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.

Kings battle the Nets and win 111-109

Published on November 14, 2015November 14, 2015 by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

By Charlie O. Mallonee

Sacramento – The Sacramento Kings won their second consecutive game squeaking by the Brooklyn Nets 111-109 on Friday night. It was a game that literally hung in the balance with 1.1 seconds remaining in the game as the Nets in-bounded the ball in the front court down by just two points. Rajon Rondo was able to steal the in-bounds pass and run out the clock for the Kings.

The Kings suffered from poor shooting and lackadaisical defense in the first half. Sacramento shot just 23.3-percent from the floor in the first quarter and just 35.3-percent for the first half. They allowed the Nets to shoot 51.1-percent from the field and score 60 points in the half. Brooklyn led by as many as 15 points while the Kings never had the lead.

The Kings used back-to-back-to-back 3-point baskets to close within six points, 60-54 after 24 minutes of play.

Sacramento came out in the third period unable to pick up where they had left off in the first half. They fell behind by as many as nine points and it appeared that overcoming the Nets might not be possible on this night. DeMarcus Cousins thought differently. The Kings big man, who been shooting poorly all game, shot 8-for-11 including two 3-pointers and three free throws to score 21 points in the quarter. Sacramento took its first lead of the game with 2:17 to play in the third. The Kings took an 85-82 lead to the final period.

The Kings built up a lead of as many as nine points in the fourth quarter on the offense provided by Cousins, Rondo, Belinelli and McLemore. Brooklyn rode the 10-point scoring barrage of Joe Johnson to keep the game close and the result in question right down to the final buzzer.

The Kings (3-7) defeated the Nets (1-8) 111-109.

Kings

DeMarcus Cousins was leading scorer putting up 40 points. He also added 13 rebounds to make it a double-double game. Cousins had a remarkable game considering he shot 1-for-10 from the floor and scored just 10 points in the first half. He did foul out of the game with 43.6-seconds to play.

Even though he was not the Kings leading scorer, Rajon Rondo was the Kings’ star of the game. The point guard recorded his third triple-double of the season scoring 23 points, dishing out 14 assists and pulling down 10 rebounds. There were several times in the first half when Rondo was the only offense the Kings had on the floor. Had it not been for Rondo’s extraordinary efforts in the first half, the Kings would not have been in the position to win the game at the end.

Ben McLemore had a coming out party versus the Nets. He came off the bench in the second quarter and played 24:57 in the game. McLemore scored 15 points shooting 5-for-8 from the floor and hitting on 3 of 4 3-point opportunities. It was without a doubt McLemore’s best game of the young season.

Marco Belinelli had another strong game for Sacramento. He made good on 5 of 14 field goal attempts and made two, well timed 3-point baskets. Belinelli finished with 14 points.

The Kings had to play this game without Rudy Gay – who had his best game of the season on Wednesday – because of the stomach flu. George Karl was quick to point out the energy that was brought to the game by Ben McLemore and Quincy Acy as key to helping the team play and win without Gay.

Seth Curry did play in the game after missing the previous two contests with a sprained ankle. He handled the point guard position for just over four minutes giving Rondo some much needed rest. Curry did not.

Darren Collison (left hamstring strain) did not dress.

The Kings shot 42.6-percent (40-for-94) from the floor. They connected on 11 of 27 3-point attempts (40.7-percent). Sacramento went 20-for-26 from the free throw line.

Sacramento out-rebounded the Nets 50-44. They turned the ball over 14 times yielding 19 points off those mistakes. They recorded 11 steals and three blocked shots.

The Kings allowed Brooklyn to shoot 47.2-percent (42-for-89) from the field and 38.1-percent (8-for-21) from 3-point range.

Nets

Brooklyn had a balanced attack versus Sacramento as four of their five starters finished in double figures. Jarrett Jack led the Nets scoring with 21 points. Jack made it a double-double game as he handed out 12 assists.

Brook Lopez – who battled Cousins all night long – also recorded a double-double scoring 17 points and pulling down 10 rebounds.

Thaddeus Young posted 16 points and Joe Johnson added 14 points of his own. Bojan Bogdanovic scored 15 points off the bench.

The Nets recorded 24 assists and 15 turnovers. The Kings scored 16 points off those turnovers.

What they said after the game

“Thank you to Quincy Acy and Ben McLemore, (who) brought the energy to the table (that was) well needed in our pick and roll defense in the second half. Cuz (DeMarcus Cousins) was unbelievable offensively and it’s a great win, (a) good win for us,” said Kings head coach George Karl after the game.

DeMarcus Cousins commented on his third quarter turnaround, “Caron (Butler) talked to me. Told me to stay aggressive and shots were going to fall. That’s what I did and luckily they fell.”

“Had a good first half, made some runs in the second,” said Nets center Brook Lopez. “Cousins played well. Great job in the second half and he got off. That’s why I think that definitely cost us.”

“It’s tough,” added Brooklyn guard Jarrett Jack. “I thought it was a game that we had control of for the majority (of the game). We weren’t able to stop the runs that they made in the second half.”

Up next

The Kings return to action on Sunday night when they host the Atlantic Division leading Toronto Raptors. The Toronto game will be the last home game for the Kings until November 27.

The Nets return to Brooklyn where they will host the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday.

In the battle of Northern California the Kings lose to the Warriors 103-94

Published on November 8, 2015November 8, 2015 by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

By Charlie O. Mallonee

Sacramento – The Sacramento Kings had to face the undefeated Golden State Warriors without DeMarcus Cousins and Darren Collison on Saturday night. The result should have a very predictable “blow out” by the Warriors, but it was not walk over win for the defending NBA Champions.

Golden State defeated the Sacramento Kings 103 to 94. It was a two-point game with four minutes to go in the contest. No one – Warriors fans or Kings fans – could believe this game was so close at the end.

The Kings played tough, hard-nosed basketball, but in the end, the talent of Curry, Thompson, Barnes, Green and Iguodala proved to be too much for Sacramento to handle with a short-handed team.

Frankly, the Warriors came out flat or overlooking the Kings in the first half. The Kings took an early lead in the first period and held that lead until the 3:35 mark in the quarter. Golden State stepped up their play with scoring from former King Jason Thompson, Shaun Livingston and Andre Iguodala. The Warriors established a 20 to 14 lead after one quarter. Most people in the building expected them to just continue to stretch that lead in the second period.

Golden State did open up a 14-point lead with scoring from Klay Thompson (8), Iguodala (4) and Marreese Speights (4). Just as the game appeared to be headed for a runaway, the Kings came back with a 3-point basket from Marco Belinelli. Belinelli was then fouled attempting a 3-pointer and converted three free throws to cut the Warrior lead to eight.

At the half, Golden State led the Kings 46 to 38.

Sacramento came out strong in the third quarter as center Kosta Koufos scored six unanswered points. The Kings cut the Warrior lead to one on a Koufos lay-up at the 7:31 mark. Sacramento then took the lead when Belinelli sank another 3-point basket from 25-feet out. Golden State then went on 12-0 run that again threatened to put the Kings away. Again the Kings – led by Belinelli – closed the gap to four points. After three quarters, the Warriors led the Kings 72 to 68.

The Kings continued to keep the game close early in the fourth quarter. Sacramento took the lead 79 to 78 on a Rajon Rondo 19-foot jump shot with 6:37 to play. The game stayed close until the Warriors opened up a 10-point lead with under two minutes to play. The teams traded baskets and fouls, but the Kings were unable to find that something extra to propel them back into the game.

The Warriors defeated the Kings by nine points, 103 to 94.

Kings

Marco Belinelli on Saturday night showed why the Kings signed him to a 3-year contract. He scored 22 points shooting 5-for-11 from the floor. The Italian sharp-shooter was 3-for-6 from 3-point range. He went 9-for-10 from the free throw line. Twice Belinelli converted 3-point plays from the charity stripe after being fouled in the act of shooting a 3-pointer.

Rudy Gay stepped up for Sacramento against the Warriors. He shot 10-for-25 from the field scoring 22 points for his team. Gay showed an aggressiveness that George Karl would like to see more of on a nightly basis.

Rajon Rondo handled the point for 44 minutes against Golden State. With Darren Collison inactive due to a hamstring issue, Rondo was the only point guard on the floor for Sacramento. He put together a rare triple-double scoring 14 points, pulling down 12 rebounds and dishing out 15 assists. After the game Kings head coach George Karl said, “He knows how to do that, he has great history of leading teams and tonight he was very special.”

Center Kosta Koufos recorded a double-double scoring 12 points and hauling in 10 rebounds. Omri Casspi put up 10 points. Willie Cauley-Stein added six points with two nice finishes off lob passes under the basket.

The Kings shot .437 (38-for-87) from the field. They went 6-for-19 (.316) from 3-point range. The team continued to improve from the free throw line making 12 of 16 attempts (.750).

Sacramento turned the ball over 22 times which resulted in 29 Golden State points. The Kings were out-rebounded 46 to 45.

Warriors

Steph Curry led the Golden State scoring with 24 points. Curry scored 21 of those points in the second half of the game. He did not have a great game from beyond the 3-point line shooting just 2-for10 from long distance.

The much anticipated Curry versus Curry match up did not occur as Seth Curry did not play for the Kings. Seth Curry was nursing an ankle sprain coming into the game.

Klay Thompson put up 18 points shooting 7-for-16 from the floor and hitting on 4 of 11 3-point opportunities.

Harrison Barnes (13), Draymond Green (10), Festus Ezeli (10), and Andre Iguodala (14) all scored in double figures for the Warriors. Ezeli made it a double-double game by recording 12 rebounds.

As a team, Golden State shot .413 (38-for-92) from the field. They were a dismal .205 (8-for-39) from 3-point land. The Warriors were impressive at the free throw line converting 19 of 22 opportunities (.864).

The Warriors scored 19 points off second chance opportunities. The Kings scored nine second chance points.

What they said after the game

“It was a pretty impressive game, but they (Kings) have fought through four games in five nights. Obviously there was some fatigue there (shown by) our turnovers in the first half. They kept fighting. I thought our leader was Rondo. Rondo was incredibly into the game, incredibly intense. His defense on (Stephen) Curry was first class. I just wish we would have (had) more gas in the tank to finish off the game,” said Coach George Karl.

“There’s a lot of good we can take out of it (the game) as a team,” explained Rudy Gay. “But I think we’re overdue for a win – we need one bad. It’s another game I thought we could’ve had.”

“Our guys played hard and we knew it would be a tough game coming in,” said Warriors interim head coach Luke Walton.”Sacramento – they compete. Like I said before the game, they haven’t been winning a lot of games but they’ve been playing hard and (been) in the games. We couldn’t get out shots to go in tonight which happens but we found a way like you said to grind it out and come out with a victory.”

“Definitely not pretty but we overcame missed shots, turnovers, kind of a sluggish first half,” said Stephen Curry after the game. “With our defense, we gave ourselves an opportunity to have some minute runs. Pretty much had control of the game the whole way through. They made a decent run to take the lead by one in the fourth. Made some plays down the stretch and pulled it out. That defense allowed us to overcome a poor shooting night.”

Up next

The Kings have Sunday off, but their day of rest will be short lived. Sacramento will host the very talented San Antonio Spurs on Monday night. DeMarcus Cousins is expected to be available for that game.

The Warriors will also have Sunday off and return to action on Monday night hosting the Detroit Pistons.

The Rockets outlast the Kings 116-110

Published on November 7, 2015November 7, 2015 by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

By Charlie O. Mallonee

Sacramento – No DeMarcus Cousins, no defense and too much James Harden equaled a loss for the Kings on Friday night. The Houston Rockets – sans Dwight Howard – defeated the Sacramento Kings 116-110 at Sleep Train Arena.

The Kings announced before the game that DeMarcus Cousins’ strained Achilles tendon would prevent him from playing against Houston and would keep him on the bench versus the Golden State Warriors on Saturday night. It is very tough for a team to end a losing streak when your best player is on the bench in street clothes.

The Rockets roared out of the gate building up a 21-6 lead on the Kings in the first quarter. Sacramento’s starters were unable to score or stop Houston from scoring. It appeared that it would be a Rockets runaway, but the Kings bench had a different idea.

The Sacramento second unit led by Darren Collison with assistance from Willie Cauley-Stein, Omri Casspi and Ben McLemore put together a nice run to put the Kings within striking distance. The Kings trailed 29-23 after the first period.

The Kings continued to play small ball and took the lead 37-35 for the first and only time in the game with 7:23 left to play in the first half. James Harden caught fire scoring 17 points in the quarter and Houston took a 61-50 lead to the locker room at the half.

The Rockets went on a 10-3 run to open the third quarter and it appeared that game might get out of hand. George Karl went to his bench and they responded by making defensive stops while scoring points. Sacramento went on an 11-0 run that included a dramatic 3-point basket by Darren Collison to keep the Kings in the game trailing Houston by seven – 85 to 78 – heading to the final period.

The Kings continued to make baskets and cut the Houston lead to one point when Seth Curry hit a 3-point bucket with 10:02 to play. The Rockets then went on a run that allowed them to take a 100-89 lead with 6:53 remaining. Sacramento’s second unit continued to work hard but in the end, they could not overcome the hard charging Houston offense led by Harden. The Rockets won the game by six points, 116-110.

Kings

Sacramento shot below their season average hitting on 40 of 93 field goals for a .430 percentage. The Kings went 9-for-28 (.321) from 3-point land. One of the positive notes was the free throw shooting. They converted 21 of 29 free throw opportunities for a .724 average. The team has been averaging just .640 from the charity stripe.

The Sacramento bench was the story in the game a they scored 70 points. Darren Collison and Omri Casspi each scored 22 off the bench. Ben McLemore had a strong night for the second unit scoring 11 points, grabbing four rebounds, recording four assists and adding three steals. Seth Curry scored eight points while Willie Cauley-Stein added seven points and nine rebounds.

Rudy Gay led the Kings starters with 15 points. Rajon Rondo scored 12 points, pulled down eight rebounds and handed out five assists.

Sacramento committed 15 turnovers while recording 26 assists. Houston out-rebounded the Kings 49-43.

Houston

This game was all about the play of James Harden and some devastating 3-point shooting for the Rockets. Harden posted a double-double scoring 43 points and hauling down 13 rebounds in 41 minutes of playing time.

Trevor Ariza scored 18 points going 4-for-8 from long distance. Former King Marcus Thornton went 4-for-10 from beyond the 3-point line scoring 16 points. Ty Lawson and Clint Capela scored 13 points each.

As a team, Houston shot .488 from the floor, .417 from beyond the 3-point arc and .778 from the free throw line. The Rockets dished out 23 assists and turned the ball over 21 times. Houston’s bench added just 13 points.

Dwight Howard was held out of the game to rest his back. He is expected to play in the Rockets next game versus the Clippers.

What they had to say after the game

“All you can ask of your team when your team is struggling … and a lot of our offense was pretty good but we didn’t make shots to reward them,” said Kings head coach George Karl. “Their bench came in and got juiced, played the game at a high level for an extended period of time. The hole we dug, and we ran out of gas.”

“The nightmare when you play Houston is you have defend layups and threes. First half we did a good job covering threes and didn’t cover the layups. Second half we covered the layup and didn’t cover the three’” added Karl.

Up next

The Kings will have no time to lick their wounds as they must turnaround and face the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors on Saturday night. The Warriors (6-0) have yet to lose this season.

Houston travels to Los Angeles to face the Clippers tomorrow night. Dwight Howard is expected to play for the Rockets.

Kings crush the Lakers 132-114

Published on October 31, 2015October 31, 2015 by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

By Charlie O. Mallonee

Sacramento – The circus came to town on Friday night in the form of the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers might not see the Kings as their archrivals, but Kings fans see the purple and gold as an enemy that needs to conquered.

The Kings conquered the Lakers on Friday night 132-114 in a game that was not a close as the score would indicate. Sacramento dominated the game from the opening tip. The Lakers had only one lead in the game – 4 to2 at the 10:40 mark in the first quarter. Los Angeles never came close to a lead after that.

The Kings scored 40 points in the first quarter and 34 more in the second period. They held a 74-50 lead at halftime. The only question was how would the Kings respond coming out of halftime?

There was a bit of a letdown as the Lakers outscored the Kings 33-28 in the third and 31-30 in the fourth quarter. The Lakers tried to make a run in the fourth quarter but the game outcome was never in question.

Preseason prognosticators predicted the Kings would finish three to five places ahead of the Lakers in the NBA Western Conference. After the game on Friday, you can see why those predictions are accurate. The Kings are an improved team while the Lakers are young and not very good at this point. The Lakers have potential, but it is going to be painful while that potential develops into a winning basketball team.

Kings

George Karl was unhappy with the Kings pace in the first quarter of the game with the Clippers. In his pregame press conference he made it clear that wanted his to play defense from the opening tip with the Lakers.

Karl even changed his starting lineup in order to achieve his goals. Rookie center Willie Cauley-Stein made his first NBA start on Friday night versus the Lakers. Karl said he liked the match ups with Cauley-Stein in the lineup.

Cauley-Stein did not let his coach down. The Kings newest big man played 30-plus minutes, scored 17 points, grabbed nine rebounds and had three blocked shots. He also took care of the ball making only two turnovers during his time on the floor.

Rajon Rondo had a breakout game for Sacramento. He scored 21 points and dished out eight assists in just 23 minutes of playing time. Rondo was very much the floor general the Kings want him to be on Friday.

DeMarcus Cousins put together another double-double night. He scored 21 points and pulled down 11 rebounds. Cousins also had three assists and two blocked shots. He shot 11-for-14 from the free throw line.

Rudy Gay also had a big night for the Kings. He put up 19 points shooting 8-for-12 from the floor. Gay also had three assists and two steals.

The Kings second unit had a productive night as well. Darren Collison scored 14 points, Omri Casspi 12, Kosta Koufos 8 and Marco Belinelli six.

The Kings shot .515 (52-for-101) from the floor. That is not a typographical error. Sacramento took 101 shots in the game.

If there was a disappointment in the game, it was the Kings 3-point shooting. They shot just .273 (6-for-22) from beyond the 3-point line.

Sacramento was also an improved team from the free throw line. They were 22-for-30 (.733) from the stripe. The 30 attempts were a vast improvement over the mere 18 chances they had against the Clippers. The Kings were driving the ball to basket versus the Lakers.

The Kings exceeded George Karl’s goal for 25 assists per game by dishing out 26 assists.

The also took better care of the basketball cutting their turnovers down to just 14 and giving up just 10 points off those mistakes.

The Kings scored 80 points in the paint to just 38 for the Lakers. Just another example of the team’s complete domination of Los Angeles in the game.

Lakers

Guard Jordan Clarkson led the scoring for the Lakers with 22 points. He shot 10-for-15 from the floor and 2-for-3 from beyond the 3-point arc.

Nick Young was productive off the bench for Los Angeles putting up 17 points in his 21-plus minutes on the floor.

D’Angelo Russell – the Lakers number one draft pick – scored 13 points shooting 5-for-10 from the field. He also dished out two assists as he alternated with Clarkson at point guard.

Kobe Bryant played 22 minutes in the game putting up 13 points, recording three assists and hauling in four rebounds. Bryant moved into fifth place on the NBA’s all-time career list for the most field goals made, passing Shaquille O’Neal (11,330).

As a team, the Lakers shot .461 (41-for-89) for the game. They shot a very respectable .324 (11-for-34) from 3-point land.

Turnovers were a major problem for the Lakers. They gave up 30 points to the Kings off 19 turnovers.

The Lakers used all 13 of their active players in game Friday night. Metta World Peace and Larry Nance Jr. were inactive for the Lakers.

What they said after the game

“I think we challenged them to play defense,” said George Karl. “Our pressure took the offense away and forced them into a lot of jump shots. We ran into a different team in the second half. I wasn’t really happy with the defensive performance in the second half. Learning how to play 48 minutes fast is not always as easy as people think it is. I thought tonight they did a good job for the most part, there were some muddy moments where the ball got sticky and we got a little selfish.”

When asked if he had a good time in first start, Willie Cauley-Stein said, “Yeah, it was a great time. A lot of fun – definitely – a lot of fun. We were sharing the ball really well so that made it a lot more fun. Sharing the ball and not having ball stoppers – that is vital to us. If we want to be a good team, we’ve got to share the ball like that.”

Up next

The Kings play the Clippers in Los Angeles on Saturday night. Playing the very tough Clippers on the second night of back-to-back games will be no easy task. After the Saturday night game, the Kings will not face another Los Angeles team until January 2016.

The Lakers will return to action on Sunday night when they host the Dallas Mavericks at Staple’s Center.

Kings lose their home opener to the Clippers 111-104

Published on October 29, 2015 by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

By Charlie O. Mallonee

Sacramento – The Sacramento Kings opened their final season in the Sleep Train Arena with a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers 111-104 on Wednesday night. The Clippers – led by forward Blake Griffin – appeared to be headed to a relatively easy victory until the Kings fought their way back into the game in the fourth quarter.

The Kings trailed the Clippers by as many as 15 points in the game. The Kings took their first lead in the game with 6:51 to play on a Rudy Gay jump shot. The lead seasawed back and forth until Los Angeles went on a “mini” six point run that put the game out of reach for the Kings.

The game took on a playoff atmosphere as the sellout crowd did all they could to urge their team to an opening night victory. In the end, the Kings began their run too late to overcome the very talented Clippers squad.

Kings

The Kings were expected to rely more on outside shooting under the leadership of George Karl. Instead, the game became a battle in the paint in the first half. It continued to be a game dominated by play in the paint until the Kings began to find their outside shooting range in the fourth quarter. Sacramento scored 48 points in the paint to just 36 for the Clippers.

The Kings finished the game shooting .436 from the floor (41-for-94). Sacramento shot just .350 from the field in the first quarter.

Sacramento shot .458 (11-for-24) from beyond the 3-point arc with eight of those 3-pointers coming in the second half.

The team did not shoot well from the free throw line which is surprising because the Kings are known as an excellent shooting team from the stripe. The Kings went 11-for-18 (.611) from the free throw line. The limited number of trips to the foul line may also be of concern to coach George Karl.

It appeared that the Kings might do themselves in with turnovers. They committed 10 turnovers in the first half. The team tightened up its play and committed just six turnovers in the second half.

Sacramento finished the game with 24 assists – just one off the goal George Karl has set for the team of 25 per game.

The Kings out-rebounded the Clippers 49-42.

DeMarcus Cousins led the Kings in scoring with 32 points. Cousins also grabbed 13 rebounds to make it a double-double performance.

Rudy Gay scored 16 points. Darren Collison put up 13 points to go with six assists. Kosta Koufos scored 10 points, Marco Belinelli recored nine points, Omri Casspi scored 5 and Rajon Rondo 5.

Belinelli dished out seven assists while Rondo added four of his own.

Coach Karl used 11 players in the game in varying configurations. Several times the Kings went with a three guard look.

Clippers

The key the Los Angeles victory was their shooting. The Clippers shot .525 (42-for-80) from the field and .316 (6-for-19) from beyond the 3-point line.

The Clippers were led by Blake Griffin’s 33 points. Griffin seemed to be able to score at will in the first half. He scored 20 of his 33 points in the first half.

Guards Chris Paul and JJ Redick combined for 33 points. Paul scored 18 and made it a double-double night by adding in 11 assists. Redick put up 15 points shooting 5-for-11 in the game.

Center DeAndre Jordan played much of the game in foul trouble but managed to score eight points and grab 12 rebounds. Jordan also added in four blocked shots.

Jamal Crawford (11 points) and Paul Pierce (12 points) played significant minutes coming off the bench.

What they had to say after the game

“I liked the flow of the whole game except for the first quarter,” said Kings head coach George Karl. “The first quarter we had seven turnovers and not much pace. They are a very good basketball team that knows how to win close games.”

“We didn’t play great,” explained Clippers head coach Doc Rivers. “We made a lot of turnovers, unforced errors, but it was like a team win. We bring Paul (Pierce) in, he makes a shot. We take him out. We put Austin (Rivers) in, he makes a steal. Come out of a timeout and DJ (DeAndre Jordan) gets the dunk. That’s how you want to win really. Execution is very important and we did that tonight.”

“I think it was a good thing for us. We talked about it a lot and that we still got to figure some things out. We have to figure out our identity, the new faces and stuff like that but at the end of the day you have to win and figure it out at the same time,” said Clippers guard Chris Paul.

Up next

The Clippers traveled back to Los Angeles where they will play their home opener on Thursday night versus the Dallas Mavericks.

The Kings have Thursday off and will return to action on Friday night when they host the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Kings and Clippers will face off again on Saturday night in Los Angeles.

Kings waive Stockton

Published on October 23, 2015 by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings have waived guard David Stockton. The Kings were carrying 16 players and needed to reduce the roster to 15 before October 28th.

Charlie O and Lee Leonard predicted that Stockton would be “the odd man out” on the Kings Weekly Podcast on Sportsradioservice.com. The Kings have depth at the guard position and there was not room for an extra point guard.

Stockton played for the Kings D-League team in Reno for most of the 2014-15 season. He was signed by the Kings to a 10-day contract and then to a contract for the 2015-16 season.

By waiving Stockton now, he has been given a better chance to be signed by another NBA team before the beginning of the season next week.

Kings beat the Pelicans in Kentucky

Published on October 17, 2015October 17, 2015 by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Kentucky Wildcats capped off their “Midnight Madness Weekend” by hosting a NBA preseason game between the Sacramento Kings and the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday night. The Wildcats had three of the top 10 basketball recruits in the nation on campus for the big weekend.

The Kings – Pelicans game featured four former Kentucky players (three of whom played for head coach John Calipari) and two of Calipari’s former Memphis players. The Kings DeMarcus Cousins and Willie Cauley-Stein played for Kentucky under Calipari. Rajon Rondo played for Tubby Smith at Kentucky.

The Pelicans star center Anthony Davis played for Calipari in Lexington. New Orleans players Tyreke Evans and Chris Douglas-Roberts played for Calipari at Memphis.

That is not a bad way to impress high school recruits. Please meet these five NBA players who I coached in college. Did you say you would like to play in “the association”?

Now on to the game

This contest was the Kings sixth and final preseason game. The next time the Kings play an opponent it will be on October 28th when they open the season with the Los Angeles Clippers in Sacramento. It was George Karl’s last opportunity to see his players in actual game situations.

The Kings started the game slowly falling behind the Pelicans 31-20 after the first quarter of play. The Kings then turned up the tempo and outscored New Orleans in each of the final three quarters.

The Kings won the game 107-98. The victory allowed Sacramento to finish the preseason with a 5-1 record. The loss dropped the Pelicans preseason record to 2-2.

Kings

Rudy Gay led the Kings attack scoring 20 points in 30 minutes of playing time. Gay made it a double-double game by pulling down 10 rebounds.

DeMarcus Cousins put up 19 points while grabbing five rebounds in his 24 minutes on the floor. Fellow Kentucky Wildcat Willie Cauley-Stein scored seven points and recorded six rebounds. The Kings other Kentucky alum – Rajon Rondo – posted three points and three assists.

Darren Collison had a strong game for the Kings scoring 19 points, grabbing seven rebounds while dishing out five assists. Collison shot 8-for-11 from the field.

Omri Casspi added 16 points and seven rebounds. Kosta Koufos scored 11 points in 14 minutes of playing time.

As a team, the Kings shot .447 (38-for-85) from the floor. They shot just .273 (6-for-22) from 3-point range. Sacramento hit 25 of 34 free throw attempts (.735).

The Kings won the battle in the paint as they outscored the Pelicans 58-31 down low. Sacramento also won the battle on the boards pulling down 50 rebounds to just 45 for New Orleans.

Sacramento had only 14 assists in the game but also committed only 14 turnovers (four in the second half). Karl wants the assist total be at 25 per game, but he will live with 14 turnovers.

Pelicans

Ryan Anderson led the Pelicans scoring with 20 points going 6-for-14 from the floor.

Former Kentucky star Anthony Davis put up 19 points shooting 7-for-15 from the field. Davis was 2-for-4 from 3-point land.

New Orleans shot 34-for-79 (.430) in the game.

Up next

For the Kings, it is lots of scrimmages until the 28th of October when they open the season at home with the Clippers.

The Pelicans close out their preseason with the Rockets in Houston on Monday night.

Kings down the Blazers 94-90

Published on October 11, 2015October 11, 2015 by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

by Charlie O. Mallonee

Sacramento – The Sacramento Kings defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 94-90 at Sleep Train Arena on Saturday night. It was the Kings second victory over the Blazers in a week.

The Kings were led by guard Darren Collison who scored 18 points in 32-plus minutes of playing time. Collison also pulled down seven rebounds and dished out three assists.

Portland’s CJ McCollum led all scorers with 30 points. McCollum was 5-for-10 from 3-point land and 11-for-20 from the field. He scored 19 of his points in the third to quarter to keep the Blazers in the game.

The Kings won the game by outscoring Portland in the paint 38-28 and by scoring 25 points off the fast break to just 13 for the Blazers.

Kings

The Kings started Rajon Rondo and Darren Collison in the backcourt for the first time in the preseason. According to George Karl it was the first time the pair had played together because so much their time has been spent in team scrimmages. Rondo and Collison combined for a total of 22 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.
DeMarcus Cousins scored 18 points, grabbed 7 rebounds, had three assists and two steals in 23-plus minutes of playing time. He also picked up his technical foul of the preseason in the third quarter arguing over an out of bounds call. Cousins earned the “T” by not stopping after his first appeal to the referee.
Willie Cauley-Stein had a good game scoring seven points and pulling down nine rebounds. Cauley-Stein is a presence on defense but is still a work in progress on offense.
The Kings shot .408 (31-for-76) from the field. They were 7-for-22 (.318) from beyond the 3-point line.
Rudy Gay did not dress for the game. He is not injured. Karl was just giving Gay the night off to get some playing time. for other players in this contest,

Trail Blazers

Portland played the game without their very talented guard Damian Lillard. Lillard is nursing a left ankle injury.
The Trail Blazers had four players who did not dress for the game. All four players were out due to injury.
Portland shot .415 from the field and .353 (12-for-34) from beyond the 3-point arc.
The Blazers out-rebounded the Kings 50 to 41.
Portland scored 25 points off turnovers to just nine points off turnovers for the Kings.

What they said after the game

“We’re ahead of the curve right now. We have a long way to go, but we’ve done some very good things in every game we’ve played. We need to continue to get better.” said Kings head coach George Karl.

Kings center Kosta Koufous said, “We’ve got some things we’re going work on defensively but everybody is playing hard and that’s the biggest thing. As long as everybody’s playing with 100% effort, that’s all you can ask for.”

“I felt that we could have played better obviously. Foul trouble kind of got us close behind the eight ball early and we never really recovered. We had twice as many fouls called against (us) and it was just tough to bounce back from that,” explained Portland head coach Terry Stotts.

Leading scorer CJ McCollum told reporters, “I felt comfortable even in the first game when some shots didn’t drop really. Just like tonight, I missed my first few shots. The biggest thing is to just stay confident, try to get to my spots.”

Up next

The Kings will play again on Tuesday when they will face the Los Angeles Lakers in Las Vegas.

The Trail Blazers play the Jazz in Utah on Monday night.

Bad Day in Baltimore: A’s lose 18-2

Published on August 16, 2015August 16, 2015 by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

Ike Davis on the mound for the A's — Ike Davis on the mound for the A’s

by Charlie O. Mallonee

It was an ugly game. That is all you really need to know about the A’s 18-2 loss in Baltimore on Sunday. Things for the A’s were ugly at the plate, on the mound and in the field. Oakland was out of the game early and really never had a chance to get back into the game.

The 16 run margin of loss was the most for the A’s this season. In other words, the A’s have not played a game this ugly all season.

The Orioles scored 18 runs on 26 hits. The A’s were not charged with an error so all 18 runs were earned. The A’s scored two runs on nine hits.

Oakland has now tied their longest losing streak of the season at six games. The A’s were swept by Toronto and are in danger of being swept by Baltimore.

On the Bump

The A’s used six pitchers on Sunday. One of those pitchers was first baseman Ike Davis who pitched the bottom of the eighth inning giving up no runs on one hit to go with a walk and a strike out.

Kendall Graveman (6-9) started the game for the A’s, and he took the loss. Graveman gave up six runs on eight hits. Two of those hits were home runs.

Graveman had his sinking fastball working in the game but could not establish his slider. The breaking ball continued to hang over the plate and the Orioles’ hitters continued to pound the ball.

In general, the A’s pitching staff was not aggressive on Sunday. The Baltimore hitters were not challenged inside and were able to sit on pitches middle to away.

The Oakland pitchers were not able to close out innings. The Orioles scored 13 runs with two outs in the inning.

Baltimore broke the A’s back in the fifth inning when they sent 13 batters to the plate, collected 10 hits and scored 9 runs.

Wei-Yin Chen (7-6) started the game for Baltimore and posted the victory. Chen worked six innings and gave up two runs (both earned) on eight hits. Chen struck seven Athletics and walked none.

In the Batters Box

Coco Crisp and Brett Lawrie led the way on offense for the A’s. Crisp went 2-for-4 including a double. Crisp has gone 6-for-10 so far in the series.

Brett Lawrie went 2-for-4 Sunday. One of the hits was his 11th home run of the season. Lawrie is now 3-for-14 in the series.

Gerardo Parra was the man with the big bat for the O’s on Sunday. Parra went 5-for-6 with three runs scored and three RBI. Parra hit his 12th home run of the season off Graveman in the bottom of the first inning.

In the Field

The A’s did not commit a charged error in the game. There were however some less than spectacular plays in the outfield. It was obvious that the A’s had lost focus in the game early on.

Gray to the Rescue

The A’s are hoping that Sonny Gray will be able to keep them from being swept on the seven-game road trip when he takes the hill on Monday night. Gray missed his last start due to back spasms.

Fans were looking forward to a Clayton Kershaw versus Sonny Gray match up on Tuesday night when the Dodgers visit Oakland. That will not happen and the A’s starter for Tuesday is still to be determined.

Frankly, the A’s cannot afford to hold Gray out of the lineup until Tuesday. Oakland is in a death spiral and has to do something to stop it … now. The best chance the A’s have to get back into the win column is to have Sonny Gray and his 2.06 ERA on the mound on Monday night. Gray has not faced the Orioles this season.

Kings will open the 2015-16 NBA season at home

Published on August 13, 2015 by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings will open the the 2015-16 season at Sleep Train Arena on Wednesday, October 28 versus the Los Angeles Clippers. This will be the Kings final home opener at Sleep Train Arena before moving to the new Golden1 Center next season.

The Kings will play eight of their next 10 games at home which will feature a season-long six game homestand. That homestand will include games with Houston, Golden State, San Antonio, Brooklyn and Toronto.

For Kings fans who would like to see their team play the Warriors in Oakland, the teams will meet on Saturday, November 28 at Oracle Arena.

The Kings will play a game in Mexico City as a part of the NBA Global Games 2015. The Kings will host the Boston Celtics in Ciudad de Mexico, D.F. on Thursday, December 3.

Sacramento will be featured on national TV four times during the season. The Kings will play twice on ESPN – November 6 versus the Rockets and February 24 in San Antonio. They will also broadcast twice on TNT – December 10 against the Knicks in NYC and January 7 versus the Lakers. The Kings will be televised on NBA TV nine times this season.

The Kings longest road trip of the season is a five game slate that begins in Atlanta on Wednesday, November 18 and ends Wednesday, November 25 in Milwaukee.

Sports Radio Service will bring you complete coverage of all 82 regular season games and any potential playoff games on sportsradioservice.com. There will also be a weekly Kings podcast posted on the website.