Category: NBA

Kings fall in Los Angeles to the Lakers 99-86

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

Photo credit: @SacramentoKings

By Jordan Chapin

On a Tuesday night in the Staples Center, the Sacramento Kings loss a roller coaster game to the Los Angeles Lakers, 99-86. In a always anticipated Fox vs. Ball match up, it was pretty even, Fox shot 6-for-16 from the field with 15 points, three assists, and one rebound, while Ball struggled from the field shooting 2-for-10, but had 11 assists and 11 rebounds. Tonight the Lakers channeled their inner “showtime,” and frankly ran the Kings out of the building, scoring 35 points via fast break.

The Kings put themselves in a hole quick, as the Lakers went on a 17-0 run and went up 24-6 only five minutes into the game. Despite being down early, the Kings led by Bogdan Bogdanovic and De’Aaron Fox who had 10 of his 15 points in the first quarter came surging back with a run of their own, cutting the Lakers lead to just 31-27 at the end of the first quarter.

Sacramento trailed only 53-52 going into halftime, but frustration began to kick in when the Kings came out on the floor for the second half. The outside shooting of Brook Lopez and the inside presence of Julius Randle was too much for Sacramento to handle. Despite Los Angeles turning the ball over 25 times, the Kings shot a minuscule 34% from the field and never gave themselves a chance to get back in the game scoring only 12 points in the fourth quarter.

The Sacramento Kings will try their luck on Thursday with the other team from “La La Land”, the Los Angeles Clippers, who continue to battle with injuries to key players such as Blake Griffin and Patrick Beverly. With the first half of the season winding down, the Kings and Lakers now sit with the same record of 13-27.

Sacramento Kings:
Star of the Game: Bogdan Bogdanovic

Bogy

Tying his career high with 19 points, Bogdanovic was key in keeping the Kings in the game for as long as they did. Bogey shot 7-for-13 from the field with 4 assists and 2 rebounds. Despite one of his most efficient games of the year, it wasn’t enough to slow down a speedy Lakers team.

Kings’ Key Stats:
Forced 25 turnover and had 15 assists

Shot 34% from the field and 38% from 3 point land

Went to the free throw line 27 times, only made 18 of 27 shots

Kosta Koufas: 15 rebounds, one away from career high

Vintage Vince Carter Dunkage: 1

Los Angeles Lakers:
Star of the Game: Julius Randle

Randle was the most dominant player on the floor tonight with 22 points, 14 rebounds and six assists. Bringing energy off the bench, Randle opened up the floor for his teammates tonight with a heavy presence down low and reckless abandon to the rim.

Key Stats:
Shot 48% from the field and 34% from 3-point land, despite shooting 35 shots behind the arc.

30 assists as a team, 11 of which came from Lonzo Ball

Went to the line 21 times, made only 13 of 21

Two players with a double-double

35 points scored from fast breaks

Kings blow lead, lose to Spurs 107-100

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Photo credit: @SacramentoKings

By: London Marq

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Kings started their game with the Spurs with one of their better opening quarters of the season. While a trend of slow starts has plagued Sacramento for the better part of the campaign, tonight was not one of those nights.

For the Kings, it was a defensive effort to begin the game–a defensive effort that fueled offensive production. By the end of the first quarter, the Kings had the lead and Willie Cauley-Stein was well on his way to a double-double with 10 points and five rebounds.

The Kings kept the Spurs flat on offense. All five San Antonio starters had negative plus/minus efficiency after one quarter as they were held to just 21 points. The Kings played well through the second quarter and would go into the half with a 10-point lead (56-46).

When the Spurs stepped on the hardwood for the third quarter, they were a different team. The tempo of their effort kicked it up a notch on both sides of the court. Sacramento was forced to slow down and be more careful with the ball. Sacramento, who led by as many as 14, lost their rhythm. LaMarcus Aldridge scored 11 third quarter points and helped the Spurs get back to a three-point deficit going into the fourth quarter.

Spurs head coach Gregg Popovic was complimentary of Aldridge after the game, saying: “He was a big factor tonight. He’s taking advantage of the extra minutes he’s been getting during the season”.

Indeed, Aldridge was a major part of San Antonio’s game plan. He finished with 31 points and 12 boards. Davis Bertans also poured in 28 for the Spurs. The Kings led for the vast majority of the game, with 5 plays scoring double digits.

However, like we’ve seen time and time again from Gregg Popovic and the Spurs found away to steal the game away from Sacramento. With the deficit disappearing as the fourth quarter progressed, the Kings began to make mistakes that young teams make: turnovers and bad fouls.

Sacramento had 18 turnovers that translated to 24 points for the Spurs, and six of those turnovers came in the final period.  The Spurs would close the game on a 17-5 run and snag a win before heading to Los Angeles to face the Lakers on Thursday. San Antonio has now won 12 straight games against Sacramento.

The Kings will chalk this one up as a learning experience, as they host Los Angeles’s other team, the Clippers on Thursday as well. With the latter half of the season quickly approaching the Kings will look to find some consistency they sorely need.

Final: Spurs defeated Kings 107-100.

Up Next: Kings host the Clippers on Thursday at 7 pm PT.

Curry scores game-high 32 points, Warriors rout Nuggets 124-114

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Photo credit: @NBA

By: Ana Kieu

After a three-game road trip, the Golden State Warriors returned home to the Oracle Arena and welcomed the Denver Nuggets on Monday night.

In the last matchup between the two teams, Denver embarrassed Golden State with a 96-81 win in Oakland on December 23, 2017.

Tonight, the Warriors were looking to extend their win streak to five games, while the Nuggets were hoping to rebound from a loss to the Sacramento Kings on January 6, 2018.

The Warriors’ starting lineup consisted of Andre Iguodala, Draymond Green, Zaza Pachulia, Klay Thompson and Steph Curry. Golden State pretty much had tonight’s game against Denver from start to finish.

The Warriors made some noteworthy plays in the first quarter. Like this one, embedded in the tweet below.

Jordan Bell got up for the denial late in the first. Then, Bell headed to the line to close out the first. The Warriors were up 37-28 at the end of the first.

Excellent ball movement led to a Thompson three with 5:13 left in the second quarter. Curry and Green also joined the party of threes. The Warriors carried a 64-57 lead to the locker room at the half.

Here are the Warriors’ halftime stats:

The Warriors began the second half on a Curry three that was followed by a couple of Thompson jumpers. Those shots alone were most likely worth votes for the 2018 NBA All-Star Game.

Curry continued to make it rain with threes and the Warriors led the Nuggets 93-81 at the end of the third quarter.

The Warriors’ hustle remained unmatched in the fourth quarter. Curry had 30 points in 32 points.

The Warriors defeated the Nuggets 124-114. With the win, Golden State improved to 33-8.

Here are the Warriors’ final stats:

Notes
Steph Curry was named Western Conference Player of the Week.

First 10,000 fans in the doors received a Klay Thompson bobblehead.

Kevin Durant donated $3 million to his alma mater UT Austin. 

Warriors’ injury report: Kevin Durant (right calf strain) is out. Omri Casspi (hip contusion), Stephen Curry (left knee soreness), Draymond Green (right knee soreness), Andre Iguodala (left knee & hip soreness) & Shaun Livingston (hip tightness) are available to play.

Up Next 
The Warriors host the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday at 7:30 pm PT.

The losing streak is over: Kings beat the Nuggets 106-98 Saturday night in SAC

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
Carter win over Den
Vince Carter savors the moment; Kings down Nuggets 106-98

by Charlie O. Mallonee

Saturday night did not get off to a great start for the Sacramento Kings who were hoping to end a three-game home losing streak. The Kings announced that they would have to play the game without three of their key players. Zach Randolph could not play because of oral surgery. George Hill was unavailable due to personal reasons, and Frank Mason III was unable to dress because of the contusion to his heel that he suffered in Memphis game.

No team wants to face an opponent like the Nuggets – who average 107.7-points per game – short-handed but that is exactly the situation the Kings faced on Saturday night. FiveThirtyEight.com gave Sacramento just a 36-percent chance of winning the game before the loss of the Randolph, Hill and Mason. The situation looked grim indeed for the Kings before tipoff.

Sacramento went with a starting five of Malachi Richardson, Skal Labissiere, Willie Cauley-Stein, Buddy Hield and De’Aaron Fox. Two seasons from now, this starting five could be the norm but not now, they just do not have enough experience to carry their squad to victory on a regular basis. Fortunately for Kings fans, no one told the starting five that they could not be a winning combination.

The Kings would never trail in the game. The contest was tied one time at 27-27 with 46.7-seconds remaining in the first quarter. Sacramento was never able to open a lead of more than 12-points in the game, but they jealously held on to their lead for the entire contest.

The Kings took a 46-41 lead to the locker room at halftime knowing the real test for them was going to come in the third quarter. The Nuggets have become known as a third quarter team. On Friday night, Denver scored 38-points in the third period to put away the Jazz.

The Nuggets did come on strong in the third quarter scoring 30-points while shooting 50-percent (13-for-26) from the floor. The problem for Denver was Sacramento scored 33-points in third period shooting 54.2-percent from the field (13-for-24) that included converting 4-of-5 attempts from behind the 3-point line. Buddy Hield went a perfect 3-for-3 from downtown in the quarter. The Kings took a 79-71 lead over the Nuggets into the final quarter.

The Nuggets were able to cut the Kings lead to three-points midway through the quarter but that is as close as they would come to taking the lead. Denver could have taken the lead if they could have converted free throw opportunities.

At the 6:38 mark, Garrett Temple fouled the Nuggets center – Mason Plumlee. Plumlee missed both free throws. Less than a minute later, Vince Carter fouled Trey Lyles. The sharp-shooting forward stepped to the line and promptly missed both free throw. Lyles would grab the rebound of his second miss and hit a four-foot jumper that cut the Sacramento lead to just three-points. Converting two of those four free throw opportunities could have changed the outcome of the game.

The Kings opened up a lead of 11-points with 11.9-seconds to go in the game. Gary Harris hit a 3-pointer for the final score of the game which cut the Sacramento winning margin to eight-points – 106-98.

Top Performances

Kings Lion logo

  • Star of the Game: this award goes to the entire Kings team. They could have easily phoned this one in with Z-Bo, Hill and Mason on the shelf. Instead, they pulled it together and took advantage of a very talented team who was playing the second game of a back-to-back set on the road after beating the Jazz at home on Friday. The Kings never trailed in the game. That is a real recovery after suffering three consecutive – demoralizing losses at home.

Co-Star: De’Aaron Fox who played just over 35-minutes while scoring a team-high 18-points. Fox also dished out seven assists while using the dribble-drive to go to the hoop or dish it off to a teammate to score. The rookie PG went to the free throw line eight times and converted six of those opportunities.

  • Co-Star: Willie Cauley-Stein came up big for his team on Saturday night as he grabbed a career-high seven-steals. That is aggressive basketball at any level. The big man also posted 17-points to go with four rebounds and two assists. Cauley-Stein shot 8-for-12 in the contest.

  • Co-Star: Skal Labissiere makes it an all-Kentucky co-star lineup for the Kings on Saturday night. Labissiere not only made the start but he scored 12 points, blocked three shots and hauled in four rebounds in just over 15-minutes of playing time. His coach thought his third-quarter play may have been his best of the season.

Skal

Nuggets 5-DNuggets_2nd

  • Star of the Game: Trey Lyles came off the bench to lead his team and score a game-high 19-points. The third-year forward shot 8-for-11 overall including going 2-for-3 from downtown. Lyles also grabbed nine rebounds. When Lyles and Murray are on the floor together, every team in the NBA should be very, very concerned.

5-Lyles

  • Co-Star: Jamal Murray who recorded 18-points while shooting 7-for-16 from the floor. Murray who hit 6-of-7 from 3-point land versus the Jazz on Friday cooled off against the Kings sinking 3-of-8 three-point opportunities. It may have been fatigue, but Murray really allowed his temper to get the best of him late in the game. He has to learn to let the coach do the arguing while he focuses on the game.

5-Murray

  • Co-Star: Gary Harris really asserted himself in the second-half of the game shooting a perfect 3-for-3 from the floor, 2-for-2 from the charity stripe and dishing out two assists. Harris finished with 17-points for Denver in 36-minutes on the floor.

5-Harris

 

 

 

 

Up Next

Kings: Sacramento will not be able to enjoy this victory for long as they must prepare to face the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night at the Golden 1 Center. The Spurs were in Sacramento on December 23, 2017 and defeated the Kings 108-99.

Nuggets: Denver will not be able to rest on Sunday as they have to prepare to face the World Champion Golden State Warriors in Oakland on Monday night.

Clippers lose Griffin and game to Warriors 121-105, Curry scores season-high 45 points

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~ Photo credit: @warriors

~ By Pearl Allison Lo

~ LOS ANGELES–The Stephen Curry show led the Golden State Warriors to a 121-105 rout over the Los Angeles Clippers as Curry scored 45 points in three quarters at the Staples Center Saturday.

Though the Warriors had a bit of a slow and poor shooting start, Curry scored 17, 12 and 16, respectively. He also had a career-high 15 free throws along with his seven three’s on 11-of-21 shooting, as Golden State’s lead stretched as high as 30.

Regarding feeling pretty good, Curry replied, “Yeah, just trying to start off the game right. It’s obviously weird playing a 12:30 game…you got to find a little bit of energy and something to build momentum…obviously unfortunate to see Blake (Griffin) go out. I hope he’s alright.”  

Los Angeles was within three after the first quarter, but Blake Griffin never returned to the game, after suffering a concussion with 2:11 left in the first. He received an elbow to the forehead from JaVale McGee, which knocked him down and one could see his right hand shaking. Luckily, he was able to get up later with help. For the already depleted Clippers, it was their second blow in a row as Milos Teodosic did not play after leaving the last game.  

The Warriors ended with a 3-0 road trip as part of a four-game win streak, averaging 121 points a game. It was their 12th win versus Los Angeles and 10th straight road win. The Clippers fell just shy of garnering 106 points their last nine games.

Golden State coach Steve Kerr commented, saying the game “was mainly about Steph tonight.”

The leading scorers on Golden State after Curry were McGee and Nick Young with 11 apiece and David West and Klay Thompson with 10 apiece. On a poor shooting night for Thompson, 4-of-16, Thompson doubled his five points in the first half in the third. Draymond Green almost had a double-double with nine points, 12 rebounds and seven assists. Andre Iguodala had seven assists too.

Lou Williams led the Clippers with 23 points on 7-of-14 shooting, rivaling Curry in the first with 13 points in the opening quarter. Next after Williams was DeAndre Jordan with a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds, Tyrone Wallace (his first NBA game) with 13 points, Jawun Evans with 12 points and seven assists and Sam Dekker and Montrezl Harrell with nine points apiece, Harrell also with 10 rebounds.  

The Warriors did not get their second bucket of the game until 8:06 left in the first, when Curry was fouled and scored a pair of free throws. That led to a turnover by Griffin and resulting Green dunk shot.  Curry made his first three with 6:55 to go, giving Golden State their first lead until the second with under five minutes to go.

Later Curry drove to the basket before passing out for an assist and got the ball back outside the three point line. He put his arms up and drew the foul to make three free throws.

It then became the Warriors and threes led by Curry versus Williams, as Golden State built a 10-point lead. Williams scored three straight baskets, but Green and Curry combined for three three’s with Curry making a second chance three as well.

Los Angeles went on a 7-0 run to end the quarter, with William scoring the last five points with a three to make it 28-31. Curry tried to replicate on the other end but missed at the buzzer.

The field goal percentage at the end of the quarter was Warriors (33.3%) and Clippers (47.6%).

With the majority of the second period close, the max lead at six and within one four times, Sam Dekker tied the game at 50 apiece at 3:30. This held until Iguodala made the first of two free throws 31 seconds later and Golden State never looked back.

It was the Warriors’ turn to end the quarter as they went on a 12-5 run. Curry made his first three of the second with 2:14 left. With 1:06 left, Thompson hit his first three, then Curry had the last six points from the line and runs to the basket twice, until Williams scored with .2 seconds left. Golden State ended with a nine-point lead, 64-55.

The shooting percentage leads reversed after the third quarter, with the Warriors shooting 52.2% and Los Angeles shooting 33.3%.

Golden State went on an 11-4 run, started by Curry’s first three, another three by Thompson and culminating with three free throws from Curry with 5:49 left to go for an 18-point lead.

The Warriors’ lead reached its 30-point high with under a minute left after a 22-6 run. That was sparked by a three from Curry and also included a pair of three’s from Young.   

When asked if it would be fair to say every time Steph shot a three, it seemed to spark Golden State’s runs, Kerr replied, “I would say it was fair. It’s fair to say that. When he gets going like that, he sparks the whole building.”

Clippers’ coach Doc Rivers message to the team was, “Golden State are the world champions. We have 90 points of offense sitting in street clothes. I thought their offensive assault affected us…You back up to no one ever…If they’re better, let them be better, but make them be better.”

With Curry on the bench, the fourth quarter was the best and worst for Los Angeles and the Warriors points-wise, 29-18.

Game notes: On playing all 13 of his players, Kerr expressed, “it just felt like one of those games you play everybody, old school, like YMCA with the kids. Everybody has to play, and it was a good day for that.”

Due to Los Angeles’ need for guard help, Wallace was signed, while Jamil Wilson was waived January 5th.

Recent injuries from the past for both teams continued with Kevin Durant out again for Golden State.

Green got his 11th technical for arguing a non-call on the play after Griffin’s injury.

Up next: The Warriors head back home for two games now to play the Denver Nuggets Monday at 7:30pm and then the Clippers again.

Kings Press Row Podcast January 5, 2018 with Charlie O & Jordan Chapin

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

press row podcast

Hosts Charlie O and Jordan “Chape” Chapin

  • Kings beat the Cavs and the expectations became very big for the men in purple and white

  • The loss to the Suns at home was a real “buzz kill” for the Kings and their momentum

  • The Grizzlies came to Sacramento and dominated the Kings. The fans were vocal with their displeasure

  • The Hornets continued the pattern of dominating the Kings with their big win at the Golden 1 Center

  • Denver visits Sacramento on Saturday and brings their high-powered offense in to challenge the Kings

  • If there haven’t been enough challenges, the Spurs come back to town on Monday

  • Charlie O & Chape break it all down for you on this edition of the Kings Press Row Podcast

Draymond Green gets triple-double, Warriors rout Rockets 124-114

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Photo credit: @warriors

By: Ana Kieu

The Golden State Warriors traveled from North Texas to South Texas to take on the Houston Rockets at the Toyota Center Thursday night. The Warriors, who are No. 1 in the Western Conference, competed against the Rockets, who are No. 2. As you should already know, the Rockets fired away last year with a 14-game win streak that was eventually snapped by Kyle Kuzma and the Los Angeles Lakers.

A familiar face made the first free throw of the game and for a good reason. The Rockets’ new “First Shot” ceremony gives a featured celebrity or a local public figure a chance to earn $5,000 for the charity of his or her choice. Tonight’s lucky guest was Houston Astros shortstop Carlos Correa.

Both teams had their game faces on for an action-packed Western Conference matchup. The Warriors took an early 7-2 lead on Klay Thompson’s three at the 10:06 mark of the first quarter.

But let’s not forget that Rockets shooting guard Eric Gordon was on fire, leading all scorers with 13 points in the first. The Rockets’ Twitter proceeded to remind fans to vote for Gordon for the 2018 NBA All-Star Game.

Nick Young hit a three with four seconds left on the clock, but the Warriors trailed the Rockets by four (37-33) at the end of the first. A four-point deficit is a deficient number, but there was still lots of basketball left.

Both teams continued to battle it out in the second quarter. Before the media timeout, the Warriors led the Rockets by one (59-58) with 4:27 left in the second. After the timeout, the Warriors went on a nice 10-2 run in a span of 1:10, but continued to trail the Rockets by one (63-62) at the half.

Here are the Warriors’ stats at the half:

Steph Curry got things going in the second half as he finished a layup at the rim to pull the Warriors within one (65-64) at the 11:04 mark of the third quarter. Zaza Pachulia provided the assist on Curry’s layup.

The score was tied at 68 with 7:33 left in the third. Draymond Green made a pair of free throws to put the Warriors up 70-68, but the Golden State lead was short-lived, as Gerard Green hit a three to put the Rockets back on top 71-70.

The score was tied up again at 74 with 5:40 left in the third. Many people were expecting Curry to put on a shooting show–which he did–but the Rockets’ Gerard Green hit just as many threes in an attempt to redeem himself.

Curry then hit a three. Green missed his three at the buzzer. The Warriors were up by three (93-90) at the end of the third.

Draymond Green was doing his thing on the court. Most notably, David West made a sweet pass to set up Green’s dunk at the 10:30 mark of the fourth quarter. West also made some dunks of his own.

Curry continued to make quality shots late in the half. In addition, Draymond Green notched a triple-double with an assist.

The Warriors beat the Rockets 124-114 for their third straight win.

Here are the Warriors’ final stats:

Notes
Warriors’ starting lineup: Andre Iguodala, Draymond Green, Zaza Pachulia, Klay Thompson and Steph Curry.

Warriors’ injury report: Kevin Durant (right calf strain) is out. Omri Casspi (mid back strain) is questionable.

Rockets’ starting lineup: Trevor Ariza, Ryan Anderson, Clint Capela, Eric Gordon and Chris Paul.

The Reliant Energy Power Player of December is Rockets’ Capela Clint, who averaged 14.6 points, 10.7 rebounds, and shot 70.7% during the month.

Up Next 
The Warriors take on the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday, January 6 at 12:30 pm PT.

Warriors edge Mavericks 125-122 for second straight win

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Photo credit: @warriors

By: Ana Kieu

The Golden State Warriors kicked off 2018 with a road game against the Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Center Wednesday night.

Steph Curry and Kevin Durant appeared to be cool in the first quarter as they made quite a few jumpers and buckets. Curry also proved that he was a good shooter.

The Warriors led the Mavericks 35-26 at the end of the first quarter.

Klay Thompson opened the second quarter with a couple of jumpers. David West headed to the line and jumped back into the game. In addition, Curry beat the quarter buzzer with a three-pointer with just three seconds left in the second.

The Warriors carried a 67-61 lead to the locker room at the end of the first half.

Here are the halftime stats:

Draymond Green opened the second half with a three. Durant put the Warriors back in front with a three of his own. Not only that, Patrick McCaw beat the buzzer to end the third quarter.

It was a close game at the end of the third quarter as the Warriors barely led the Mavs by two (91-89).

Green hit another three in the fourth quarter. Also, Durant threw down some more dunks.

Thompson gave the Warriors a two-point lead with less than a minute remaining in the fourth, and Golden State went on to edge Dallas 125-123 for their second straight win.

Here are the final stats:

Notes
Warriors’ injury update: Draymond Green (sprained left ankle) and Zaza Pachulia (illness) are available to play in tonight’s game.

Warriors’ starting lineup: Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, Zaza Pachulia, Klay Thompson and Steph Curry.

Kevin Durant has his seventh 20-point and 10-rebound game of the season with 23 points and 10 boards, while Draymond Green has his sixth point/rebound double-double with 18 points and 10 boards.

Dirk Nowitzski became just the 98th player in NBA history to play in 1,000 games when he did so for the Mavs on Jan. 4, 2012 against the Suns.

Up Next
The Warriors head to the Toyota Center to take on the Rockets Thursday night at 7 pm CT.

Fox returns, defense does not in Kings’ 131-111 loss to the Hornets at home

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Photo credit: @SacramentoKings

By Morris Phillips

SACRAMENTO–With seven seconds remaining in the third quarter, the chirping from the Kings’ bench could be heard loud and clear, “Foul to give, foul to give.”

But after three passes, Charlotte’s Frank Kaminsky calmly drained a jumper at the free throw line area over Willie Cauley-Stein marking the Hornets’ 100th point on the evening as the horn sounded.

12 seconds into the fourth quarter, the Hornets were made to feel like even more welcome guests as Kaminsky passed to Jeremy Lamb beneath the hoop, where he converted from point blank range.

And so it went for Sacramento on Tuesday in a 131-111 loss, the Hornets pushed, but the defenseless Kings didn’t push back in a contest that for long stretches had the feel of an exhibition given how many open shots the visitors were afforded.

“Teams come in confident they can score,” coach Dave Joerger admitted. “It is what it is, until it’s not.”

The Hornets–one of the NBA’s worst shooting teams from distance–made a season-best 15 threes on 32 attempts, shot 57 percent from the field, and put up the aforementioned 100 points in just three quarters in their highest-scoring game of the season. A win last week in Oakland over the Warriors provided momentum, and this one provided even more confidence for one the NBA’s most disappointing teams to this point in the season.

“We need to carry that over because our offense has not been very good up until this point, up until this trip,” Hornets coach Stephen Silas said. “But things are starting to click a little bit and it’s good.”

The loss was the Kings’ third straight on a six-game home stand that started with the impressive win over the defending Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers. Since then, the Kings have allowed 111 points to the Suns, 114 to the Grizzlies and now 131 to the Hornets. Consequently, a couple days of practice leading up to Saturday’s home contest against the Nuggets couldn’t come at a better time. The Kings need a defensive presence about themselves in the worse way, and as quickly as possible.

Offensively, the Kings acquitted themselves quite well.  Zach Randolph, the pick-and-pop master, had a 10-point first quarter and 24 for the game on 11 of 18 shooting.  Bogdan Bogdanovich showed that he can initiate the offense for the Kings, and score and distribute in the high post area using his size and broad shoulders. Bogdanovich finished with 11 points, five assists in 24 minutes off the bench.

De’Aaron Fox returned to the floor after missing two weeks with a partial tear of his quad muscle and played well too. Fox started, played 33 minutes, scored 17 points along with four assists, and looked almost completely healthy.  But similar to when the other six young Kings that saw action were on the floor, the defense suffered when Fox was on the floor, shown by the minus 19 the rookie point guard posted in the plus/minus category.

Joerger captured the issue of his younger players’ acumen defensively, saying “when we score, we relax defensively.”

The Kings conclude their home stand with Denver on Saturday, then play San Antonio on Monday.  The following night they travel to Los Angeles to face the Lakers. Rookie Frank Mason was scratched from Tuesday’s game with a heel contusion he suffered in the loss to the Grizzlies.

New Year’s Eve Nightmare as Kings lose to the Grizzlies 114-96

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
DSC00860
Skal Labissiere takes it to the hoop against the Grizzlies Photo: Jordan Chapin SportsRadioService.com

by Charlie O. Mallonee with Jordan Chapin

On New Year’s Eve at the Golden 1 Center, something happened that has not really been heard in the new building. In the third quarter, fans began booing their hometown Kings. They were frustrated with their play and the fact that the Kings were trailing the Grizzlies 90-63.

When the third quarter ended, a large number of fans headed for their cars in order to beat crowds coming into downtown and to get to their New Year’s parties early. Those who left had no hope that their Kings would mount a comeback in the final period. They were right.

Sacramento held the lead only twice in the contest. They took the first lead of the game on a Bogdan Bogdanovic 26-foot three-point basket for the first score of the game. After the Grizzlies tied the game on a Tyreke Evans 3-pointer – the Kings took a 5-3 lead when George Hill scored on a fast break. That would be the last time the home team would hold the lead in the game.

The Grizzlies lead was 14-points at the end of the first quarter and 18 at the half. Memphis built their lead to as many as 32-points in the third period and to a game-high 33-points in the fourth quarter.

After losing to the Warriors 141-128 on Saturday night, the Grizzlies should have been tired and ripe for the pickings in the second game of a back-to-back set on the road. Instead, they seemed pumped up by their performance and used that energy against the Kings for the entire 48-minutes on Sunday afternoon.

Kings Head Coach Dave Joerger Postgame Comment

Top Performers

Grizzlies

DSC00848
Tyreke Evans scored a game-high 26 points versus the Kings Photo: Jordan Chapin SportsRadioService.com
  • Star of the Game: Former King Tyreke Evans came back to Sacramento and showed off his skills in front of the fans who once cheered for him when he wore purple and white. Evans – who has stepped up to really help a team that has been beset by injury and the loss of free agents – scored a game-high 26 points. He hit 10-of-16 shots from the field and 5-of-7 from beyond the 3-point line. Evans also grabbed seven rebounds and five assists. His +/- rating was an impressive plus-23.
  • Co-Star: Jarell Martin -third-year player out of LSU. The 6-10 forward put up 11-points in 24-minutes off the bench. He went 5-for-8 from the field and 1-for-1 from 3-point land.
  • Co-Star: Deyonta Davis came off the bench to score 10-points and pull down nine rebounds in just over 23-minutes of playing time. The Grizzlies bench scored 64-points in the game.
  • Supporting Player Kings fans know: Ben McLemore is now a member of the Grizzlies and he played the entire fourth quarter. Ben Mac scored eight-points making two 3-point baskets and sinking two free throws.

Kings

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Willie Cauley-Stein was the Kings leading scorer with 21-points Photo: Jordan Chapin SportsRadioService.com
  • Star of the Game: Willie Cauley-Stein takes the honors for the Kings on Sunday night. He posted 21-points shooting 8-for-14 from the floor and going 5-for-9 from the free throw line. Cauley-Stein also grabbed eight rebounds and made to two steals in his almost 29-minutes on the court.
  • Co-Star: Buddy Hield worked hard in his 30-minutes of playing time off the bench. Hield scored 15-points shooting 5-for-14 for the game and hit 3-of-7 from downtown. He also dished out two assists as well.

Team Stats

Memphis (12-25)

  • The Grizzlies shot an impressive 53.9-percent (41-for-76) for the game. They hit 14-of-30 (46.7-percent) tries from behind the 3-point line.
  • Memphis took advantage of the free throw line converting 18-of-24 opportunities (75-percent).
  • The Grizzlies recorded 11 steals in the contest – five more than the Kings
  • Blocked shots: Memphis posted eight in the game. Veteran Marc Gasol had four of those blocks in the first quarter of the game.

Sacramento (12-24)

  • The Kings shot 43-percent for the game but only because the shot almost 58-percent in “garbage time” in the fourth quarter when the outcome of the game had already been decided.
  • Sacramento did not help themselves at the free throw line. The Kings went to the line 25 times but hit only 13 of those shots (52-percent). They are called free throws for a reason. A team must take advantage of those opportunities.
  • The Kings did do a better job working the boards on Sunday. They grabbed 42 rebounds while Memphis recorded 44 rebounds. That was a real improvement over the Phoenix game.

Up Next

Kings

The Kings first game of the new year will be versus the Charlotte Hornets at the Golden 1 Center on Tuesday, January 2. The Hornets are coming in off a 106-98 New Year’s Eve loss to the Clippers. This will be the first meeting of the season between the two teams.

Grizzlies

The Grizzlies will wrap up their West Coast swing with a game in Los Angeles versus the Clippers on Tuesday at Staples Center.