Category: NBA

Warriors find good tidings under their tree shock Rockets 116-104

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espn.com photo: The Golden State Warriors Damon Lee (1) goes airborne to take a shot against the Houston Rockets Clint Capela (15) at Chase Center in San Francisco on Wed Dec 25th

By Jerry Feitelberg

San Francisco- The Warriors met and defeated the Houston Rockets on Christmas Day by a score of 116-104. The game was on national television, and if the network executives had their way, they would have pulled it from the schedule.

The Warriors, who have been scuffling all season, won their third game in a row. On December 15th, the W’s were blown out by the Sacramento Kings. The W’s head coach Steve Kerr must have said something to the team as they have played well in their last four games. They gave Portland a tussle but lost.

They then beat New Orleans, Minnesota, and, now, the Rockets. It was a team effort. They played well on both ends of the court. They held the Rockets’ scoring machine, James Harden, to 24 points. They did not foul Harden either. Harden, the master of drawing fouls, had just one free throw, and he missed it.

The Warriors got off to a good start in the first quarter. They had an early 13-7 lead. The Rockets went ahead 16-15 about midway through the quarter. The Warriors were able to keep pace with the Rockets and finished the first period trailing by a point 29-28.

The Rockets appeared to have found their rhythm in the second quarter. Harden made 5 threes in seven tries to finish the first half with 19  points. Russell Westbrook added 18, and the Rockets led 68-64. The W’s Damion Lee led the W’s scoring with 17. D’Angelo Russell had 14, and Glenn Robinson added 10.

Willie Cauley-Stein scored the first bucket of the third quarter to cut the Warrior deficit to 68-66. The Rockets increased the lead to seven 75-68. The Warriors, behind Draymond Green and Damion Lee, tied the game at 78. The Rockets connected on a three to regain the lead. With the score 83-80, the Warriors went on a 12-4 run to finish the third quarter leading 92-87

The Warriors entered the fourth quarter, knowing they had to stop Harden And Westbrook. Harden loves to drive and pick up fouls. The W’s had not fouled him in the first three-quarters of play. Harden hit a three to put Houston back in the lead 97-96.

Harden was fouled on the play, and he missed the free throw. The W’s would not foul him again. The Warriors then went on a 17-2 run. Draymond Green and Glenn Robinson each made two 3-point shots. The Warriors defense stopped the Rockets attack cold. The W’s increased the lead to 115-99. The Rockets ran out of time, and the Warriors, with the fans on their feet, won the game.

Game Notes and Stats- With the win, The W’s improved to 8-24. The Rockets, leading the Southwest Division of the Western Conference, fell to 21-10.

The Warriors starters all finished in double figures Three players, Russell, Lee, and Green scored 20 or more points. Two players Lee and Green, had a double-double. Damion Lee led the team with 22 points and 15 rebounds, Draymond had 20 points, 11 rebounds, and three assists.

D’Angelo Russell knocked down 20, Willie Cauley-Stein 10, and Glenn Robinson had 18. Robinson made two three-point shots in the fourth quarter to help seal the Rockets’ doom/ Alec Burks, Jacob Evans, and Marquise Chriss, coming off the bench, had 8,8, and 6.

The Rockets were led by Russell Westbrook and James Harden, Each superstar had a double-double. Westbrook’s line was 30n points, 12 rebounds, and 5 assists. Harden’s numbers were 24 points, 6 boards, and 11 assists. Harden made six threes in 10 tries. Danue House, Jr. had 18, Clint Capela 10, and P.J.Tucker 7. The Rockets’ bench added 15 points.

The Warriors shot 47% from the floor, and their defense held the Rockets to 37%. The Rockets made 16 three in 51 tries. The Warriors had nine.

The Warriors outrebounded the Rockets 54-49. The W’s defense stole the ball 7 times to go along with 8 blocked shots.

The Warriors resume play Friday night against the Phoenix Suns. The Suns are 11-19 for the year. The Suns blew out the W’s earlier in the season. Steve Kerr’s troops have played well in the last four games, and Kerr will be hoping the team will continue to improve.

The game will be at the Chase Center and will start at 7:30 pm. The W’s then play again on Saturday night against the Dallas Mavericks. The Mavs are in second place in the Southwest Division with a record of 19-10. The game will also be at the Chase Center and will start at 5:30 pm PT.

Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O: Kings fall short to Rockets 113-104; Fourth consecutive loss for Sacramento

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photo from sacbee.com: Sacramento Kings guard Buddy Hield (24) shoots over Houston Rockets guard Russell Westbrook (0) for three-points during a game at Golden 1 Center on Monday, Dec 23, 2019 in Sacramento

On the Kings podcast with Charlie O:

#1 Coming off three straight road loses the Sacramento Kings (12-18) played host to the Houston Rockets (21-9) at Golden One Center in Sacramento and yet lost another game 113-104.

#2 The Rockets had 16 points to the Kings 25 in the fourth quarter and still the Kings never held the lead in the game and never got that burst on the scoreboard. The Kings are missing a number of their offensive plays to stay a step ahead of their opponents.

#3 The Rockets got top scoring from James Harden 34 pts and Russell Westbrook 28 pts who have pave the way to the win

#4 De Aaron Fox and Richaun Holmes led the Kings with scoring Fox with 31 and Holmes 12. Fox carried the weight of the team and the Kings fell nine points short.

#5 After their last win to the Golden State Warriors the Kings have now lost four straight and host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday night

Join Charlie Tuesdays for the Kings podcast at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

 

Another Night in Sacramento: Rockets race to big lead, then hold on to beat the Kings, 113-104

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By Morris Phillips

SACRAMENTO–You know the story: since the Kings’ last playoff appearance in the spring of 2006, they’ve accumulated 13 losing seasons, run through 10 coaches, two arenas and finished last in the Pacific Division five times.

But that’s just the surface. Below the surface–or below .500–the Kings’ story gains greater focus. Eliminating the first 10 games of each of the last 14 seasons, including the current one–a sample size of 956 games–the Kings have held a winning record just 66 times.

That’s a winning record 6.9 percent of the time in 13 plus seasons. The most significant Kings’ won-loss record since 2006? March 6 when the Kings were 33-32. They lost three of their next four games and haven’t been over .500 since.

51 of the 66 occasions with a winning record happened last season under coach Dave Joerger, but the occurrence wasn’t treated as an upswing. Joerger was fired by GM Vlade Divac after the season.

So Monday was business as usual: a new Kings’ coach, Luke Walton, a losing record, and a tough loss–113-104 to the Houston Rockets–at home. The Kings have dropped four straight, and are just 12-13 since their 0-5 start to the season that foreshadowed continued playoff irrelevance.

By one measure, the Kings put themselves in harm’s way on Monday by beating the Rockets 119-118 at the buzzer on Nemanja Bjelica’s 3-pointer December 9 in Houston. Since then the Rockets have won six of seven and seen the one-two punch of James Harden and Russell Westbrook grow more cohesive. The pair came into Monday’s contest averaging 62 plus points per game. They scored 62 Monday after combining for just five points in a first quarter in which the Rockets exploded to a 37-21 lead.

After leading by 16 points after a quarter and 86-63 with 4:34 remaining in the third quarter, the Rockets made it interesting. Houston clanked through a 16-point fourth while seeing their lead paired to 102-96 at one point. But that’s as close as it got: the Rockets responded with a pair of Clint Capela free throws then Westbrook’s 3-pointer that increased the lead to 107-96 with 4:13 remaining.

The Rockets shot 3 for 17 in their uncharacteristic fourth quarter, but all three of the makes were 3-pointers.

“You get up 18, 20 points and you start doing things that you weren’t doing to gain the lead,” Harden said. “It happens.”

De’Aaron Fox led the Kings with 31 points, 19 of those in the fourth quarter. Fox didn’t get much help; starters Harrison Barnes and Buddy Hield missed 12 of their combined 13 3-point attempts and finished with nine and 10 points, respectively. The Kings outrebounded the Rockets, 49-39, but couldn’t fully take advantage of Houston’s smallish lineups with Capela the only player over 6’6″ to see action.

Hield, the Kings’ leading scorer, was a spectator in the fourth quarter as the Kings mounted their comeback. Walton explained afterwards.

“It wasn’t a punishment at all. It was more, `Look, we’re a team and we’re trying to win out here and if these guys are going well, well then we keep rolling with them,'” Walton said.

Bogdan Bogdanovich missed his second straight game with a sore ankle. Harry Giles continues to be out, he’s missed the last 13 games for the Kings.

Capela contributed 15 points, 14 rebounds in 41 minutes on an admittedly sore right heel. Harden played 38 minutes with a brace on his knee that coach Mike D’Antoni revealed was bothersome. Still, the NBA’s leading scorer put up 34 points, five assists with Westbrook adding 28.

The Rockets conclude their road swing in San Francisco in a meeting with the Warriors on Christmas Day.

The Kings host the reeling Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday.

 

 

 

 

Warriors win again defeat Minnesota Timberwolves 113-104

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By Jerry Feitelberg

San Francisco- The Golden State Warriors won their second game in a row Monday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves 113-104. It was the first time this season that the Warriors have won two straight. The Timberwolves, who started the season 10-8, extended their losing streak to 11 games. Minnesota was without the services of the best player, Karl-Anthony Towns, due to an injury.

Both teams played a lousy first quarter. The score was tied 22-22 at the end of 12 minutes. The Warriors shot 28% from the floor while the Timberwolves were slightly better at 33%. Neither team played well.

The Timberwolves grabbed an early lead to start the second quarter. The Warriors were able to even the score at 31 and again at 35. It was at this point in the period when the Warriors got their act together to go on a 20-3 run to lead 55-38. The W’s finished the first half with 14-point lead 57-43. D’Angelo Russell led the team with 13, Alex Burks had 10, and Willie Cauley-Stein kicked in with 10, too. Andrew Wiggins and Jeff Teague led the T-Wolves attack with 12 and 10.

The Warriors extended the lead to 21 early in the third quarter. They were leading 80-58 when Minnesota went on an 11-2 run to cut the lead to fifteen. Alec Burks made a two-point bucket, and the W’s finished the third quarter with a comfortable 84-67 advantage.

As basketball fans know, teams have to play for all 48 minutes if they hope to win. Even though a team has a big lead, they have to be careful to not let the other side get back into the game. The Warriors had lost several games as they let down in the final period. Minnesota gave them a tussle as the W’s started to make mistakes, and that let Minnesota get within six points. The Timberwolves went on a 16-5 run to make it 89-83. The Warriors made 8 turnovers in the quarter. The T-Wolves cashed in. The Warriors met the challenge as Russell, Burks, and Damion Lee all connected on threes to thwart the T-Wolves. The W’s built the lead back to 10 and held on to win 113-104.

Game Notes- The Warriors improved to 7-24 while Minnesota fell to 10-19. The Warriors’ Glenn Robinso III was out of action with a sprained ankle. The W’s recalled guard Ky Bowman from the G-League to take his spot on the roster.

The Warriors had four starters in double figures Monday night. D’Angelo Russell paced the team with 30 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and he connected on 5 threes in 11 tries. Burks was second with 25 points and 8 assists. He made 2 threes. Damion Lee had 14  points, 7 boards, and 3 assists. He knocked down 3 threes. Willey Cauley-Stein had 12 points and 7 rebounds. Draymond Green’s line was 9 points, 14 rebounds, and 4 assists. Eric Paschall rerturned to action and tallied 8 points in 8 minutes of playing time.

The Timberwolves had two starters in double figures. Andrew Wiggins led them with 22. Gorgui Dieng added 11. Bench players Jordan McLaughlin had 19, Jeff Teague 12, and Keita Bates-Diop had 10.

The Warriors meet the Houston Rockets on Wednesday, Christmas Day, at the Chase Center. The game will start at 2 pm PT.

The Kings lose the final game of their road trip in Memphis 119-115

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Buddy Hield vs Memphis
Buddy Hield goes for the steal @NBC CA

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings had to fly home from Memphis licking their wounds after losing the final three games of their four-game road. On Saturday night, the Kings dropped the final game of the road swing to the Grizzlies 119-115. The game was never as close as the final score might imply.

Lead Changes

There were three lead changes in the game; however, the Kings never held the lead after the first quarter of the game. The largest lead of the game for Sacramento was seven points. The Grizzlies biggest lead was 17 points.

Memphis held a 10 point lead – 60 to 50 – at halftime.

By the end of three quarters, the Grizzlies were up 91-78 over the Kings.

The Kings made a big charge in the final period as De’Aaron Fox scored 14 points while Memphis went 12 players deep to rest their starters. Sacramento outscored the Grizzlies 37-28 the fourth quarter but came up four points short of winning the game when the final buzzer sounded.

3-point baskets made the difference 

The Grizzlies hit 15 of 35 attempts (42.9%) from downtown in the game versus the Kings.

The Kings shot just 30.6% (11-for-36) from behind the arc in the contest which ultimately led to their downfall.

The charity stripe was unkind to SAC

The Kings went to the line 24 times but hit only 18 shots.

The Grizzlies went 24-for-29 from the charity stripe. Those six points proved too big when the final horn sounded.

Sacramento

  • Harrison Barnes led all scorers with 25 points in the game.
  • De’Aaron Fox – who got the start in the game – finished with 22 points.
  • Richaun Holmes put up a double-double putting in 18 points and hauling in 12 rebounds.
  • Marvin Bagley III also had a double-double game with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Memphis

  • Jaren Jackson Jr. was the Grizzlies leading scorer with 18 points.
  • Jae Crowder recorded a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
  • Dillon Brooks scored 16 points.
  • Ja Morant and Grayson Allen both scored 13 points in the contest.

Up next

The Kings return home to host the very tough Houston Rockets on Monday night.

The Grizzlies will host the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night.

Warriors find a way to win as they beat the Pelicans 106-102

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Photo credit: @warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

SAN FRANCISCO — The Golden State Warriors met the New Orleans Pelicans Friday night at the Chase Center. Each team came into the game floundering at the bottom of the standings in the Western Conference. The Warriors had lost five in a row and 10 of the last 11. The Pelican snapped a 13-game losing streak Wednesday night and were hoping to get back on the winning track against the Warriors. The Warriors, who played well in the loss to Portland, started well. They built the lead to 20 in the second quarter. The Pelicans dominated the third quarter to lead 81-78. The Warriors came back and were able to hold on and win for the sixth time this year, 106-102.

The Warriors won the first quarter 31-18 Guard Damion Lee led the Warriors with 10 points. The other guard, D’Angelo Russell, kicked in with six. Glenn Robinson added seven.

The Warriors went ahead 44-24 to lead by 20. It was at this point that the Pelicans went on an 18-2 run to make it a 46-42 game. The Warriors regrouped and were able to finish the first half with a 12-point lead 56-44.

The Pelicans dominated the third quarter. The Warriors, over the past five seasons, used to own the third period, but not Friday night. The Pelicans, behind the hot shooting of JJ Redick, outscored the Warriors 37-22 to finish the quarter 81-78. The Pelicans’ Jrue Holiday hit a three-pointer as the buzzer sounded to give New Orleans the advantage. The Pelicans took advantage of several Warrior turnovers, too. They also controlled the offensive boards and put second-chance points on the board.

The Pelicans increased the lead to six 97-91. It looked as if the Warriors were done. They regrouped and tied the game at 98 when D’Angelo Russell knocked down a three. The Warriors went ahead 100-98. The Pelicans made a bucket to tie the game. Russell hit a deuce to make it 102-100. Draymond Green was fouled, and he made both free throws to make it 104-100. The Pelicans cut it to 104-102. As time was running out, the Pelicans fouled Damion Lee. He made both free throws. The Pelicans were finished. The Warriors won 106-102.

Game Notes: D’Angelo Russell and Damion Lee led the Warriors in scoring. Russell had 25 points, seven assists, and he knocked down four threes. Lee’s totals were 20 points, six boards, and he, too, made four threes. Alec Burks had 17 points and 8 rebounds. Draymond had 10 points, four rebounds, and 8 assists. Glenn Robinson had nine, Willie Cauley-Stein eight, and Marquese Chriss eight.

Jrue Holiday and Brandon Ingram led the Pelicans with 25 points each. Reddick finished with 14, Lonzo Ball also had 14.

With the win, the Warriors improve to 6-24. The Pelicans fall to 7-23. The Warriors still own the worst record in the NBA. The Pelicans aren’t too far behind in the race to the bottom.

Warriors forward Eric Paschall left the game after the end of the first half with soreness in his right knee.

Up Next: The Warriors meet the Minnesota Timberwolves Monday night at the Chase Center. The game will start at 7:30 pm.

Kings Struggle in 119-105 Loss to Pacers in Indianapolis

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Photo credit: @SoleCollector

By Jeremiah Salmonson

Just when you thought the Sacramento Kings were at full strength, Bogdan Bogdanovic and Trevor Ariza were unavailable for the Kings in Friday night’s tilt against the Indiana Pacers. Bogdanovic is dealing with a sore ankle and Trevor Ariza is not with the team for personal reasons. The Kings were coming off a tough loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday and would look to bounce back Friday.

In the first quarter, Nemanja Bjelica got off to a hot start. Bjelica scores 13 points in the first and helped lead the Kings to an early 32-30 lead. The Kings weren’t able to play their style of defense against the Pacers in the first, but that was overshadowed by the Kings offensive prowess.

In the second quarter, the Pacers went on a bit of a run that allowed them to build a double digit 53-42 lead with 6:00 left in the half. The rest of the half, the Pacers’ lead held true. The Kings would get the lead down to 8 points, but the Pacers were able to get it back by putting up 38 in the quarter. Richaun Holmes led the way for the Kings in the first half putting up 14 points. The Pacers’ T.J. Warren scored 13 points to lead the Pacers to a 68-57 lead going into halftime.

In the third quarter, the Kings couldn’t get anything going on offense. They had their chances, but players like Buddy Hield couldn’t get anything going in terms of hitting shots. The Kings were only able to put up 22 points and headed into the final quarter down 92-79. The bright spot for the Kings was Justin James, who had managed 10 points for the Kings off the bench.

In the fourth quarter, the implosion for the Kings continued. The Kings’ shot-making evaporated in the third and fourth quarters, and they weren’t able to shut down the Pacers’ offense. These negative ingredients for the Kings would lead to a blowout loss 119-105 to the Pacers on the road.

The Kings still look a bit lost on the offensive end. Kings head coach Luke Walton has a lot of work ahead of him to get this group to gel together and start putting wins together. A bright spot for the Kings was Justin James. James is definitely earning minutes with the absence of Trevor Ariza who is away from the team and Bogdan Bogdanovic dealing with some injury issues. Leading the way for the Kings in defeat was Richaun Holmes with 20 points. Leading things for the Pacers in victory was T.J. Warren with 23 points.

Up Next: The Kings travel to Memphis for a back-to-back against the Grizzlies on Saturday at 5 PM PST.

Trail Blazers send the Warriors down to their fifth loss in a row 122-112

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Photo credit: @warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors met the Portland Trail Blazers at the Moda Center on Wednesday night. The Warriors, trying to rebound after a dreadful performance last Sunday night, played well, but not well enough. The Blazers were able to hold off the Warriors down the stretch to win 122-112.

The two teams played a very competitive first quarter. Warriors point guard, D”Angelo Russell, connected on a three to make the score 23-22 in favor of Portland. The Blazers responded by going on a 17-7 run to finish the quarter and led by eleven, 40-27.

The Blazers led for most of the second quarter. The Warriors kept coming back and cut the deficit to four 55-51. Portland upped the lead to 65-57. It was at this point near the end of the first half when the Warriors made three consecutive three-point shots. Alec Burks made two and Eric Paschall, back in action after missing the last two games, connected for his first three of the game. Paschall’s bucket gave the lead back to Golden State 66-65. But that lead didn’t last long as the Blazers scored the last basket of the half to finish with a one-point lead 67-66. The Warriors, outscored by 11 in the first period, outscored the Blazers by 10 in the second.

The Blazers went on a 7-0 run to start the third quarter. The Warriors did not lose their composure and stayed within striking distance of regaining the lead. They came close trailing by one point 87-86.  Portland did not wilt. They made vital buckets and finished the third quarter with a five-point advantage, 97-92.

The Warriors did not fold. They kept coming back. However, they just could not get a bucket or a three-pointer when they needed one. They were down by two, 100-98. Portland built the lead back to seven, 109-102. Glenn Robinson connected on a three to make it 109-105. That was the best the Warriors could do. Portland held on to win by a final of 122-102.

Game Notes: Warriors’ head coach Steve Kerr had to be pleased with his team’s effort Wednesday. The Warriors played poorly Sunday night at the Chase Center. The team looked much better. They moved the ball well. They made 16 threes in 38 tries. They turned the ball over just seven times. They had 24 assists. The made seven steals and blocked seven. Their only deficiency was at the free-throw line. They were 14 for 23 from the charity stripe. Portland was 25 for 28. The 11-point advantage helped the Blazers win the game.

The Warriors had six players in double figures. D’Angelo Russell led the club with 26 points. Russell made five threes in 12 tries. Glenn Robinson had 17, and he made a career-high five threes. Alec Burks had 16, and he knocked down four threes. Eric Paschall had in 17 minutes of playing time. Marquese Chriss had his third double-double in the last four games. He had 10 points and 10 boards. Willie Cauley-Stein had 12 points and seven boards.

The Blazers were led by their dynamic backcourt duo of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. Lillard had quite a night as he knocked down 31 points, had 13 assists, and five rebounds. McCollum finished with 30. Veteran Carmelo Anthony had 17 points and eight rebounds. Blazers center Hassan Whiteside, who loves to torment the Warriors, finished with a double-double. Hassan, who was with the Miami Heat last year, kicked in with 16 points and grabbed 23 rebounds to help the Blazers win.

With the loss, the Warriors maintained the worst record in the NBA 5-24.  The Warriors have lost five in a row and nine of the last 10. The Blazers, who struggled earlier in the season, improved to 12-16.

Up Next: The Warriors return home to face the New Orleans Pelicans Friday night at the Chase Center. The Pelicans are 7-22 for the year, and the Warriors will be trying to get a win at their expense. The game will start at 7:30 pm PST.

Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O: Hornets force turnovers as Kings go down 110-102

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Photo credit sacbee.com: The Charlotte Hornets Terry Rozier (3) drives towards the basket against the Sacramento Kings D’Aaron Fox as the Hornets defeat the Kings by eight points in Charlotte on Tuesday night.

On the Kings podcast with Charlie O

The Sacramento Kings on Tuesday night in Charlotte just simply got outplayed physically. In fact, that was one of the things that Kings head coach Luke Walton said. The Kings just physically got beaten up by the Hornets. It wasn’t in a bad way. It wasn’t like they played dirty.

The Hornets just went out and played a very physical game. They were determined. The biggest number that showed how physical Charlotte was that the Hornets outrebounded the Kings 53-31. When a team is outrebounded with 18 rebounds in a game, you’re not going to win.

Charlie O does the Kings podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Kings fall to Hornets 110-102 in Charlotte

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Photo credit: @SacramentoKings

By Jeremiah Salmonson

The Sacramento Kings have not been at full strength since the first game of this 2019 season. Tuesday would mark the first time since then the Kings would have all players available. The matchup was the Sacramento Kings visiting the Charlotte Hornets. For Kings fans, they hoped Tuesday would mark the beginning of the season they could have had started if fully healthy.

In the first quarter, the Kings offense sputtered out of the gate. Sloppy ball handling and missed shots allowed the Hornets to only be trailing 9-7 with 6:00 left in the quarter. The rest of the way, the offense continued to sputter.

It’s hard to fault the Kings who are playing with lineups they haven’t seen all year.

Unfortunately, the offense looked a little lost in the first quarter something the Kings would look to remedy in the second quarter. All in all, the Kings put up 21 points compared to the Hornets 26. Leading scorer for the Kings thus far was Harrison Barnes with 5 points while Marvin Williams put up 8 for the Hornets.

In the second quarter, the Kings perimeter shooting continued to struggle. The Kings shot a mediocre 33.3% in the first half from downtown. That being said, they were able to put up 47 in the half. The Hornets didn’t play exceptionally well either, who shot an identical 33.3% from three, were able to put up 53 in the half to lead the Kings 53-47 going into halftime. The leading scorers in the game were De’Aaron Fox for the Kings with 11 points and Hornet Marvin Williams with 10 points. The Kings offense didn’t look smooth, but it wasn’t all red flags. De’Aaron Fox, after missing the last 17 games, looked good in the opening half. Sure the offense didn’t flow the same way it has in recent games, but the Kings are well on their way to getting the rhythm back.

In the second half, the Kings started to hit their three-point shots. The Kings shot much better from downtown making five threes and it makes a difference in the score. The Kings were able to put up 32 in the third out scoring the Hornets who added 27. In his return, De’Aaron Fox continued to lead the Kings putting up 15 points through three quarters. The Kings would try and do something they haven’t done all year on the road; win trailing after three quarters. The Kings went into the fourth trailing 80-79.

In the fourth quarter, the Kings faltered early. Hornets guard Malik Monk started hitting shots after struggling early and the Kings were in a 101-90 hole with 4:25 remaining. From there, the Kings weren’t able to muster anything against the Hornets. The Kings didn’t attack the basket with enough urgency as the Hornets were in foul trouble and that led to a disappointing defeat. The Kings dropped the first game of the road trip by a final of 110-102 in a game dominated by the Hornets in the fourth quarter. The Hornets ended up out scoring the Kings 30-23 in the fourth. The positive for Kings fans from this game was the return of a healthy De’Aaron Fox. Fox led the Kings with 19 points.

Up Next: The Kings travel to Indiana to take on the Pacers on Friday at 4 PM PST.