Category: NBA

Warriors do the KD Splash in the ATL: Hawks dispatched, 128-111

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By Morris Phillips

The Warriors had that look again on Monday night in Atlanta, and Stephen Curry ascended to the superstar zone first, soon after he shook the hand of Trae Young, his sharpshooter protege, prior to the opening tip.

Curry put up 18 of his game-best 30 points in the first quarter, single-handedly outscoring the Hawks in the frame, as the Warriors posted a momentum-changing 128-111 win.

“We controlled the tempo in the first quarter, the defense kicked in, and that set the tone,” Curry said.

Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson soon joined Curry as all three hit show-off mode at some juncture of the evening. The Warriors’ stars all had 10 made baskets, with Durant finishing with 28 points, and Thompson 27.

Young didn’t fare well facing Curry for the first time. The rookie from Oklahoma forced some passes and never found his shooting stroke. Young finished with 20 points, but need 20 shot attempts to get there, while committing seven turnovers (all on the first half) and failing to make a 3-pointer (0 for 5).

“It’s hard to stop someone like that,” Young said. “He’s going to score. He’s going to find ways to make plays. You just have to try to make it difficult if you can.”

The Warriors led by 17 after one, and by 14 at the half, before finishing the Hawks with a 67-point second half. The Hawks didn’t do themselves any favors with 18 turnovers juxtaposed against 23 assists. Young finished with just three of those assists.

“I thought we played well, then you take the turnovers into the equation and you figure you’re going to have a long night,” said Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce, who served as a Warriors’ assistant during Curry’s rookie season.

Former Warriors Kent Bazemore and Jeremy Lin suffered rougher stat lines than Young, particularly due to being on the floor when Golden State surged. Bazemore missed five of his six shots, and had a team-worst -23 plus/minus.

Lin fared better offensively, with 14 points and 5 assists. But his plus/minus was -17.

Curry offered advice for Young, after missing the rookie’s visit to Oakland last month due to his groin injury that cost him 11 games.

“Don’t worry about comparisons, just play the game, get better,” Curry said of Young.

The Warriors continue their road trip on Wednesday in Cleveland, the site of their most recent World Championship title victory in June.

Kings pull one out of the fire, beat the Pacers 111-110 on Saturday night in SAC

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By Charlie O. Mallonee

SACRAMENTO — The Sacramento Kings broke a three-game losing skid on Saturday night when they defeated the Indiana Pacers 111-110 on their home court. The Kings took the lead with 16.1-seconds to go in the game and then had to battle through one of the ugliest jump ball endings any NBA has ever seen.

Even after the final buzzer, the game’s ending remained in doubt as the officials called for a replay to determine who committed a violation on the jump ball play. The violation was charged to the Pacers’ Darren Collison (yes, the former King) and 1.3 seconds was put back on the clock with the ball being awarded to Sacramento.

The Kings inbounded the ball and held it until the clock expired to seal the victory.

This was not a “typical” Kings win
The Kings were not able to run the Pacers into the ground as they have so many other teams this season. Indiana entered the game holding their opponents to the second lowest average points per game at 102.3. The Pacers were seventh in shooting defense holding their opponents to a 46.6 Field Goal Percentage.

Sacramento did win the battle of the Fast Break Points 18-10, but that is a far cry from a team that has twice this season scored 38 points on the break.

One of the keys to the Kings win was their offensive rebounding. They pulled down 14 rebounds off their own shots while the Pacers grabbed only six offensive rebounds. Those offensive rebounds would lead to 15 Kings second chance points while Indiana could muster only six of their own.

The Kings also helped themselves with some well-timed 3-point shooting in the game. The Pacers came in holding their opponents to a 37.7 3-point shooting percentage. The Kings shot 44.8 percent (13-for-29) from downtown on Saturday night. Indiana shot above their normal 3-point shooting percentage of 37.8, hitting 10-of-24 attempts (41.7-percent), but their effort fell short of the Kings’ pace.

Both teams were missing key players
The Pacers were without Victor Oladipo for a seventh game due to sore right knee. The bad news for Indiana is that there is no timetable for Oladipo’s return. It is not easy to replace 21.4 points per game in your lineup.

The Kings had to play without Marvin Bagley III, who was suffering from back spasms that flared up late in the game versus the Clippers. Sacramento is hoping that he will be available on the upcoming four-game road trip.

Battle of the Bogdanovics
Each team’s leading scorer had the name Bogdanovic on his jersey. Bojan Bogdanovic was the Pacers leading scorer and the high scorer in the game with 27 points in just over 37 minutes on the floor. He hit 10-of-19 shots from the field, including two 3-point baskets. Indiana’s Bogdanovic converted 5-of-6 opportunities from the free throw line.

The Kings’ Bogdan Bogdanovic led his team in scoring with 20 points coming off the bench as the sixth man. Bogdanovic also added six assists and two steals for Sacramento. He put 7-of-12 shots through the hoop with three of those buckets being 3-pointers. Bogdanovic was a perfect 3-for-3 from the charity stripe.

Dave Joerger had a lot to say after the game

Joerger point of emphasis
Coach Dave Joerger met the press corps at the entrance to the locker room to tell us he overlooked something in postgame remarks to the media. He wanted to be sure to let us know that in his opinion that Justin Jackson had his best game of the season on Saturday night.

Jackson scored eight points, hauled in three rebounds and dished out two assists in just under 25 minutes of playing time. Jackson also played some tenacious defense for the Kings that will not show up in hard numbers but helped lead them to a win.

Don’t overlook Troy Williams
Troy Williams scored 12 points in 16 on the floor Saturday night. He connected on 4-of-6 shots and was a perfect 3-for-3 from behind the 3-point arc. Williams brought a high charge of energy to court every time he entered the game.

De’Aaron Fox is always ready to talk after a win

Final Takeaways

  • The Kings are now back to .500 for the season with a record of 11-11
  • The Pacers’ record now stands at 13-10
  • Bogdan Bogdanovic has scored 20 or more points in his last three games
  • Willie Cauley-Stein recorded his eighth double-double of the season with 17 points and 13 rebounds
  • Bojan Bogdanovic put up 27 points which is a new season-high for the Pacers star
  • The Kings win broke a four-game overall losing streak to Indiana
  • This game featured 25 lead changes, 11 ties and neither team ever held a lead of more than seven points
  • The Kings are now 8-2 when they outrebound their opponents

Up Next
The Kings will head out on the road for a four-game trip that will take them to Phoenix, Cleveland, Indianapolis and Chicago. Sacramento will kick off the trip on Tuesday night in Phoenix.

The Pacers will return to Indianapolis and will host the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday evening.

Warriors lose second straight, fall to Pistons 111-102

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Photo credit: @warriors

By: Ana Kieu

It just wasn’t the Golden State Warriors’ night as they lost their second straight game in a 111-102 loss to the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday.

The Warriors were prepared and ready to go from the get-go or at least they seemed to be a prepared group of players prior to the tipoff against the Pistons. The Warriors’ starting five featured Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Jonas Jerebko and Damian Jones.

Both teams were tied at 24 apiece at the end of the first quarter.

The Pistons, however, picked up the pace in the second quarter and outscored the Warriors 30-22. This allowed the Pistons to lead the Warriors 54-46 at halftime.

Of course, halftime doesn’t last forever, so the Warriors had to head back onto the court to show the Pistons what they got. Klay Thompson shined in the third quarter as Vintage Klay came out to play. At the time, Thompson had 21 points and tied his career-high for most consecutive 20-point games with his eighth consecutive 20-point performance. Moreover, you can’t forget about Steph Curry, who made a good amount of 3-pointers.

The Warriors trailed the Pistons 85-78 at the end of three quarters.

The Warriors continued to hustle in the fourth quarter in hopes of finishing the game with a win, but that didn’t happen. Sure, there were solid efforts by Curry, Thompson, Durant and vice versa, but the Pistons had the upper hand and picked up yet another impressive win. This time, it was over the defending NBA champions.

The Warriors fell to the Pistons 111-102 for their second straight loss. Durant led the Warriors with 28 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds. Curry had 27 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks. Thompson had 21 points and 8 rebounds. Jones had 9 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists. Andre Iguodala had 4 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists. Jerebko had 4 points and 4 rebounds. Jordan Bell added 4 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists.

The Warriors continue their road trip against the Atlanta Hawks on Monday, December 3 at 4:30 pm PT.

Kings drop third straight, 133-121, to the Clippers

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Photo credit: @SacramentoKings 

By: Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The last time the Sacramento Kings played was on Sunday. The last time the Los Angeles Clippers played was on Wednesday. The logical conclusion to draw would be that the Kings would come out fresh and the Clippers would appear to be sluggish. The opposite happened was true on Thursday night at the Golden 1 Center. The Clippers came out in full force, scoring 42 points in the opening quarter. The Kings managed to put up a respectable 26 points, but it was no match for the offensive outburst by the Clippers. The Kings would have to cool down the red-hot Clippers in the second quarter to stay in the game.

The Kings would do just that. Led by Bogdan Bogdanovic and De’Aaron Fox the Kings were able to rally the game closer. After the half, the Kings would be down only by three points 71-68.

In the third, we started nearly even with both teams looking for a leg up! The Clippers would hold onto a slight advantage. Both teams went back and forth shooting baskets and drawing fouls. When it was all said and done, the Clippers extended the lead to 101-93. At this point, the leading scorers were Marvin Bagley (18), De’Aaron Fox (17), and Bogdan Bogdanovic (16) for the Kings. For the Clippers, Tobias Harris led the way with 21 points through three quarters.

Unfortunately for Kings fans, that glimmer of hope wouldn’t last long. The Clippers would go on a roll to score 32 and put away the Kings 133-121.

Perhaps overshadowing the game was the developing story of Dave Joerger and Brandon Williams feud. It was widely reported earlier in the day that Dave Joerger told Brandon Williams to leave shoot-around on Thursday afternoon. This stemming from the rumors that Joerger and Williams have had disagreements on various decisions regarding the Kings for a while now. Keep an eye out on Sports Radio Service for updates on this developing story.

Up Next: The Kings stay home to play the Indiana Pacers on Saturday at 7:00 PM PST.

Warriors play another thriller, but lose 131-128 to the Raptors in OT

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by Jerry Feitelberg

The Warriors met the Eastern Division leaders, the Toronto Raptors, in Toronto Thursday evening. The Raptors entered the game with the best record in the NBA 18-4. The Raptors made a trade with the San Antonio Spurs after the 2017-2018 season ended to acquire Kawhi Leonard in exchange for Demar DeRozan. Leonard played in just nine games last season due to injury. Leonard was not happy in San Antonio and appears to have found a comfortable home in Toronto. The Warriors’ Steph Curry, Draymond Green, and Alfonzo McKinnie were not available. Curry has missed the last eleven games due to a groin strain but will return to action Saturday night when the Warriors meet the Detroit Pistons.

The Warriors, behind the exceptional play of Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson, won their last three games. They came from behind to win thrillers over Sacramento and Orlando. They played another thriller against Toronto as they came back from an 18-point deficit to tie the game in regulation. Unfortunately, the Raptors prevailed in the five-minute overtime period to down the Warriors 131-128.

The Raptors thoroughly outplayed the Warriors in the first quarter. Toronto went on a 13-0 run to take an early 14-point lead 20-6. The Warriors offense woke up, and they started to make baskets. They trailed 24-14 when Toronto went on another 8-0 run to lead 32-14. The Warriors closed the gap a smidge but finished the period down by 13points 39-25. Toronto was 14-for-18 from the floor in the first eight minutes and eighteen seconds of action. They also made six three-point shots in ten attempts. The Warriors shot 58% from the floor while Toronto shot an astounding 72.2%

Toronto held the lead for the entire second quarter. Golden State trailed by seventeen at one point in the period, but they continued to fight. They were able to finish the first half down by nine 67-58. They outscored the Raptors 38-29 in the quarter.

The Warriors tried to get back in the game in the third quarter. They trailed by seven 69-62 when Toronto went on a 10-0 run to lead 79-62. It appeared that Toronto was going to cruise to an easy win. Durant, Thompson, and company had other thoughts. The Warriors continued to fight. They needed to make stops, and they did as they clawed their way back to trail 96-88 after three periods of play. The Raptors led by Kawhi Leonard, Serge Ibaka, and Pascal Siakam thwarted the Warriors at every turn. Kevin Durant was not on the floor to start the fourth quarter. The Warriors, behind Klay Thompson and Jonas Jerebko, went on a 9-0 run and closed to within two 103-101. Toronto responded to take a ten-point lead 114-104. KD was back on the floor, and the Warriors went on another 8-0 run to make it 114-112. The Raptors increased the lead to 119-113, but Durant came through with two three-pointers to tie the game at 119 as time ran out.

The Warriors did not play well in overtime. They committed five turnovers as the Raptors outscored them 12-9 to win by a final of 131-128.

Game notes and stats. Kevin Durant had his third consecutive game scoring forty or more points. It was the first time in his career that he had achieved this feat. KD ended the night with 51 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists. It was the sixth time in his career that he scored fifty or more in a game. Klay Thompson had 23, and Jonas Jerebko knocked down 20. No other Warrior was in double figures. Kawhi Leonard led Toronto with 37. Serge Ibaka had 20, and Pascal Siakam recorded 26. The Raptors had three other players in double figures.

The Warriors drop to 15-7 and are 5-6 with Steph Curry out of the lineup. The Raptors improve to 19-4.

The Warriors travel to Detroit to face the Pistons Saturday nigh

Headline Sports podcast with London Marq: Warriors coming back from string of losses; Fans want SF Giants owner Johnson to step down; How Foster release will impact 49ers; plus more

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Photo credit: news.abs-cbn.com

On the Headline Sports podcast with London:

#1 The Warriors have certainly shown they can bounce back after losing three straight, they have on three straight as they prepare to face the Raptors in Toronto.

#2 After SF Giants owner Charles Johnson donated $2700 to Mississippi Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith who won her run off on Tuesday night. Johnson had donated the funds to the Hyde-Smith campaign after she posed for a photo with a Confederate hat and a Confederate civil war era rifle. Fans and sponsors have either pulled their support and will boycott or plan to leave doing business with the Giants. The NAACP President and former San Francisco Board of Supervisor the Rev Amos Brown has said that Johnson sought his donation from the Hyde-Smith campaign and the NAACP boycott against Johnson and the Giants is over.

#3 After the release of SF 49ers linebacker Ruben Foster on Sunday the team went out and lost to Tampa Bay. Will the Foster release have an impact on this team? Foster signed with Washington some two days later after being released by the 49ers.

#4 The Sacramento Kings are trying to avoid a third straight loss this time they face the Los Angeles Clippers at Golden 1 Center on Thursday night. The Clippers are in first place in the Western Conference.

#5 The San Jose Sharks lost their third in four games on Tuesday night in Buffalo 3-2. The Sharks really got taken to the cleaners on Sunday night with a 6-0 loss in Las Vegas to the Golden Knights.

London Marq does Headline Sports each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O: Kings on two-game skid, can only hope for the best against first place Clippers Thursday night

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Photo credit: @SacramentoKings

On the Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O:


#1 The Sacramento Kings did face a major uphill battle in their game against Golden State on Saturday only to lose by a point 117-116 with less than a second remaining in Oakland.


#2 The Kings, the very next night Sunday, hosted the Utah Jazz, who they played in Utah last Wednesday and defeated them 119-110. In the game Sunday, the Jazz got their revenge with a huge 133-112 victory.


#3 NBA teams hate back-to-back games because like Charlie O wrote in the postgame wrap Sunday night it spells disaster and the Kings got a taste of that in the loss to Utah.


#4  The Kings got off to a 7-0 start, but it all collapsed from there and Sacramento never saw the lead again.


#5 The Los Angeles Clippers don’t make the Kings task any easier. The Clips sit at the top of the Western Conference with a 13-6 record and come to Golden 1 on Thursday night.


Join Charlie O on the Sacramento Kings podcast each Tuesday night at http://www.sportsradioservice.com


Warriors come from behind to win another thriller, 116-110, over the Magic

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By Jerry Feitelberg

Oakland- The Warriors won another thriller Monday night against the rapidly, improving Orlando Magic Monday night at Oracle Arena by a score of 116-110. The Magic beat the Lakers in Los Angeles Sunday afternoon and had to play Monday night again. The Magic have turned their program around this season under head coach Steve Clifford. Orlando had struggled the last few years, but they have beaten some pretty good teams so far this year. They have knocked off Boston, Philadelphia, San Antonio, and the Lakers twice so far. They entered the game with a record of 10-10. The Warriors were without Steph Curry for the 10th straight game. Draymond Green was thought to be available, but he did not play. Alfonzo McKinnie also did not play.

The Warriors’ Klay Thompson started the game with a three-pointer. The Magic countered with a bucket to make it 3-2 early in the first quarter. The Magic opened up a 9-point lead 16-7 before the Warriors went on a 9-2 run to close the gap to 18-16. Orlando led 25-18, but the Warriors finished the quarter with an 8-0 run to lead 26-25 after 12 minutes of play.

The second period was another story. Orlando outplayed the Warriors the entire second period. They made 3-point shots. They played defense and won the second quarter 33-14 to finish the first half leading by 17 64-47. Kevin Durant led the Warriors with 20, and Klay Thompson had 10. Damion Lee was the only Warrior with more than two points. Six players, Kevon Looney, Jordan Bell, Damian Jones, Quinn Cook, Shaun Livingston, and Andre Iguodala each had two points in the first half. The Magic’s big center Nikola Vukcevic knocked down 17 and Terrence Ross, coming off the bench, had 16. Evan Fournier had 9, and D.J.Augustin pitched in with 8.

The Warriors had to go back to the drawing board during the halftime intermission. Head coach Steve Kerr had to figure out a way to get his players to start scoring and be able to stop the hot Orlando team on offense. It was not going to be easy as Orlando, having won a close game in Los Angeles on Sunday, did not wilt. They answered everything the Warriors threw at them. The Warriors increased the intensity on defense, and they started to chip away at the 18-point deficit. Kevin Durant was on fire as he scored 16 points in the third quarter. He also showed the Magic how good he could play defense as he blocked a shot with about five minutes left in the quarter and the momentum started to shift to the Warriors. They outscored the Magic 32-19 and finished the quarter trailing by just four points 83-79. The fans at Oracle Arena were on their feet as the Warriors clawed their way back into the contest.

With Durant resting on the bench, Klay Thompson took over the offense. Klay made two three-pointers in a row to get within three 88-85. The Magic fought back and increased the lead to seven. They could not get closer than three as the Magic led 100-97. Kevon Looney came through with a big bucket, and Klay hit another three to give the Warriors the advantage 102-100. The Magic fought back and tied the game at 107 with one minute and forty-four seconds left to play. Durant made a layup and Orlando fouled him on the play. He converted the free throw, and The Warriors led again 110-107. Orland countered with a bucket. Durant made a three-pointer to make 113- 109. The Warriors fouled Nikola Vucevic but he missed a free throw and all the Warriors needed to win was one-point. Shaun Livingston made the free throw to put the game out of reach, and the Warriors added two more points to win 116-110. The Warriors won the second half 69-46 to win by six. What a game. The fans went home very happy and many of them had to have sore throats as they were cheering very loudly.

Game notes and stats- Kevin Durant finished the night with a season-high 49 points. Klay Thompson finished with 29. Klay made five 3-point shots in the fourth quarter and six total for the night. No other Warrior scored in double-figures. Quinn Cook was third in scoring with eight and that included two treys. While they didn’t score a lot, Kevon Looney, Jordan Bell, Andre Iguodala, Jonas Jerebko, and Damian Jones all performed well on defense as they held the Magic to just 46 points in the second half.

Nikola Vucevic led the Magic with 30 points and 12 rebounds. Terrence Ross finished with 28, and he made four threes. Jonathan Simmons, Jonathan Isaac, and Mo Bomba, not known for shooting threes, knocked down 7 in 8 attempts.

The Warriors improve to 15-7, and the MAgic falls to 10-11. The Warriors begin the most extended road trip of the season starting Thursday night in Toronto. Game time will be at 5 pm. They then go to Detroit, Atlanta, Cleveland, and finish the trip in Milwaukee.

Kings fall to Jazz 133-112 on Sunday night in SAC

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Jazz final score

By Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings faced a major uphill battle on Sunday night at the Golden 1 Center. They had played their butts off in Oakland on Saturday night only to lose to the Golden State Warriors 117-116 with less than one second remaining in the game.

The team then had to travel home and get ready for a 5 PM game on Sunday against the Utah Jazz. Let’s change that to the very angry Utah Jazz.

Sacramento had played the Jazz in Salt Lake City last Wednesday and embarrassed the Utah squad in front of their home fans by handing them a 119-110 loss. You must remember that the Jazz were a playoff team last season and to be beaten at home by a bunch of upstarts like the Kings is something that is not supposed to happen in the NBA.

The Jazz entered the contest with revenge on their minds.

Back-to-back games
NBA teams hate back-to-back games because they often spell disaster for them. The games on Saturday and Sunday were the Kings fifth back-to-back set of the season. They were 4-5 in those games coming in the contest with the Jazz. They had swept one series, split two series and been swept once.

The Kings needed to win on Sunday night to prevent being swept in a back-to-back series for the second time this season. They lost to the Jazz 133-112 and have now been swept twice in a back-to-back series.

Kings could not take advantage of a break
The Kings (10-10) knew before the start of the game that Utah’s star guard Donovan Mitchell would not be in uniform on Sunday. Mitchell who averages 20.6 points per game is usually the “heart and soul” of the Jazz offense. His absence did not guarantee the Kings a win, but it should have given them an advantage to exploit. They were unable to do so.

Coach Dave Joerger even warned the media before the game that Utah had a deep bench that was very capable of making up for Mitchell not being in the lineup. He was correct.

Things started well for SAC
The Kings jumped out to a 7-0 lead but things went downhill from there. Coach Dave Joerger did not mince words about what he saw from his team.

  • The Jazz outscored the Kings in the paint 66-52
  • Utah scored 17 second Chance Points to Sacramento’s 9
  • The Kings did win the battle of fastbreak points 13-12
  • The Jazz shot 53.3% (49/52) for the game while the Kings shot 47.1% (40/85)
  • UTA out-rebounded SAC 49-36
  • The Jazz dished out 30 assists while committing 19 turnovers (23 Kings points)
  • The Kings recorded 20 assists and turned it over 17 times (23 Utah points)

De’Aaron Fox on the loss to the Jazz

  • Kings high scorer was Bogdan Bogdanovic with 20 points in his first start of the season
  • De’Aaron Fox scored 13 points while dishing out 3 assists and adding 3 steals

  • Marvin Bagley III scored 18 points and grabbed 6 rebounds
  • Harry Giles III put up 10 points, hauled in 8 rebounds and added 6 assists in just under 20 minutes of playing time

Utah Jazz leaders

Jazz Rubio

  • Ricky Rubio was the Jazz unlikely leading scorer. The point guard hardly ever shoots yet on Sunday he shot 11-for-16 from the floor and went 2-for-3 from behind the 3-point arc. He scored 27 points while distributing 5 assists and adding 7 rebounds.
  • Rudy Gobert posted a double-double with 18 points and 15 rebounds. This was his 18th double-double of the season
  • Joe Ingles was quiet for much of the game and then suddenly had 18 points

Up next

  • The Jazz (9-11) will be back in action on Monday night when they host the Pacers in Salt Lake City
  • The Kings are off until Thursday night when they will welcome Clippers to the Golden 1 Center
  • The Jazz and Kings will meet one more time this season in SLC on April 5, 2019

Kings: “A little wedgie let them down!” Warriors win 117-116 on Saturday night

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Kings 5 at GSW

By Charlie O. Mallonee

Last season–if this reporter were to tell you that the Sacramento Kings had a chance to beat the Golden State Warriors on the road with 0.03 seconds to go in the game–you would call that reporter a delusional liar. Yet, on Saturday night in Oakland, that was exactly the situation that existed for the Kings.

Buddy Hield drove to the bucket and attempted a layup that did not drop. Marvin Bagley III attempted to tip the ball back into the basket but it wedged between the hoop and the backboard setting up a jump ball scenario.

The Kings controlled the jump ball and immediately called a timeout with 0.03 remaining on the clock. Sacramento inbounded the ball but it was tipped by a Warriors defender and the game ended with the ball loose on the floor. The Warriors won the game 117-116.

The critics will be quick to point out that Steph Curry was not available to play for the Warriors, and that is true. But in seasons past, Curry, Durant, and Thompson could have been on the bench and the Kings would have had no chance to win the game.

On Saturday night, the Warriors were missing Curry but had all of their other stars and the Kings gave the NBA Champs a run for their money. The outcome of this contest was still unknown with just 0.03 seconds to go in the game.

Hield was the man for SAC on Saturday night

buddy-at-gsw.jpg

Buddy Hield was the star of the game for the Kings versus the Kings on Saturday night. Hield led the Kings in scoring with 28 points. He shot 12-for-21 from the field and 4-for-6 from behind the arc. Hield also grabbed seven rebounds, posted three assists and had a blocked shot in the game.

MBIII Double-Double
Marvin Bagley III came off the bench to score 20 points and pull down 17 rebounds in just under 34-minutes of playing time. MBIII hit 7-of-15 shots from the field. He also converted 6-of-8 opportunities from the charity stripe. Bagley also had two assists in the contest.

Swipa the Fox
De’Aaron Fox struggled in this game and yet contributed at the same time. Fox played almost 34-minutes but scored just nine points. Fox also had nine assists in the game.

Fox shot just 3-for-14 in the game. He did not sink a 3-point shot in the game.

The Kings cannot win with Fox having just nine points and nine rebounds in a game.

Bogi struggled as well

Bogi vs GSW

Bogdan Bogdanovic put up 10 points and added two rebounds versus the top team in the NBA, “Bogi” saw his toughest minutes on the floor since coming off the disabled list to start the season.

Two important bench performances
Justin Jackson came off the bench to have a very productive game for the Kings. Jackson scored 12 points in just 20 minutes on the floor. He went 4-for-8 from the field and hit 3-of-3 from the charity stripe in his time in the game.

Harry Giles III posted 10 points in just 11 minutes of playing time. He hit 4-of-5 shots from the field. GIII also went 2-for-3 from free throw line. GSW broadcasters Bob Fitzgerald and Jim Barnett were very impressed by Giles performance.

Up Next
The Kings will be back in action on Sunday afternoon as they will host the Utah Jazz. The Kings beat the Jazz in Salt Lake City last Wednesday night 119-110.  The Jazz lost to the Lakers on Friday night 90-83.