Category: NBA

So close yet so far – the Kings lose to Boston 103-102

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
BOS 3
TD Boston Gardens @ SacramentoKings

By Charlie O. Mallonee

If the Sacramento Kings (7-9) had emailed their performance in on Monday night versus the Boston Celtics (12-4), no one would have criticized them. They were facing the Celtics on the second night of a back-to-back on the road after winning a very tough game over the Washington Wizards on Sunday.

The Kings didn’t just sleepwalk through the game on Monday night. They came out looking for a win which would mean they would sweep the season series with the mighty Celtics. In the end, the Kings would come up one point short, but they put themselves in a position to win the game.

Luke Walton was not unhappy with his team

Luke Walton said in his postgame comments that all you can ask of your team in the second game of a back-to-back on the road is to put themselves in a position to win the game at the end of the fourth quarter. Walton said his team did that but came up just short.

With 5.7 seconds to go in the game, Cory Joseph inbounded the ball to Bogdan Bogdanovic. “Bogi” put up a 3-point shot with 3.0-seconds remaining. The ball hit the back of the rim and one of the Kings in the lane put the rebound back up, but it went over the backboard. Time expired and Boston won the game 103-102.

Record-setting night for Buddy Hield

BOS 1
Graphic @SacramentoKings

“Buddy Love” set a franchise record by sinking 11 three-point buckets on Monday night. The previous record was held by Mike Bibby who connected on nine 3-point shots on March 25, 2007, versus Phoenix.

Hield also set a personal record by scoring 41 points in the game. He shot 15-for-26 from the floor and went 11-for-21 from downtown. Hield also had five rebounds and two assists.

Spotlight on the Kings

This game featured 22 lead changes and seven ties. The Kings held the largest lead of the game – 11 points in the second quarter. The Celtics built up a 53-46 lead at halftime. After the game, Luke Walton felt his team’s play in the final six minutes of the first half is where they lost the game.

Individual scoring:

  • Harrison Barnes put 20 points in the scorebook. He went 7-for-10 from the free throw line.
  • Bogdan Bogdanovic added 13 points but had a tough night shooting. He went 5-for-20 from the field and 2-for-13 from 3-point land. “Bogi” did dish out eight assists.
  • No other player on the Kings scored in double figures.

Team numbers:

  • Sacramento hit 37 of 78 (46.8%) shots from the floor in Boston.
  • The Kings went 18-for-47 (38.3%) from behind the 3-point arc.
  • This was the Kings downfall: they only went to the free throw line 15 times. They converted 10 of those opportunities, but that number of attempts should have been at least 25. Sacramento could have won the game at the charity stripe.
  • The Kings were destroyed in the paint. The Celtics outscored Sacramento 50-26 down low in the game. That just can not happen.

Focus on Boston

Four of the five Celtics starters scored in double figures:

  • Jaylen Brown scored a team-high 24 points.
  • Jayson Tatum put up 20 points shooting 7-for-18 from the floor.
  • Enes Kanter added 13 points and nine rebounds.

Team stats

  • The Celtics hit 20 of 23 (87.0%) attempts from the free throw line. That was the key to their victory.
  • Boston shot 44.7% (38/85) from the floor.
  • The Celts hit just 7 of 30 (23.3%) from downtown.

Up next

The Kings wrap up their four-game road trip on Wednesday in Philly versus the 76ers.

Boston hosts the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night before they sit down to turkey dinner.

Warriors blow a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter, lose to OKC 100-97

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Photo credit: @warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

SAN FRANCISCO — The Golden State Warriors faced the Oklahoma City Thunder for the third time this season Monday night at the Chase Center. The Warriors dressed eight healthy players once again. Draymond Green was still hobbled by a sore heel. Kevon Looney, D’Angelo Russell, Steph Curry, and Klay Thompson were on hand, but they watched from the bench.

The young Warriors played a very competitive game for 40 minutes. They played well on both ends of the court for most of the game. The Thunder, however, shut the Warriors down on both ends of the court the last 8 minutes and 14 seconds of the game to win 100-97.

The Warriors trailed the Thunder 13-4 early in the game. The Warriors offense, led by Glenn Robinson the third, and Ky Bowman, gave them the lead 28-25 after the first quarter. The Warriors continued to play well in the second quarter. They led by 12 with less than a minute left in the first half. The Thunder’s All-Star point guard, Chris Paul, cut the lead to six when he connected on two three-point shots. The second shot came as the buzzer sounded to end the first half. The Warriors led 59-53. Their play in the first half was highlighted by good ball movement and good defense. Robinson led the Warriors with 18, and Bowman had 16.

The Warriors continued to play well in the third quarter. All eight players made contributions to keep the Warriors in the lead. They were able to increase the lead to nine at the end of the third period. They led 83-74.

The Warriors had to feel confident that they were going to put away the Thunder. They increased the lead to fourteen when Jordan Poole connected on a three to lead 92-78. It was at this point in the game that the Thunder began their comeback. The Thunder went on a 22-5 run in the last 8 minutes and 14 seconds of the game. The Thunder wins 100-97.

Game Notes: The loss had to be very disappointing to Golden State. The Warriors made a comeback late in the game against Utah and led for most of the Way Monday night against the Thunder. They lost both games, but they are building confidence and are getting to know what each player can contribute. The team hopes that they will be better when the stars return to action.

Glenn Robinson had a career-high 25 points to lead the team. Ky Bowman also had a career-high with 24 points. Eric Paschall had a double-double with 13 points and 10 boards. Jordan Poole had 11 points, 6 boards, and 4 assists. The team shot 51% from the floor in the first half. The second half was another story. They finished the night shooting 41.6%. They scored just 14 points in the fourth quarter.

Dennis Schroder, coming off the bench, led the Thunder with 22. Chris Paul had 20. Big Steve Adams had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Danilo Gallinari had 15, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 12.

The Warriors dropped to 3-15. The Thunder improved to 6-10.

Up Next: The Warriors resume play Wednesday night against the Chicago Bulls. The game will start at 7:30 pm at the Chase Center.

Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O: Kings winners 7 of 11, lose to Celtics by one

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Photo credit: goldengatesports.com

On the Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O:

#1 The Kings lost a close battle with the Celtics 103-102 in Boston Monday night ironically the same score the Kings beat the Celtics by in Sacramento

#2 Bubby Hield gave it all he got this time scoring 41 points but it wasn’t enough to beat the Celts.

#3 Harrison Barnes whose had a hot hand of late scored 20.

#4 The score was close in the fourth quarter the Celts were just a little better 28-27 in a real razor close quarter

#5 The Kings get Tuesday off and face the 76ers in Philadelphia Wednesday night

Sacramento Kings podcasts are heard each Tuesday with Charlie O at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Kings win on the road, beat the Wizards 113-106

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wiz 112419
Graphic: @SacramentoKings

By Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings (7-8) jumped back into the win column on Sunday afternoon by defeating the Washington Wizards 113-106 in game two of their four-game road trip. The victory did not come easy, but the Kings never let their concentration wavier which allowed them to win the game.

Sacramento outscored Washington (5-9) in three of the four quarters. They also avoided the dreaded “third quarter letdown”. The Kings outscored the Wizards 33-30 in the third quarter, and then, they outscored the Wizards 33-28 in the fourth quarter. That is another major step forward for the Kings.

Kings starters carried the day

The Sacramento starting five scored 79 of the teams 113 total points. Harrison Barnes scored a game-high 26 points. Richaun Holmes recorded a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Buddy Hield put 18 points in the book. He shot 4-for-14 from the field with 3 of his field goals coming from behind the 3-point line. Hield drove the lane very hard and went to the foul line seven times and was successful on all seven attempts. He also dished out five assists.

Cory Joseph had a big game for the Kings scoring 10 points and distributing five dimes. Joseph hit 5 of 10 shots from the floor.

All of the Kings starters expect Bjelica played well over 30 minutes in the game.

Sacramento bench

The key man off the bench was Bogdan Bogdanovic. “Bogi” scored 21 points shooting 7-for-16 from the floor while hitting 3 of 9 attempts from 3-point land. He also went 4-for-6 from the free throw line while dishing out four assists.

Focus on the Wizards

  • Bradley Beal scored a team-high 20 points while distributing eight assists. Beal has been averaging 29.6 points per game this season.
  • Thomas Bryant put up 14 points and added eight rebounds
  • Former King – Isaiah Thomas – scored 17 points against his old team.
  • Mo Wagner recorded a double-double scoring 12 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.
  • The Wizards bench outscored the Kings bench 48-37.

Addition to the Kings roster

After having several outstanding games in the G-League with the Stockton Kings, Kyle Guy has been called up to join the Kings NBA roster. He joined the team in Washington but did not play.

Up next

The Kings have the unenviable task of playing the second game of a back-to-back on the road in Boston on Monday night.

The Wizards will travel to Denver to face the Nuggets on Tuesday night.

Warriors’ 4th quarter rally falls short as they lose to the Jazz 113-109

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Photo credit: nba.com/warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors lost their 14th game of the year Friday night as the Utah Jazz beat them 113-109. The Warriors, who lost to the Dallas Mavericks by 48 points two nights ago, played well in the first quarter. They fell behind in the second and third quarters, but late in the fourth quarter, they went on a 21-6 run to make the game closer. Unfortunately, it was too little, too late.

The Warriors, with eight players available, were competitive in the first quarter. They finished the period trailing by two 30-28. In the second quarter, the Jazz outscored them 35-23 to end the first half leading 65-51.

The Jazz increased the lead to 18 as they continued to outplay the short-handed Warriors. The score after three quarters was 90-72. It looked as if the Jazz was cruising to a comfortable victory. With the score at 100-80, the Warriors found their mojo and went on a 21-6 run to close within 5 points 106-101. The Jazz regrouped and were able to hold off the Warriors to secure the 113-109 win.

Game Notes: The Warriors had seven players in double-figures Friday. Alec Burks led the team with 20 points. Ky Bowman and Glenn Robinson each had 17. Bowman made 3 threes in six tries. Omari Spellman had 18, Marquese Chriss 10, Jordan Poole 13, and Eric Paschall had 12 points and 7 boards. Willie Cauley-Stein had just 1 bucket. His bucket came at the end of the 21-6 run in the fourth quarter.

Utah’s leading scorers were Donavan Mitchell with 30, Mike Conley with 27, Bojan Bogdanovich with 17 and Emmanuel Mudiay with 11. Big man Rudy Gobert scored just 8 points, but he was a force on defense. He recorded 19 rebounds and blocked 7 shots.

Due to the discovery of a suspicious package at the Arena in Salt Lake City, all the players and coaches had to leave the building immediately after the conclusion of the game. Many fans had left early as the Jazz had a big lead and were not on hand to witness the Warriors make a charge late in the game.

Up Next: The Warriors’ record is now a woeful 3-14. The Jazz improved to 10-5. The Warriors return home to play the Oklahoma City Thunder Monday night at the Chase Center. The game will start at 7:30 pm.

Cold in New York: Bears score season-low in 62-45 loss to No. 22 Texas

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By Morris Phillips

Being a work in progress isn’t necessarily pretty. It wasn’t for the Bears in their two cold-shooting performances at Madison Square Garden.

Cal fell to No. 22 Texas in the 2K Empire Classic consolation game 62-45 on Friday, while shooting 36 percent from the field. The 45 points and their shooting percentage were season lows.

Coach Mark Fox’s premonition to have his club forgo perimeter shots given their opponent and their compressed schedule was smart thinking. But it didn’t benefit Cal, they cut down on the attempts, but still missed seven of the eight 3-pointers they took.

“It’s our fourth game in eight days, our second game in under 24 hours,” Fox said. “I didn’t feel like today would be a good 3-point shooting day for either team. I think we anticipated it would probably be a game where 3s are hard to come by.”

Shaka Smart’s Longhorns had a part in Cal’s cold shooting. One night after allowing Georgetown 45 points after halftime–and being outscored by 21 points–Texas made defense a point of emphasis. The bigger, more experienced Longhorns weren’t necessarily disruptive, blocking three shots and creating three steals, but they gave Cal fits by simply contesting shots and rebounding the misses.

“Today we responded from that loss last night,” said Texas forward Jericho Sims, who was one of four Longhorns’ starters to score in double figures. “I learned that we’re a gritty team and we just got to keep the strong identity.”

Texas certainly didn’t take control by making shots, as their 41 percent shooting wasn’t much better than the Bears. But they seized control with the outcome in doubt, starting the second half on an 18-9 run that stretched their lead to 13 points with 12:38 remaining. Seven different Longhorns had baskets in the run, as the Longhorns did a better job than Cal of sharing the basketball. Texas finished with 19 assists on 26 made baskets.

For Cal, the trip to New York to face top-ranked Duke and Texas was a reality check after their 4-0 start against lesser competition. Defensively, they were engaged, but did little offensively. Matt Bradley led the Bears with 22 points on Friday, and he registered as the only Cal scorer in double figures in either game, which shows were Cal needs to improve.

“We’ll use it hopefully as a great lesson in how we have to grow and change and improve. If we use it the right way, this weekend can be very productive for us,” Fox said.

Cal resumes its schedule on Tuesday when UC Davis visits Haas Pavilion.

Short-handed Kings fall to the Nets 116-97

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Photo credit: nba.com/nets

By Jessica Kwong

BROOKLYN — The Sacramento Kings had a “tough night” and beginning to their four-game road trip on Friday night as they played short-handed and lost 116-97 to the Brooklyn Nets.

Both teams struggled with offense to start at Barclays Center, but Garrett Temple hit a triple to give the Nets a lead—that lasted the entire game except for one tie with a few minutes remaining in the first quarter. Brooklyn lead by as many as 22 points. Sacramento was only 4-26 from the three-point line.

“Tough night for us,” Kings head coach Luke Walton said. “If you’re a 3-point shooting team and you shoot 15 percent, you’re not going to win a lot of games. Where we have to be better at are things that we can control.” The Kings could not control the number of injuries that have plagued the team. They played without Bogdan Bogdanovic due to left hamstring tightness, in addition to Marvin Bagley and De’Aaron Fox who have been out with injuries.

Buddy Hield, who tried to step up in his teammates’ absence, had similar words to Walton about their performance: “It was a tough night.”

“When we have extra guys that can make shots it’s a little easier, but missing Bogie didn’t help us for sure,” Hield said. “It’s always ‘next man up’ mentality and we had to come out here and play. They did a good job. they made some shots and made some good plays.” The Kings trailed 26-23 after the first quarter and stayed in the game in the second, trailing 56-49 at the half. Rookie Justin James scored 4 points in 13 minutes played in the first half.

“I felt good out there—I was playing my game. I had a lot of mishaps defensively that I’m not too happy about but coach called on my number and I was ready to play,” James said. “Bogie was down tonight so I tried to come up and play the best that I can.” The game ran away from them in the Kings in third. The Nets began 4-4 and a 10-2 run led Walton to call a timeout. The Kings finished the quarter down 86-70. Sacramento’s bench players came out in the fourth quarter and the Kings fell to a 6-8 record.

The Nets won on rebounds 48-33, while the Kings beat them on assists 26-22 and had 16 turnovers, two fewer than the Nets. The Nets dominated on three’s, scoring 12.

“Brooklyn executed it well tonight and for whatever reason we didn’t do a good enough job of creating looks,” Walton said. “When we did get good looks, we just didn’t knock them down.” Brooklyn was without injured stars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant.

The Kings continue their east coast road trip on Sunday facing the Washington Wizards. Tipoff is at 3 p.m.

Mavericks trounce the Warriors 142-94

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By Jerry Feitelberg

The Dallas Mavericks overpowered the short-handed Warriors 142-94 Wednesday night in Dallas. The Warriors, down to eight healthy players, were not able to handle the Mavericks. They could not stop the Mavs’ offense, and they had trouble putting the ball in the basket while on offense.

The Mavs’ were led by the second-year star, Luka Doncic. Doncic outscored the W’s 22-16 in the first period. The Mavs finished the quarter leading 44-26. The game was over for all intents and purposes. The Mavs continued the onslaught in the second quarter and finished the first half with a 38-point advantage 74-36. The W’s were done, but they still had to play the second half.

Dallas did not let up. They won the second half 68-56 to hand the Warriors their worst loss since a playoff game in the 1973 season. The Warriors dropped to 3-13 while Dallas Improved to 9-5.

Game Notes- Luka Doncic led his team with 35 points. He had 10 rebounds and 11 assists for his second straight triple-double and seventh of the young season. He had help from Kristaps Porzingis with 14 points and 10 boards. Tim Hardaway, Jr had 20, and Jalen Brunson, a former teammate of Omari Spellman and Eric Paschall at Villanova, finished the night with 15 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists. The Mavs shot 57% from the floor and made 22 threes in 38 tries.

The Warriors were led by Eric Paschall’s 22 points and 7 rebounds. Ky Bowman had 16. Alec Burks, Omari Spellman, Marquis Chriss, and Kordan Poole all had 11 in a losing effort. All eight of the players Steve Kerr sent into the game were with the team last year. Draymond Green was not available due to soreness in his right heel. The W’s shot 39% from the floor, and they made 7 threes in 27 attempts.

The Warriors’ head coach, Steve Kerr, speaking about the devastating drubbing, said to “flush it down the toilet.” The Warriors are off on Thursday. They resume play Friday night in Salt Lake City against the Utah Jazz.

 

Bogi’s Big Night: Kings creep closer to .500, beat the Suns 120-116

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By Morris Phillips

SACRAMENTO — The Suns have come down to earth. And the Kings–playing more deliberate while applying the D–are ascending.

Bogdan Bogdanovic scored a career-best 31 points and the Kings survived a furious, fourth quarter rally from the Suns in a 120-116 victory on Tuesday.

After an 0-5 start–including an embarrasing 29-point loss in Phoenix on opening night–the Kings have won six of eight, and their goal of ending the NBA’s longest playoff drought is back on the table.

With the Warriors, Thunder, Blazers and Spurs in various states of disrepair, Western Conference playoff spots are up for grabs.  Phoenix (last appearance: 2010) and Sacramento (2006) own the lengthiest postseason absences along with the most promise for putting an end to the droughts this season.

The Suns started the season fast with five wins and two one-point losses under the direction of new coach Monty Williams. But DeAndre Ayton’s suspension and some difficult opponents have slowed their momentum. Meanwhile, the Kings have turned it around with defense, and relying on their depth under the tutelage of Luke Walton.

Bogdanovic, getting increased playing time in place of injured point guard De’Aaron Fox, got hot in the second quarter, scoring 18 points as the Kings’ lead swelled to 26. But Phoenix finally responded in a 41-point, fourth quarter that pulled them within 116-113 with 14.2 seconds remaining.

Richaun Holmes and Yogi Ferrell both made a pair of free throws in the final seconds to keep the Kings from an embarrassing outcome.

“It felt like to me that we started to stat-hunt a little bit,” Walton said of the near collapse. “When we continued to run our plays we got wide open everything. When we got stagnant their zone stopped us.”

The Kings limited Phoenix to 26 percent shooting in the first quarter, and the possibility of them holding a fourth, consecutive opponent to less than 100 points seemed doable. They also blocked seven shots, and had seven steals, but this was an important ballgame for both clubs. The Suns’ furious rally, and offensive emergence confirmed that.

“We changed up our defenses a little bit but they hit tough shots after tough shots,” Williams said. “But I just loved the fight of our team.”

“We kind of were ‘OK, we got it,'” Bogdanovich said. “It’s the NBA. You have to be ready to lock in and finish the game.”

Holmes finished with 20 points and a career-best 15 rebounds. Bodganovich hit 7 3-pointers for the first time in his career, but missed the final minutes with a hamstring issue. Cory Joseph dished out 14 assists, also a career-high.

Phoenix’s Aaron Baynes, the journeyman center turned 3-point sensation missed the game with a hip injury. Ricky Rubio was available after missing the previous night’s game in Phoenix against Boston, but couldn’t provide much help. Rubio played just 18 minutes and missed all seven of his shots from the floor.

Devin Booker started slow, drew a technical foul, but finished fast with 30 points to lead the Suns. Kelly Oubre and Mikal Bridges had 20 points each.

Warriors cruise past the Grizzlies 114-95 in Memphis

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Photo credit: @warriors

By Ana Kieu

The Golden State Warriors looked to snap a 7-game losing skid and they did just that on Tuesday night against the Memphis Grizzlies at the FedEx Forum.

The Warriors’ starting five featured Alec Burks, Draymond Green, Glenn Robinson III, Eric Paschall and Willie Cauley-Stein. The Warriors were ready to rock as they took the floor.

The Warriors’ defense got off to a good start. Draymond Green went out of the group and ran with Robinson III to hammer down an alley-oop to extend the Warriors’ lead to 12-5 with 8:41 left in the first quarter. Moreover, with two blocks Tuesday, Green (583) passed Andris Biedrins (580) for fifth on the Warriors’ all-time blocks list.

Despite the Warriors’ positives, Memphis barely led 30-28 at the end of the first.

But the Warriors stormed back scoring 33 points in the second quarter. The Warriors took a 61-46 lead to the locker room at the end of the first half.

Willie Cauley-Stein made some sweet shots to open the second half. Also, Golden State made some 3-pointers the hard way with slips and falls in the process. In addition, Eric Paschall made a baseline jump for the step back with 8:17 left in the fourth quarter. Paschall, in my opinion, could take Green’s place in the future, but we’ll see what happens. Green reportedly believes Paschall doesn’t know his NBA game yet. Yet, it’s debatable because Paschall has been averaging 16.7 points and 4.8 rebounds per game.

The Warriors’ largest lead of the night occurred in the fourth with 5:44 left in regulation, thanks to Robinson III and Cauley-Stein.

The Warriors scored 31 points in the fourth to put the game out of reach for the Grizzlies. Golden State won by a final score of 114-95. With the win, Golden State is now 3-2, while Memphis falls to 5-9.

Alec Burk led the Warriors with 29 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 block. Glenn Robinson III had 20 points, 2 assists and 1 rebound. Marquese Chriss scored 17 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 blocks. Eric Paschall added 17 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 block.

The Warriors meet the Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Center in downtown Dallas on Wednesday, Nov. 19 at 4:30 pm PST.