Category: Sacramento Kings

Updated story with video: Kings lose 2 players, get 2 new players and lose to the Rockets 127-101

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
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Bogdan Bogdanovic scores 2 of his 13 points Photo: Jordan Chapin SportsRadioService.com

By Charlie O. Mallonee

Updated with interviews and trade information: Sacramento — It was a wild and crazy Wednesday night for the Sacramento Kings. Two hours before game time, the Kings completed a three-team with the Houston Rockets and the Cleveland Cavaliers that sent Iman Shumpert to the Rockets. The Kings will receive shooting Alex Burks from the Cavaliers.

Then just as the game was getting underway, everyone’s Twitter feeds on press row went crazy as word leaked out that the Kings had just completed another trade that sent Justin Jackson and Zach Randolph to the Mavericks for former Golden State Warriors forward Harrison Barnes.

Charlie O picks the story up from there:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Harden hits a 3-ball that becomes a 4-point play when Bogi is called for a foul Photo: Jordan Chapin SportsRadioService.com

Buddy Hield on the trades and his view of things going forward

 

 

 

De’Aaron Fox is ready to carry on following the trades

 

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Harry Giles III puts a floater up over Kenneth Faried on Wednesday night Photo: Jordan Chapin SportsRadioService.com

The trades 

H. Barnes
Harrison Barnes returns to Northern California

The big deal of the night happened just as the game began on Wednesday night and the Mavericks game was in progress with Harrison Barnes on the floor. The Kings sent forward Justin Jackson and Zach Randolph to Dallas in exchange for the former Golden State forward.

Barnes will become an Unrestricted Free Agent in 2020. He is slated to make just over $25-million in 2019-20 but that is a player option contract which means Barnes could be a rental or an important piece for next season.

The Mavericks get a developing small forward in Justin Jackson who has seen a great deal of playing against the “best of the west” because the Kings needed his talents on the floor quickly. He will be a fine second-unit player for Dallas.

Zach Randolph is a part of the deal to make the money work under NBA guidelines and because he is an expiring contract. Randolph is not likely to wear a Dallas uniform.

Burks
Alec Burks is the newest member of the Sacramento Kings

The trade that brings Alec Burks to Sacramento is more complicated than the Barnes trade. It is a three-team trade involving the Kings, Rockets, and Cavaliers.

The irony is that it was a walk across the arena to the other locker room deal as Iman Shumpert was traded by the Kings to the Houston Rockets who Sacramento hosted last night. That really did not happen because of NBA rules that require trades be “blessed” by the league office before they can be finalized. Shumpert actually said goodbye to his teammates and left the Golden 1 Center before the game began Wednesday night.

The Kings received Burks who is an eight-year veteran of “the Association”. He has averaged 11.6 points, 5.5 points, and 2.9 assists per game in 34 contests for the Cavs this season. Burks also played for the Utah Jazz. Sacramento received a 2020 second-round draft pick as a part of the trade package.

Cleveland receives guard Brandon Knight, “local product” and former Kings draft pick Marquese Chriss, and a 2019 lottery protected first-round draft pick from Houston.

Cleveland sent guards Nik Stauskas (a former King) and Wade Baldwin who they acquired from Portland for Rodney Hood to the Rockets to complete the deal.

Trades in the NBA are never easy.

Up next

All of the players involved in the trades have 48 hours to report to their new teams. The Kings host the Miami Heat on Friday night when Dwyane Wade will make his final visit to Sacramento as a player. There is a chance that Burks and Barnes could play in that game, but it is more likely they will be playing on Sunday when Phoenix comes to town.

The Rockets returned to Houston after the game on Wednesday. They will play the OKC Thunder on Saturday night on national television. That should be enough for all of the new Rockets to report and be available to play in that game.

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The “old guard” and the “new guard” Photo: Jordan Chapin SportsRadioService.com

Sacramento Kings Part 2 podcast with Charlie O: It’s going to be a very tough game with Harden in Sacramento on Wednesday

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Photo credit: @SacramentoKings

On the Sacramento Kings Part 2 podcast with Charlie O:

#4 The Kings have three games left on this home schedule. What are you projecting for them in those games?

Charlie O does Sacramento Kings basketball podcasts each Tuesday at sportsradioservice.com

Sacramento Kings Part 1 podcast with Charlie O: Kings holding court with seven straight home wins

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Photo credit: @imanshumpert

On the Sacramento Kings Part 1 podcast with Charlie O:

#1 The Sacramento Kings who beat the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night 127-112 and are now 28-25 and just a game and a half out of the final playoff spot.

#2 Sacramento has won three games in a row and seven straight at Golden One Center. They are 6-4 over their last ten games. What is making the difference in this team?

#3 The trade deadline is Thursday February 7th at 12 noon Pacific. Will the Kings make a deal?

Charlie O does Sacramento Kings basketball podcasts each Tuesday at sportsradioservice.com

 

 

Lucky Seven: Kings home win streak continues in wire-to-wire win over the Spurs

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By Morris Phillips

SACRAMENTO — The stoic looks on the faces of Spurs’ head coach Gregg Popovich and his assistants Ettore Messina and Becky Hammon said plenty, if not all.

The methodical Spurs and their experienced coaching staff have found few answers for the youthful and deep Sacramento Kings thus far this season.

Not on Monday night in the Kings’ 127-112 win, and similarly, not on November 12, in the Kings 104-99 win that broke a 14-game losing streak to the five-time world champions.

In winning the season series against San Antonio (which has one game remaining, March 31 at San Antonio), the Kings have delivered a knockout, getting positive minutes from the 11 players who saw action, and piling up the statistics along the way.

In the two games combined, the Kings have received 105 points from their reserves, not far of the 126 points from their starters. Seven Kings hit at least one 3-pointer, combining for 24 in all, a nice, round number that gets even rounder when coupled with the Kings’ 94 points in paint.

Of the eight quarters in the two games, the Spurs won one–Monday’s second quarter–a 34-point bounce back that still left San Antonio trailing at the half, 63-59.

“We just missed a lot of easy shots and didn’t have a rhythm all game,” said DeMar DeRozan, who paced the Spurs with 24 points. “And you can tell their comfort level was all the way on the 10. They had it going and we didn’t.”

DeRozan’s driving layup got the Spurs even in the third quarter, but De’Aaron Fox’s layup nine seconds later put the Kings up 78-76. The Kings would finish that quarter on a 22-10 run, and they never trailed in the game’s final 12 minutes.

Six Kings finished in double digits scoring led by William Bagley’s career-best 24 points. Starting point guard Fox added 20, and his backup Yogi Ferrell had 19. Ferrell finished 4 for 4 from distance.

“Yogi Ferrell was tremendous and that’s why I thought he had a hot hand,” Kings coach Dave Joerger said. “I did sit De’Aaron and Buddy a long time, but I felt like we had a rhythm.”

With 7:47 remaining in the game, Ferrell and Bagley delivered the game’s signature play, an alley oop that turned Bagley 180 degrees after the catch, and brought the house down upon his dunk.

“I made eye contact with Yogi and saw how I was open down there and in my mind I was just trying to go up and finish,” Bagley said. “He just threw it and trusted it, and I just tried to make the play and make my guy Yogi look good.”

The Kings captured the season series from the Spurs for the first time since 2002. The win was the Kings’ seventh straight at home, and it moved them within a half-game of the eighth-place Clippers.

The Kings (28-25) are three games above .500 for the fourth time this season. On the three, previous occasions, they lost the following game.

The Kings continue their homestand with a visit from James Harden and the Houston Rockets, Wednesday at 7:00 pm PT.

Kings defy the odds to beat the Sixers 115-108 on Saturday night

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2-2 win 2

By Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings entered the game versus the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday night as the underdogs. FiveThirtyEight.com projected them to be a six-point underdog with only a 28-percent chance to win. Vegas had the Sixers as the favorites minus three points. The Kings had other ideas.The Kings won their 27th game of the season as they defeated the 76ers 115-108.

Sacramento had a two-part game plan. The first part called for the Kings to use their speed and run with the ball. The Sixers were playing the final game of a long 10-day road trip. The second part of the plan called for the Kings to keep a big body draped on Joel Embiid at all times. SAC worked their plan, and their plan worked.

The Sixers were not able to stop the Kings 3-point shooting

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Fox fights to keep the ball alive Photo: SportsRadioService.com

Philadelphia beat the Warriors on Thursday night because they shut down the Golden State 3-point shooting game. The 76ers have become known for their very tough defense against the 3-point shot.

The Kings managed to hit 11-of-30 (36.7%) of their 3-point attempts on Saturday night. Buddy Hield led that charge sinking 7-of-11 chances from downtown. The Kings outscored the Sixers 33 to 21 from behind the arc.

It should be noted that Philadelphia played without their best 3-point shooter – JJ Redick – who was held out for rest.

Numbers tell the story of the battle

  • Points in the Pains: 76ers 62; Kings 52
  • 2nd Chance Points: 76ers 18; Kings 14
  • Fast Break Points: 76ers 18; Kings 14
  • Biggest Lead: 76ers 2 (that’s not a typo) Kings 13
  • Lead Changes: 9
  • Times Tied: 9

Kings leaders in the game

  • Buddy Hield scored a game-high 34 points. Hield shot 12-for-21 overall and hit 7-of-13 attempts from long range. He also added six rebounds.
  • Willie Cauley-Stein not only spent the night draped over Embiid but also scored 19 points. He also managed to grab nine rebounds along the way.
  • De’Aaron Fox also scored 19 points in the game and dished out eight assists. Fox converted 8-of-9 attempts from the free throw line. He paid the price physically driving the lane to get those opportunities to go the charity stripe.
  • Marvin Bagley III had his eighth double-double game of the season. He scored 14 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. MBIII covered the rim while WCS covered Embiid.

76ers top performers

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Jump ball late in the 4th quarter Photo: SportsRadioService.com
  • Joel Embiid recorded his 43rd double-double of the season as he scored 29 points and pulled down 17 rebounds.
  • Jimmy Butler also put 29 points in the book – 18 of those points were scored in the fourth quarter. Butler also added seven assists in the game.
  • Point guard, shooting guard, forward, center Ben Simmonds scored 22 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished four assists.

Up next

The Kings will be back on the floor on Monday night when they will host the San Antonio Spurs.

The 76ers will be back on their home court on Tuesday when the will host their major competition – the Toronto Raptors.

Dave Joerger’s postgame comments

Willie Cauley-Stein talks about the win and how the team played together

MBIII talked about playing guys he had only seen on TV

The Kings feast on some home cooking as they crush the Hawks 135-113

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By Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings returned to their home court on Wednesday night after going 2-6 on their longest road trip of the season. The team was in need of a rowdy home crowd and a big win.

Things started off rough

The Atlanta Hawks entered the game with a 16-33 record, but they did not start the game like a team that is in 12th place in the Eastern Conference. The Hawks opened up a 20-10 lead at the 6:36 mark in the first quarter as they were shooting near 70%. It appeared that the Kings were going to be in for a real fight as they opened their longest homestand of the season.

The Kings second unit stepped on the court and put some life into the game. By the time the buzzer sounded at the end of the first 12 minutes, Sacramento held a 32-31 lead.

The Kings made a statement in the second quarter

The Kings decided not to lift their foot off the accelerator in the second quarter. The team came out kept the pace fast and continued to score at will. They outscored the Hawks 35-22 in the quarter.

Sacramento outscored Atlanta 24-4 in the paint. They scored eight second chance points to none for the visitors. The Kings won the battle of fast break points 7-0.

Marvin Bagley III led the Kings scoring with nine points while Yogi Ferrell added seven. Hawks rookie Trae Young pace his team with 11 points.

At the half, Sacramento held a 67-53 lead over Atlanta.

The Kings poured it on in the third

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I’m Harry Giles – get out of my way! Photo: @SacramentoKings

Sacramento smelled the victory and decided to put the game away in the third quarter. Harry Giles III led the way for the Kings as he scored 12 points in just over 10 minutes on the floor. Giles went a perfect 6-for-6 shooting in the period.

Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 10 points in just under eight minutes of playing time. “Bogi” hit 3-of-5 shots including one 3-pointer. He also went a perfect 3-for-3 from the free throw line to go along with his three assists.

The Kings outscored the Hawks 38 to 27 in the period and led the game 105-80 after 36 minutes of play.

The fourth quarter was “garbage” time

That is really not a fair description of the final 12 minutes because there were players who received an opportunity to play that have not had the chance to see the court for a while. All 13 active players on both benches saw playing time in this game.

When the final buzzer sounded, the Kings had won the game 135-113. Sacramento is now 26-25 on the season and is tied for ninth place in the Western Conference with the Lakers just two games out the eighth and final playoff spot.

Atlanta now has a record of 16-24 and is eight games out of the playoff race in the Eastern Conference.

Kings Top Performances

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Buddy Hield scored 18 points Photo: @SacramentoKings
  • Harry Giles III scored a team-high and a career-high 20 points in the game. He shot an impressive 10-for-12 in the game and added seven rebounds.
  • Marvin Bagley III had a double-double game scoring 17 points off the bench to go with 12 rebounds (five offensive rebounds).
  • Buddy Hield put 18 points in the book. He went 6-for-11 shooting, including going 4-for-8 from behind the 3-point line.
  • Bogdan Bogdanovic recorded 16 points and added seven assists.

Atlanta leaders

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Could Linsanity come to SAC? Photo: @ATLHawks
  • Rookie Trae Young scored a game-high 23 points and dished out eight assists.
  • John Collins put up 14 points and pulled down seven rebounds.
  • Alex Len scored 13 points off the bench hitting 6-of-10 shots.
  • Jeremy Lin, who has been mentioned as a possible trade target for the Kings, scored 11 points.

Key numbers

  • Points in the Paint: Kings 76, Hawks 40
  • Second Chance Points: SAC 19, ATL 8
  • Fast Break Points: Kings 25, Hawks 8
  • Biggest lead: Sacramento 29, Atlanta 10

Up Next

The Kings will be back in action on Saturday night when they will host the Philadelphia 76ers at the Golden 1 Center. Philly is 33-18 on the season and currently is in third place in the Eastern Conference.

The Hawks travel to Utah and will play the Jazz on Friday night.

Clippers lead the game wire-to-wire, down the Kings 122-108 on Sunday

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Photo @SacramentoKings

By Charlie O. Mallonee

Have you ever had one of those days at the office when you show up and you feel that your rhythm is just a half a beat off? For you “old schoolers,” everyone in the workplace is moving at 45 rpm while you are dragging at 33 1/3 rpm. The was the kind of day the Kings had on Sunday in Los Angeles versus the Clippers as they lost 122-108 to close out their six-game road trip.

Sacramento never held a lead in the game on Sunday. The Clippers largest lead of the game was 25 points. LAC held a 16 point advantage — 67 to 51 — at the half.

The Kings came out in the third quarter playing with improved energy and appeared to ready to make a game of it. In the fourth quarter, Sacramento twice closed within five points of the lead, but the Clippers were able to go a scoring barrage that would allow them to open a lead as large 19 points in the final period to end Kings hopes of a comeback victory.

The victory upped the Clippers’ record to 28-22 for the season while the loss drops the Kings back to .500 on the year at 25-25. The loss dropped the Kings’ record on the road trip to 2-4.

Early Start
The Kings did have to battle an early start in the “City of Angels” on Sunday. Because the Lakers also have a home game scheduled on Sunday at the Staples Center, the Clippers always have to play the early game. That game has to tip-off by 12:30 so the second game can begin by 6:00 PM.

The early start may have been a problem, but then again, this is a young team that should be able to handle time diversity easier than older veterans.

Playoff Picture at Game 50
LAC holds the eighth and final playoff berth in the Western Conference with the win on Sunday. They are 7.5 games behind the conference-leading Warriors. The Clippers have won three consecutive games and are 4-6 in their last 10 games.

Sacramento is in 10th place in the Western Conference 3.0 games behind the Clippers for the final playoff spot in the West. The Kings are now on a one game losing streak and are 5-5 over their last 10 games.

From the Game Book
Kings

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Kings starting five Photo: @SacramentoKings

Team Stats

  • SAC shot 39.8% (37/93) for the game. NBA teams do not win shooting under 40%
  • It was a horrible 3-point shooting night: 8-for-36 (22.2%)
  • 44 rebounds – 8 less than LAC
  • The Kings recorded just 18 assists. That is not their game. They average 25.8 assists per game
  • The team committed 12 turnovers that resulted in 18 points for the Clippers
  • Two positives: 12 steals and six blocked shots

Player Stats

  • De’Aaron Fox was the Kings’ leading scorer with 21 points. He shot 8-for-16 from the field with one 3-pointer
  • Bogdan Bogdanovic came off the bench to put 19 points in the book. He was a monster at the free throw line, converting 8-of-9 opportunities
  • Buddy Hield and Iman Shumpert scored 16 points each in the game. Hield went just 2-for-7 from downtown
  • Marvin Bagley III did not start, but added 14 points, hitting 5-of-10 shots in the game
  • Willie Cauley-Stein flirted with a double-double as he scored nine points and grabbed 12 rebounds

Clippers
Player Stats

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Graphic @LAClippers
  • Montrezl Harrell came off the bench to score a game-high 25 points. He shot an incredible 11-for-13 for the game
  • Tobias Harris scored 18 points, including going 4-for-4 from the charity stripe
  • Shai Gilgeous-Alexander put 17 points up on the board by going 7-for-7 from the free throw line
  • Patrick Beverly tried to post a triple-double by scoring 16 points, hauling in 10 rebounds and dishing out eight assists

Team Stats

  • The Clippers shot 47.7% (42/88) overall versus the Kings
  • LAC hit 11-of-29 (37.9%) of their 3-point field goal attempts
  • Los Angeles converted 27-of-29 opportunities from the free throw line (93.1%)
  • They dished out 35 assists and made just 19 turnovers to very close to that magic 2:1 ratio

Up Next
The Kings return to Sacramento and will host the Atlanta Hawks for the only time this season. Hawks guard Jeremy Lin has been rumored to be a trade prospect for the Kings.

The Clippers will host the Hawks on Monday night at Staples Center.

Kings Press Row Podcast: Troubles on the road trip and the trade deadline is coming

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Graphic @SacramentoKings

Your hosts: Jordan “Chape” Chapin & Charlie O

  • What has happened to the Kings on the road trip so far?
  • Which games the Kings lost should they have won?
  • Why did the Kings sit three players in Toronto with Kawhi, not in the lineup?
  • Who were the key players for the Raptors in their win over the Kings?
  • Is the game in Memphis a must win for the Kings?
  • The trade deadline is coming — who will be in a Kings uni on February 7th?
  • Is Jeremy Lin a good fit for the Kings?
  • Would Otto Porter, Jr. cost the Kings too much money in a trade deal?
  • Could Enes Kanter be the piece that puts the Kings in the playoffs?

Sit back and relax as “Chape” and Charlie talk all things Kings on the Press Row Podcast.

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No Kawhi–no problem! Raptors beat Kings 120-105 Tuesday night

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Photo:@Raptors

By Charlie O. Mallonee

The Toronto Raptors handed the Kings their second consecutive loss in two days as they downed Sacramento 120-105 at Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday night. This was the second game of a back-to-back set that began in Brooklyn on Monday. The Nets beat the Kings 123-94 on MLK Day.

Battle of the Tiers

The Raptors are a Tier One team. They know that they will be playing deep into the month of May and could be playing in the month of June for the Larry O’Brien Trophy. Their 36 wins are the most in the NBA to date.

The Kings are a Tier Three team that is working very hard to become a Tier Two team. Becoming a Tier Two team does not mean that they would make the playoffs this season, but it would mean they would have very few ping pong balls in the barrel for the NBA Draft Lottery.

The Kings are just four wins away from matching their win total of the 2017-18 season, and they still have 34 games to play in the regular season. Sacramento is just 1.5 games out playoff contention, even after losing on Tuesday night.

Both teams played shorthanded

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Up North Starting Five @Raptors

The Raptors played without Kawhi Leonard, who has been on an eight-day break. Leonard has now sat out 13 games this season and the Raptors are 11-2 without him in the lineup. That is what you call depth.

Toronto plays the Pacers in Indiana on Wednesday night, and it is believed that the Raptors felt it was more important to have Kawhi available for that game than to play against the Kings at home on Tuesday night.

The official reason for Leonard’s absence was “Rest-Load Management”. Some observers are beginning to ask if Leonard would be worth a long-term contract investment since he has needed to be rested 13 times in 49 games to date this season.

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Kings Starting Five @SacramentoKings

The Kings also held out three key players on Tuesday night. De’Aaron Fox and Nemanja Bjelica did not dress and did not play. That was listed as a coach’s decision. Iman Shumpert was also held out of the game for “Rest-Load Management”.

Coach Dave Joerger mentioned in his postgame comments that two of those players went through therapy on Tuesday without giving any details. It would be fair to project that Fox was one of those players since he has needed on-going attention for a shoulder he injured approximately one month ago.

The Raptors did not miss a beat without Kawhi

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Siakam jams it home Photo: @Raptors

Six Raptors scored in double figures in the win over the Kings on Tuesday night (four were starters):

  • Fred VanVleet put up 19 points to go with seven assists and seven rebounds. VanVleet has been the “designated started” when Leonard has been unavailable.
  • Kyle Lowry also scored 19 points and dished out nine dimes in 34-minutes on the floor.
  • Pascal Siakam put 18 points up on the board, shooting 8-for-14 from the floor.
  • Serge Ibaka had a double-double night, scoring 15 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.
  • CJ Miles came off the bench to score 15 points in just over 15-minutes in the game. Miles hit 4-of-5 3-point attempts.
  • Norman Powell was the last of the double-figure scorers with 11 points.

Toronto refused to let the Kings build a lead in this game. The biggest lead for SAC on the night was five points. There were seven lead changes and six ties. The Raptors’ largest lead of the game was 19 points.

The Kings had seven players score in double figures

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Graphic @SacramentoKings

Sacramento has some strong individual performances, but they could not put together the runs they needed to stay with the Raptors. Much like game on Monday in Brooklyn, the Kings kept things close in the first half then the game started slipping away in the third quarter. By the time the clock started in the fourth quarter, the game became a runaway for the home team.

Important Kings performers:

  • Marvin Bagley III made his first start of the season and he did not disappoint. MBIIIV scored a game-high 22 points and made it a double-double by adding 11 rebounds. It will not be his last start of the season.
  • Bogdan Bogdanovic put 16 points in the book to go along with nine assists and eight rebounds. “Bogi” also had three steals in the contest.
  • Buddy Hield scored a “quiet” 15 points in the game. He shot 5-for-14 overall and hit just two 3-point baskets. Hield did dish out five assists, but one has to wonder if fatigue was not a bit of a factor for “Buddy Buckets” in the game.
  • Harry Giles III had a very productive 22-plus minutes off the bench for the Kings on Tuesday night. He scored 11 points, shooting 4-for-8 from the floor.
  • Willie Cauley-Stein, Yogi Ferrell and Ben McLemore each scored 10 points in the game.

Key Numbers

  • The Kings outscored the Raptors 50-46 in the paint
  • Toronto scored 24 Second Chance Points to 12 for Sacramento
  • The Raptors scored 26 Fast Break Points to 16 for the Kings

Up Next

The Kings (24-24) will travel to Memphis on Wednesday to prepare for their game with the Grizzlies (19-28) on Friday night.

The Raptors (36-13) will face the Pacers (31-15) in Indy on Wednesday night.

Kings falter in second half, lose to Nets 123-94

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Photo credit: @SacramentoKings

By Jessica Kwong

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — The Sacramento Kings were in rhythm in the first half to beat the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and win their third straight game, but fell apart in the second half to lose 123-94. 

“It was a tough game for us,” Kings head coach Dave Joerger said postgame. “I thought we had a nice rhythm in the first half. We made a lot of mistakes in the first half but we were making some shots.”

Buddy Hield scored a triple for the Kings to start but the team played poor defense, allowing the Nets to get off with a 14-7 lead with 12 of those points coming in the paint. Brooklyn’s young star D’Angelo Russell made a triple to put the Nets up 26-20 with a minute to go. Bogdan Bogdanovic made a driving shot but Russell hit another three-pointer to put the Nets up 29-23 to end the quarter. 

Sacramento had a solid second quarter offensively, scoring 37 points. 

Russell hit another three-point jump shot, but Justin Jackson answered with a triple of his own and Bogdanovic made a pulp shot to tie the game at 32 a few minutes into the quarter. Then Yogi Ferrell made a triple to give the Kings a 35-32 lead. 

Brooklyn took a one-point lead halfway through the quarter when Alan Williams made a slam dunk. Bogdanovic followed up with a jump shot and the teams went back and forth with the lead until the final minutes. Buddy Hield made a triple to give the Kings a 60-55 lead to end the half. 

“The last three, four minutes of the second quarter we were much better defensively and we just didn’t come out with that same intensity in the second half,” Joerger said.

He said the game started to get away from the Kings “about three minutes into the third quarter.”

Russell, who was named the NBA’s Eastern Conference Player of the Week, made a pullup shot, then stole the ball, missed and running layup but rebounded and made a triple to put the Nets up 66-64. Sacramento called a timeout with just over 9 minutes left in the quarter.

It didn’t help much. At the halfway mark, the Nets were up 77-70 and seemed to have more hustle. By the two-minute mark, Brooklyn extended their lead to 88-78. Harry Giles III made a cutting layup but Rondae Hollis-Jefferson made a cutting dunk to give the Nets a 93-85 lead at the end of the third. 

Sacramento failed to regroup in the fourth. A minute in, DeMarre Carroll made three-point jump shot to boost the Nets to 98-85, a 13-point and biggest lead of the game. The Kings took a timeout. Spencer Dinwiddie made a running layup, putting Brooklyn up 100-87 with 10 minutes left to play.

The Kings were unable to cut the deficit to single digits for the remainder of the game, instead trailing up to 29 points when the game ended.   

“It was a blow-by, a backdoor, a couple turnovers and Brooklyn’s in a really nice rhythm right now,” Joerger said. “They’ve got guys making shots, but they put it on the deck and they get to the rim. They’re playing really well and they’re difficult to defend, so hats off to them.”

Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson said he was most proud of his team’s “excellent” defense in the second half.

“I thought TG’s (Treveon Graham) job on Buddy Hield was fantastic,” Atkinson said. “I don’t think he scored in the second half. He was a real concern for us but great job on him and great defensive performance.”

Bogdanovic scored a team-leading 22 points, Justin Jackson had 14 points, Willie Cauley-Stein had 12 points and Hield had 11 points. Jackson said he appreciated time to play with the starters. 

“For him to feel confident enough to put me out there on the floor, for one, helps a lot,” Jackson said of Joerger. “For him to put me in different types of situations is definitely big because then I know I can just go out there and play because then I know he has the confidence in me.”

Sacramento is now 24-23 and 10th in the Western Conference. They continue their road trip on Tuesday and face the Toronto Raptors (35-13). Tipoff is at 4 p.m. PST.