading the game 85-84.
Kings
Ben McLemore had a breakout game against the Rockets. He scored 19 points hitting on 8-of-14 shots including four successful 3-point attempts. McLemore added nine rebounds, three steals, two assists and one block to his box score. Several times in the flow of the game McLemore was the spark plug that kept the Kings charge going.
Rajon Rondo had another double-double night dishing out 19 assists to go with 13 points. Rondo also recorded four steals. It was the 11th game of the season where Rondo posted 10 or more assists.
Darren Collison came of the bench and scored 18 points in just 21 minutes on the floor. He was an impressive 4-for-6 from 3-point land. Collison also added six assists.
DeMarcus Cousins was hampered by foul trouble the entire game but also just seemed out of sorts throughout the contest. The Kings center scored just 14 points and pulled down 9 rebounds. Cousins shot just 4-for-16 and was 0-for-3 for 3-point attempts.
Rudy Gay also had to deal with foul trouble but scored 15 points. He was 6-for-12 shooting from the floor.
Sacramento had solid team numbers for the game. The Kings shot 46.9-percent (46-for-98) overall and 38.5-percent (10-for-26) from 3-point range. They converted 11 of 13 free throw opportunities.
The Kings out-rebounded the Rockets 47-43. Sacramento won the battle of the paint scoring 56 points to just 36 for Houston.
Sacramento recorded 35 assists and turned the ball over just 13 times.
Houston
James Harden led the Rockets scoring attack with 31 points. Harden shot 6-for-14 from the floor and hit on 5-of-6 3-point attempts. He also had nine assists for Houston.
Dwight Howard had a double-double game scoring 22 points and grabbing 18 rebounds. When the Kings employed the “hack-a-Howard” strategy, Howard responded by making 8-of-14 free throws.
Terrence Jones scored 16 points off the bench to join Trevor Ariza (14) and Patrick Beverley (14) in double figures.
Two stats tell the story of the Houston victory over the Kings. The Rockets were successful on 16-of-34 3-point attempts, and they went 32-for-43 from the free throw line. In the end, it was too many 3-point baskets and too many free throws that caused the Kings to lose the game.
What they said after the game
“It was a frustrating game and the free throws … trying to fight through a tough whistle is … I thought we did a great job. I was proud of how they fought. I was proud of how well we played. We got off to a bad start. I thought our bench came in and gave us a big lift. You know we had foul trouble. Everybody kind of gave us something but we ran out of gas in last four or five minutes,” said Kings head coach George Karl after the game.
When asked to analyze Cousin’s performance, Karl said, “I think his jumper is a little rusty from being out for a little bit. I think the foul trouble bothers me. Inconsistent type of rhythm that comes with not being in your normal routine, normal minutes. You know he’s playing against a pretty damned good center. (Dwight) Howard is a pretty respectful dude.
Up next
The Kings headed right to the airport and flew to Oklahoma City where they will play the Thunder (11-8) on Sunday afternoon. OKC is a tough back-to-back on the road opponent.
The Rockets hit the road and will play the Nets in Brooklyn on Tuesday. Houston will visit Sacramento on December 15.
There are three tiers in the NBA. The first tier includes the Warriors, Cavs, Spurs, Heat and Clippers – teams that are battling for titles. The second tier teams are fighting for the bottom two playoff spots in their respective divisions. The third tier teams are spending their off-season trying to figure out who they are going to draft in the lottery.
The first tier team known as the Golden State Warriors played the third tier Sacramento Kings on Saturday night and the results were predictable. The Warriors crushed the Kings 120-101 and improved to 18-0 on the season. The loss dropped the Kings to 6-12 after 18 games.
To be fair, the Kings did have to play without the services of their All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins (strained lower back). That is 27 points and “a whole lotta” defense up the middle that was not available to Sacramento for this game. Cousins has missed both games with Golden State this season, and it is not a coincidence that the Kings have lost both games.
The Warriors did put on their usual spectacular offensive show, but they also played outstanding basketball on the defensive end as well. The Warriors held the Kings shooters to just 39-percent (39-for-101) for the game. The Kings had to take 100 shots to score 101 points. You cannot win in the NBA with that shooting to scoring ratio.
The Warriors scored 120 points and took only 80 shots from the floor. Golden State was deadly from behind the 3-point line hitting on 16-of-30 (53.3-percent) attempts. They also made 31 trips to the free throw line and converted 26 of those attempts (83.9-percent).
Kings
Rudy Gay had a better night but not a great game against the Warriors. Gay was the game’s leading scorer with 20 points. He had to take 20 shots (7-for-20) to post those 20 points. Gay is playing hard but seems have lost his smooth shooting touch for the moment.
Kosta Koufos gave a great effort as he tried to fill the shoes left open by the lack of DeMarcus Cousins in the game. Koufos knows what he can do on the floor and he does it well. He scored 14 points and had seven rebounds in 22 minutes of playing time. Koufos had sit out much the second quarter with foul trouble.
Rajon Rondo had a quiet night scoring seven points and dishing out seven assists. It is tough to create assists when your players cannot get open or make baskets.
Omri Casspi – who was starter in the game – finished with 11 points going 3-for-10 from the floor. All three of his successful attempts were 3-point baskets.
Marco Belinelli was unable to provide a scoring punch off the bench. He scored just five points and was 0-for-7 from behind the 3-point line.
Seth Curry provided some entertainment for the crowd during “garbage time”. Curry scored nine points shooting 3-for-3 from downtown.
Warriors
Stephen Curry was the Warriors leading scorer with 19 points in 29 minutes of playing time. Curry did not play in the fourth quarter. He shot 3-for-6 from long range and was a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line.
Brandon Rush put up 16 points getting the start in place of the injured Harrison Barnes.
Klay Thompson added 15 points shooting 6-for-10 including three 3s in 26 minutes on the floor.
Draymond Green (13), Festus Ezeli (11) and Marreese Speights (13) all scored in double-figures.
Golden State shot 48.8-percent from the floor going 39-for-80. They hit 16-of-30 3-point shots. The Warriors had 32 assists and just 14 turnovers in the contest.
What they said after the game
“I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a better shooting team or better passing team in my whole career coaching. You give them an opportunity or you give them a mistake – they find it with the pass. A lot of times they find it with the 3-ball,” said Kings head coach George Karl.
“I’m going to write this off as an injury loss. Their defense without Cuz (DeMarcus Cousins) limit our options or somewhat limited our options to be successful. And, we didn’t finish a lot of easy shots early in the first half. I thought our shots were pretty good in the first half. In the second half, making the 3-ball got out of control and you over-react to the 3-ball and give up the layup. When you over-react to the layup you give up the 3-ball. They are team that has that genius. I don’t if they even made a mid-range jump shot,” added Karl.
Up next
The Kings will host the Dallas Mavericks on Monday night. Sacramento is hoping to have Cousins back in the lineup to face the Mavs. Dallas defeated the Nuggets 92-81 on Saturday night at home.
The Warriors kick off a 7-game road trip in Utah on Monday night.
Sacramento – The momentum that the Sacramento Kings brought with them when they returned home from a five-game road was lost on Friday night when they were defeated by the Minnesota Timberwolves 101-91.
If you like uptempo basketball with plenty of 3-point shooting, then this game would have been to your liking. The ball crossed the mid-court line in three to five seconds on each possession and there was a total 47 three-point attempts in the game.
What was missing for the Kings in the game was defense in the first half and offense in the second half.
In the first half, the Kings allowed the T-Wolves to shoot 54.3-percent (19-for-35) from the field. Minnesota shot 53.8-percent (7-for-13) from 3-point range. The Kings generated just enough offense to keep the game close. At the half, the Timberwolves held a 53-47 lead over the Kings.
The Kings defense improved in the second half but their offense went away. Sacramento was unable took take the lead in the second half. The Kings did cut the T-Wolves lead to just two points early in the fourth quarter, but they were unable to capitalize on their effort as Minnesota opened up double-digit leads with less than six minutes left to play.
The Kings desperately needed to put together a run of six to eight points but were unable to do so. As the fourth quarter progressed, Sacramento was relegated to trading baskets with their opponents. In the end, the Kings just ran out of time.
Sacramento (6-11) was without DeMarcus Cousins who dressed for the contest but did not play due to a lower back strain. The Kings are now 1-6 when Cousins is not in the lineup.
The Timberwolves (8-8) have become true road warriors. Minnesota is now 6-2 on the road for the season.
Kings
Rajon Rondo was the workhorse for the Kings again in this game. Rondo recorded a double-double putting up 16 points and distributing 16 assists. He made 7-of-16 field goal attempts and shot 1-for-2 from beyond the 3-point line. Rondo did not commit a turnover in his 36-plus minutes on the floor.
Marco Belinelli was the Kings leading scorer with 17 points off the bench. He shot 7-for-12 from the floor and hit 3-of-5 three-point attempts. Belinelli has scored in double-figures in each of the last five games.
Kosta Koufos had a solid game for the Kings posting a double-double scoring 16 points and pulling down 13 rebounds.
Omri Casspi was strong off the bench for Sacramento once again. Casspi scored 15 points shooting 6-for-10 from the floor including two 3-pointers.
The shock of the night was the play of Rudy Gay. He shot 1-for-13 and scored just two points in 26-plus minutes of playing time. Much of the credit for Gay’s subpar performance can be credited to Andrew Wiggins who played tough defense against the Kings star forward all night long.
As a team the Kings shot 43.0-percent (37-for-86) for the game. They made 8-of-22 three-point attempts. The glaring statistic of the night was the Kings free throw shooting or rather the lack there of. Sacramento averages 23 free throw attempts per game. The had just 15 attempts on Friday night converting just nine of those attempts.
In order to close the scoring gap in the second half, the Kings needed to drive the lane, pick up fouls and score with the clock stopped. They were unable to make that happen.
The Kings were out-rebounded by the T-Wolves. Minnesota pulled down 46 rebounds to just 36 for Sacramento.
The Kings dished out 21 assists while turning the ball over 15 times. The 15 turnovers resulted in 16 points for Minnesota.
Timberwolves
The T-Wolves leading scorer was second-year forward Andrew Wiggins. Wiggins scored 22 points hitting on 8-of-17 shots. He went 5-for-6 from the free throw while grabbing six rebounds. Wiggins also showed off his defensive prowess by helping to hold Rudy Gay to just two points.
Zach LaVine started at point guard for the injured Ricky Rubio. LaVine scored 19 points, hauled in eight rebounds and had four assists for the T-Wolves.
The NBA’s number one overall draft pick Karl-Anthony Towns had a relatively quiet night. He scored just seven points but he did record eight rebounds.
Shabazz Muhammad put up 15 points off the bench and the ageless Andre Miller scored 12 points playing as the backup point guard.
The Timberwolves shot 48.1-percent (33-for-77) from the floor and made 9-of-25 (36.0-percent) 3-point shots. The T-Wolves converted 18-of-19 (94.7-percent) free throw attempts.
Minnesota posted 20 assists and 18 turnovers. Their turnovers resulted in 19 points for the Kings.
What they said after the game
“Tonight was a struggle. A struggle offensively in the second half, defensively in the first half,” said Kings head coach George Karl. “First half, I had all sorts of trouble with our defense. We just don’t have a luxury with Cuz (DeMarcus Cousins) not playing to not give an effort defensively. I thought the second half effort was there defensively, but offensively we were just frustrated and confused.”
“We need to give them (Minnesota) credit. They played hard tonight. They are a talented team, but that was a very winnable game for us. At the same time, we have to turn the page and move on and learn from our mistakes,” said Kings center Kosta Koufos.
When asked about how it felt to reach .500 (8-8) Timberwolves forward Andrew Wiggins said, “It feels good. Especially, when we were three games out of it then we won the last three games, so we’re picking it up. We’re getting better every game so it feels good.”
Up next
The Kings will have no time to sit and ponder their next moves to improve their play. Sacramento travels to Oakland to take on the 17-0 Golden State Warriors Saturday night. Playing DeMarcus Cousins against the Warriors will probably be game-time decision.
The Timberwolves travel to Los Angeles to face the Clippers on Sunday in the finale of their two-game road trip.
The Sacramento Kings won their first road game of the season defeating the Orlando Magic 97-91 on Saturday night. The victory was also the Kings first win on this five-game road trip.
The Kings had to pick up the win without the help of Rudy Gay. Gay strained his shoulder on Thursday in the Miami game. Gay’s status is listed as day to day.
Rajon Rondo and DeMarcus Cousins led the Kings to the win but had some solid help from the bench. Omri Casspi, Kosta Koufos and Marco Belinelli all played key roles in the victory.
Sacramento took a 53-47 lead to the locker room at halftime. When the Kings returned to the court to start the third quarter, it was like a different team was wearing their uniforms.
In the first half, the Kings (5-9) played team basketball looking for the extra pass, hitting the cutter going to the basket and drawing fouls. During the opening minutes of the third period, Sacramento reverted to playing one-on-one basketball and abandoning the team game that had given them the lead.
After the Magic went on a 7-0 run to begin the third quarter, Kings head coach George Karl called a timeout. The Kings returned to the floor and starting playing team basketball again. They closed out the third with a 22-2 run over the Magic.
Orlando (6-7) made several attempts to create runs in the fourth quarter but they were not able to overcome the Kings lead.
Kings
Rajon Rondo had another outstanding game for Sacramento. He dished out nine assists to go with 13 points and seven rebounds. Rondo was 3-for-4 from behind the 3-point line.
DeMarcus Cousins recorded another double-double game. The Kings center scored 29 points and grabbed 12 rebounds as he dominated the paint. Cousins went to the free throw line 15 times and converted 13 of those tries into points.
Marco Belinelli played 26-plus minutes off the bench scoring 13 points. He also was very efficient from the charity stripe going 5-for-6 after being fouled.
Kosta Koufos had a productive game that included some floor time with DeMarcus Cousins. Cousins fed Koufos two beautiful assists that went for scores. Koufos posted 12 points.
Omri Casspi was called upon to fill many of the minutes left open with the absence of Rudy Gay. Casspi played 31-plus minutes posting a double-double of his own with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Sacramento shot just 38.3-percent (31-for-81) from the floor. The Kings compensated for their poor shooting percentage by converting 28 of 31 free throw attempts (90.3-percent).
The Kings distributed 23 assists while turning the ball over just 14 times.
Magic
Tobias Harris led the Magic in scoring with 24 points. He shot 10-for-16 from the field but was 0-for-4 from 3-point range.
Evan Fournier finished the game with 17 points after putting just two points in the first half. He shot 7-for-20 overall and was 3-for-11 from behind the 3-point arc.
Nikola Vucevic and Victor Oladipo scored 11 points each. Point guard Elfrid Payton scored seven points and had nine assists.
The glaring team team statistic for Orlando was their lack of trips to the free throw line. The Magic went to the line just eight times in game. When your opponent goes to the free throw line 23 more times than you and hits 90-percent of those shots, it becomes almost impossible to beat that team.
What they said after the game
“I think Rondo and DC (Cousins) did a great job of putting ball pressure (on them) which we have not done in many games,” Kings head coach George Karl said after the game. “Our big guys have been pretty good all year long protecting the basket. We made them miss a lot of shots which created pace on our side so we were running until the end when we ran out of gas a little bit.”
“I am – especially Cuz (Cousins). He likes to get the rebound and push it, but he’s been giving the ball up to me a lot more and he knows he’s going to get it back as a reward,” said Rajon Rondo when asked if he felt his teammates were learning to trust him to distribute the ball.
“All my teammates … I’ve got to give them all the credit. We rebounded well tonight – especially our bigs. They got it to me on the break and we were able to make plays in transition,” said Rondo when asked to analyze the win over the Magic.
Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins has been suspended for one game without pay by the NBA. Cousins was disciplined for using his forearm to hit Atlanta’s Al Horford in the head in the first of quarter of last night’s game.
Cousins will serve his suspension tonight and will be unavailable for the Kings game versus Miami.
Cousins is averaging 27.5 points and 11.2 rebounds per game for the Kings this season.
DeMarcus Cousins has had quite a week. He returned to lineup last Monday and was involved in a post-game tirade after a frustrating loss to the Spurs. On Tuesday, Cousins was present for a “kumbaya” meeting with the Kings management, coaching staff and players. Cousins then led his team to victories over the Pistons, Nets and Raptors.
Sunday news leaked that Cousins had committed to paying for the funeral of a local high school football player who shot and killed on Friday night prior to his game.
Now, the Kings big man has been rewarded with being named NBA Western Conference Player of the Week. This is the third time in his career that he has received the award.
Cousins led the Kings to a 3-1 record for the week. Over those four games, he averaged 32.5 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists and 1.5 blocked shots in 36.5-minutes of playing time. Cousins recorded three double-doubles (points/rebounds) in three of the four contests.
On Friday night, Cousins scored 40 points including 19 straight points in the third quarter. He literally put his team on his back and led to them a much needed win.
Cousins missed four games with a strained Achilles tendon. The Kings lost all four of the games without Cousins in the lineup.
The Kings begin a five-game road trip on Wednesday in Atlanta.
Sacramento – The Sacramento Kings won their third game in row defeating the Toronto Raptors 107-101 on Sunday night.
The Kings trailed the Raptors by 10 points early in the fourth quarter. Sacramento battled back using a bruising defense and opportunistic scoring to tie the game. The Kings went on a 11-0 run holding the Raptors scoreless in the final 2-minutes and 52-seconds.
The game featured an uptempo style with quick passes, scoring down low and from beyond the 3-point arc and 34 turnovers. It was old school NBA basketball.
Toronto came into the game leading the Atlantic Division with a 7-2 record. The Raptors had a two game winning stopped on Sunday night.
The win capped off a chaotic week for the Kings (4-7) that included a loss to San Antonio, a tirade by DeMarcus Cousins, a team meeting and wins over Detroit, Brooklyn and Toronto.
Kings
DeMarcus Cousins was the leading scorer in the game with 36-points. Cousins recorded another double-double game adding in 10-rebounds. The Kings center also had three assists, three blocked shots and one steal.
Rudy Gay – who returned after missing the Nets game with the flu – made his presence known putting up 27-points in 37-plus minutes of playing time. Gay shot 10-for-16 from the floor.
Rajon Rondo did not have a triple-double, but he did dish out 14-assists. That is his fourth game consecutive game with 10-plus assists. Rondo also scored seven points and had seven rebounds.
Omri Casspi had another strong night coming off the bench. Casspi scored 14-points and grabbed five rebounds for the Kings.
Ben McLemore – who returned as a starter – put up eight points shooting 3-for-6 from the field. Two of his buckets were 3-pointers.
Marco Belinelli had a very quiet game until the fourth quarter. Belinelli scored seven points that helped the Kings get the win.
Sacramento shot 51.3-percent from the floor. They shot 40-percent from beyond the 3-point arc connecting on 10 of 25 shots.
The big negative for Sacramento was their turnovers. The Kings turned the ball over 20 times and those mistakes allowed the Raptors to score 20-points.
Raptors
DeMar DeRozan was the leading scorer for Toronto. The guard put up 24-points while recording 5-steals and dealing 5-assists.
Kyle Lowry had a 22-point night. Lowry went 6-for-12 from 3-point land. He also had 7-assists.
Cory Joseph came off the bench and recorded 17-points. Joseph shot 8-for-10 from the floor.
Toronto relied heavily on the 3-point basket versus the Kings. The took 31 three point shots converting 15 for a 48.4-percentage.
Up next
The Kings head out on a five game road trip. They return to action on Wednesday night in Atlanta when they will play the Hawks.
The Raptors West Coast swing will continue on Tuesday night when they play the defending NBA Champion Golden State Warriors.
Sports Radio Service 