Category: Sacramento Kings

Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O: Kings’ loss is now fifth in last six games after loss in Phoenix

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Photo credit: @SacramentoKings

On the Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O:

#1 The Orlando Magic couldn’t hold a second and third quarter lead over the Sacramento Kings on Monday night at Golden One Center in a 111-95 loss. The next night and Kings dropped a tough loss to Phoenix and the Suns played catch up 115-111.

#2 De’Aaron Fox contributed with 20 points and the Kings lead by 28 points after three quarters Fox has been a big contributor. Fox in Phoenix led the Kings again with 24 points but turned the ball over eight times.

#3 The win on Monday gave snapped the Kings’ four-game losing streak and boosted morale for Sacramento, but 24 hours later, the let down in Phoenix.

#4  The Kings were up by 21 and turned the ball over 26 times. That’s a lot of turnovers after having a big lead.

#5 Next up for Sacramento, the Kings are back at Golden One vs. Detroit on Thursday.

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

20-20 Vision: Kings envision a winning record after breaking slide against the Magic

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By Morris Phillips

SACRAMENTO–The Kings have struggled to hold fourth quarter leads. But it didn’t matter Monday; the Magic couldn’t hold it together in the second and third quarters in hopes of applying pressure on the Kings in the fourth.

Led by De’Aaron Fox and his 20 points, the Kings led by 28 after three quarters, and cruised to a 111-95 win at Golden 1 Center. That snapped Sacramento’s four-game losing streak, and kept them in striking distance of the eight would-be Western Conference playoff qualifiers ahead of them.

After the Lakers fell to Minnesota Sunday afternoon, the Kings’ win leaves them 1 1/2 games behind eighth-place Los Angeles. The Kings can clinch a winning first half of the season when they visit the Suns on Tuesday.

The losing streak didn’t dissolve the Kings’ improvement. Last season the Kings won just 13 of their first 40 games, on their way to finishing 12th in the West.

“I think we’re moving the ball a lot more,” said rookie William Bagley, who returned after missing 11 games due to a knee sprain. “You can see tonight how everybody was touching it. We passed up good shots for great shots. Everybody was in the rhythm of the game. It was exciting.”

The Kings got nice contributions from Harry Giles and Justin Jackson as the Sacramento reserves came up with 18 made baskets and 48 points.

Meanwhile, the Magic couldn’t score in the second quarter, the prelude to the team’s season-low 32 made baskets in the game. Orlando didn’t fare much better after the break. They were outscored by 24 points in the second and third quarters combined.

“It’s disappointing the way we’ve been playing,” said center Nikola Vucevic, who paced Orlando with 18 points, 13 rebounds. “We have to keep working and find a way to turn things around.”

The Magic are a bit of a conundrum offensively, and they were true to form on Monday. Their 3-point shooting isn’t bad–they made 13 threes against the Kings, but it isn’t reliable or plentiful enough to spread NBA defenses. The Kings elected to clog the paint, allowing the Magic some open looks from distance, but inside the arc the visitors suffered, missing 31 of their 50 shot attempts.

Orlando ranks 25th in the NBA in overall shooting at 44.6 percent. But Monday, they were noticeably worse at 36.8 percent.

“We have to find a way to where we have enough shooting on the floor all the time to create spacing. It’s a problem,” Magic coach Steve Clifford said. “There’s not a lot of room with some of the lineups out there for anybody to have a place to go.”

The Kings saw four starters score in double figures, as well as reserves Yogi Ferrell and Jackson. They hurt Orlando on the glass, outrebounding the Magic 57-46.

The Kings blew fourth quarter leads in all four games they previously lost, but they emptied the bench Monday, as Bogdan Bogdanovic was the only starter to log minutes in the fourth. Fox played just 22 minutes, and was done after he dunked with authority over Vucevic late in the third. The play drew a technical as referee Mike Callahan reacted to Fox’s emphatic ways, and probably didn’t hear exactly what the speedy guard barked at Vucevic.

“I really said something nice to him, but Mike didn’t hear it,” Fox said. “He just saw me talking and I was like, ‘Mike, you didn’t even hear what I said.'”

It was a heck of a basketball game on Saturday night: the Warriors squeaked by the Kings 127-123

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gsw 1-6 final

By Charlie O. Mallonee

Sacramento — The sellout crowd of 17583 fans at the Golden 1 Center on Saturday was treated to a real example of an NBA game in this new era as they saw the Golden State Warriors hold off the upstart Sacramento Kings 127-123. Not only was it an exciting contest, but it was also an NBA record-setting game.

The game featured 18 lead changes and was tied 11 times. The Warriors largest lead was 16 and that came in the first period. The Kings biggest lead of the game was nine points.

The constant end-to-end action had the crowd in a literal frenzy from the opening tipoff to the final buzzer.

The teams “made it rain” to set an NBA record

gsw 1-6 curry
Curry scored a game-high 42 points Photo: @warriors

The teams combined to hit 41 3-point field goals in the game which set a new record for the NBA. The Warriors put in 21-of-47 (44.7%) their attempts from behind the 3-point line. The Kings converted 20-of-36 (55.6%) their shots from long distance in the game.

123 of the 250 total points scored in the game came off 3-point field goals. That is a true representation of where today’s NBA is headed now and in the foreseeable future.

Steph Curry led the 3-point scoring barrage sinking 10-of-20 attempts. The Kings’ Buddy Hield (yes, the guy from Oklahoma who would never be able to hit the 3-pointer in the Association according to scouts) converted 8-of-13 attempts from long range. The big surprise may have been Sacramento’s Justin Jackson who went 5-for-7 from behind the arc.

The fans were in seventh heaven.

The teams played evenly except in one area

gsw 1-6 pic 2

The battle in the paint was dramatic on Saturday night. The Warriors scored 40 points down low while the Kings put up 38 points in the paint.

2nd Chance Points – which can determine the outcome of a game – was a dead-even tie. Golden State scored 14 2nd Chance Points and the Kings 14 of their own. GSW grabbed 12 offensive rebounds, while SAC pulled down 14 rebounds on offense.

The “runaway” Kings dominated the fastbreak points category in this game. Sacramento scored 32 points via the fast break while the Warriors recorded only 15 points via the break. There is no doubt that the Kings love to run.

Top Performers

Kings (19-20)

  • Buddy Hield was the Kings’ leading scorer with 32 points. He also added four assists and five rebounds.

  • Justin Jackson came off the bench to put 28 points. Jackson shot 10-for-14 overall for the game. He also grabbed five defensive rebounds.

  • Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 17 points, dished out seven assists and added six rebounds. He also added three steals.
  • Willie Cauley-Stein recorded another double-double putting up 14 points and hauling in 13 rebounds. WCS keeps hitting that double-double goal.

Warriors (26-14)

  • Steph Curry was the game’s high scorer with 42 points. Curry went 14-for-25 from the field (10-for-20 from 3-point land).
  • Kevin Durant scored 29 points and dished out nine assists.
  • Klay Thompson added 20 points in the contest.
  • That was a total of 91 points from the Warriors big three.

Coach Joerger’s Postgame Analysis

Coach Dave Joerger felt like his team played one its better games of the season.

Joerger loved Buddy Hield’s play and he explained why

Joerger had some great things to say about Justin Jackson

Up next

The Kings will return to action on Monday night when they will host the Orlando Magic at the Golden 1 Center.

The Warriors will host the New York Knicks on Tuesday night in Oakland.

Kings unable to contain Nuggets’ second half surge in 117-113 loss

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Photo credit: @SacramentoKings

By: London Marq

SACRAMENTO — The talk around Sacramento has changed this season. The Kings are playing better, and the excitement is brewing. Even with only 19 wins, 2 games above .500, and sitting one spot out of the playoffs the Golden 1 Center is a much different, much rowdier place to play.

Thursday night, the Kings hosted the west leading Denver Nuggets and their Coach Mike Malone, who four years ago was tossed out of Sacramento midseason after the team had been playing well. The Kings are playing well once more, and whether Malone wants to admit it or not, he’s surely looking for some revenge.

Despite the Kings allowing the Nuggets to grab some early offensive rebounds, they were able to claim an early lead behind the potent offense of Buddy Hield and Nemanja Bjelica. Bjelica, through the first 9 minutes of the game, had 12 points and was 5 of 7 from the field with two makes from beyond the arc. The Rising Star of the Denver Nuggets Nikola Jokic struggled from deep, going 0-for-3 from the three-point line. He was still able to make his presence felt with 10 points and 3 boards, to make it all even after one period at 30 points apiece.

In the second quarter, Bjelica would fall victim to foul trouble, tallying 3 offensive fouls that would sideline him with more than half of the quarter to go. The Kings were more than equal to it. The Kings’ European Star Bogdan Bogdanavic, has been finding that stride that made him an MVP in Turkey. If you disagree, just check out this huge game-winner he hit against the Lakers last week. He caught fire in the second quarter against Denver and scored 11 points helping the Kings gain a comfortable lead. Bogdanovic wasn’t the only one. Yogi Ferrell got in on the action as well, dropping in 7. The Kings led by 15 at one point and took a 13-point advantage into the half 66-53.

The Nuggets didn’t come out of the half on fire, but the Kings certainly came out ice cold. Coach Mike Malone had his defense playing a smothering style of basketball. After 7 minutes eclipsed in the third, Sacramento has only scored 10 points. Despite all their defensive effort, with 61 seconds left in the quarter the Nuggets would only hold a 3-pint lead. They wouldn’t be able to contain the Kings, however, who put together two good possessions, including a huge block by the feisty Justin Jackson, and the game would be tied at 84 to end the quarter.

The name of the game in the fourth quarter was size and rebounding. The Nuggets have a ton of size and Nikola Jokic looked like Godzilla on the floor, dwarfing every single Kings player on the court. Late in the game, Denver utilized the size of Jokic, Mason Plumlee and Paul Millsap to dominate around the rim, pulling down 12 rebounds compared to the Kings 8. The was only compounded by Jamal Murray, the young Nuggets guard who exploded for 34 points in the second half, including 15 in the final period after only scoring 2 points the entire first half. Bogdanovic and Hield hit some huge shots at the end to keep it close, but alas, no cigar. The Nuggets go on to win by 4, 117-113.

A tough loss undeniably considering how the Kings opened the game and the 15-point margin they led by in the second quarter. Those are the types of games good teams don’t let slip away. Nevertheless, the Nuggets out rebounded Sacramento 54-to-33 and only won the game by 4 points. That promising–the Kings are playing so well, despite the disparities, demonstrates that they are legitimately one or two pieces away from truly contending in the West in the future. And having more cap space that any other team in the league and playing host to young and excelling talent, that future may be closer than we think.

The Kings host the Golden State Warriors on Saturday, January 5 at 7:00 pm PT.

Kings drop first game of 2019, fall to Trail Blazers 113-108

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Photo credit: @SacramentoKings

By: Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO — First off, Happy New Years from Sacramento!

The Sacramento Kings looked to topple the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday evening at Golden One Center. Today, the Kings were looking to brush off a disappointing loss to the Lakers that took place on Sunday in LA. The Trail Blazers came into the game this evening with a 21-16 record against the Kings’ 19-17 record. The tip-off was set for an earlier 6:00 PM PST.

The beginning of this game had a very “tired” feel to it as neither team could hold onto the ball leading to very sloppy first few minutes. Five minutes into the game, the Kings led 11-9, thanks to Buddy Hield’s five points. In the ensuing minutes, the game remained close. Buddy Hield added eight more points to his total, bringing his first-quarter total to 13. Maurice Harkless and Damian Lillard scored seven points apiece to lead the Trail Blazers to a first quarter advantage 26-25.

In the second quarter, the Kings tried to keep the game close. Halfway through the quarter, the score was 42-36 as the Kings trailed. The Kings didn’t do a good job of that. The Trail Blazers managed to rack up 64 points in the first half compared to the Kings’ 50. The Kings needed to come out strong in the third quarter if they wanted a shot at winning this game. Leading the way for the Trail Blazers was Jusuf Nurkic and CJ McCollum with a combined 27 points in the first half. Hield was arguably the only reason the Kings were remotely in the game as he put up 19 first-half points and 5-6 from downtown. The score at the half was 64-50 with the Trail Blazers on top.

In the third quarter, the Kings came out strong. Four minutes through the quarter, the Kings cut the deficit to 66-59. The Kings continued to keep the game tight. With four minutes remaining in the quarter, the Kings trailed only 73-70. Harry Giles capped the third off with a jumper just outside the paint to make it 83-77 Kings headed into the fourth.

In the fourth quarter, the Kings appeared to be on track to do what they have so many times this season. Win after a double-digit deficit late. Just shy of four minutes after the fourth quarter began the Kings had come from a 83-77 deficit to an 89-85 lead with 8:42 left to go in the game. As if Kings fans needed more drama this season, the end of this game was heart-stopping. Thanks to Damien Lillard, the game was tied with roughly six seconds remaining. De’Aaron Fox had the ball and pulled up for a game-winning jumper just inside the arc, and missed. The game went to overtime with the Trail Blazers getting the first possession with the game tied at 103 apiece.

In overtime, the Kings would score first after Bogdan Bogdanovic made two free throws after a foul. The game was 105-103 with 4:20 remaining. Lillard was subsequently fouled from behind the line and made all three attempts to give the Trail Blazers back the lead 106-105. At this point, the Trail Blazers hit a couple clutch shots, and the Kings couldn’t buy a basket leading to a 113-108 game with 13.6 seconds remaining. That proved to be the final score.

The Kings continue their homestand as they host the Denver Nuggets on Thursday, January 3 at 7:00 PM PST.

Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O: After seeing the Lakers twice, the Kings host the Blazers on New Year’s Day

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Photo credit: sacbee.com Kings loss in Los Angeles at Staples Center on Sunday

On the Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O:

#1 How stunning was it for the Kings being able to beat the Lakers 127-118 last Thursday night?

#2 Leading scorers for the Kings in the first half included Willie Cauley-Stein (11 points), Nemenja Bjelica (9 points), and Iman Shumpert (9 points). Leading the Lakers was Kyle Kuzma (23 points), Brandon Ingram (16 points), and Lonzo Ball (9 points).

#3 Notably not available for the Lakers was Lebron James, Rajon Rondo, and Javale McGee. Needless to say, the Kings were feeling good about the matchup.

#4 The Kings played the Lakers again on Sunday. Talk about how that one turned out.

#5 Next up it’s the Portland Trail Blazers on New Year’s Day Tuesday night.

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

Close but no cigar: Lakers down the Kings 121-114 Sunday night at Staples

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By Charlie O. Mallonee

LAL 12-30 5
Kings starting five @SacramentoKings

The Sacramento Kings goal of winning back-to-back games from the Los Angeles Lakers went up in smoke in the final minutes of the contest on Sunday night when the Lakers went on a 12-0 run. The Lakers, even without LeBron, went on to defeat the Kings 121-114 in the final game of 2018 for Sacramento.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope recorded a season-high 26 points, while Josh Hart added 22 points. Brandon Ingram joined the party by putting in 21 points, including seven points in the final run that decided the game.

The Kings lost for the first time this season when they held the lead going into the fourth quarter.

This was a very entertaining game

LAL 12-30
Bogdanovic to the hoop @SacramentoKings

This was the kind of game the NBA would like to have every night:

  • There were 18 lead changes
  • The game was tied 13 times
  • The Kings outscored the Lakers 58-52 in the paint — it was a battle
  • The Lakers won the war of second chance points 20-9
  • The Kings put up 27 fastbreak points to 12 for the Lakers
  • The biggest lead of the game: Kings 11, Lakers 9

The Kings were led by their backcourt in the game

  • De’Aaron Fox tied for high-scorer in the game with 26 points and he dished out seven assists. Fox grabbed four rebounds and made three steals.
  • Buddy Hield scored 21 points in the game, shooting 7-for-17 in the contest. He hit 4-of-11 from behind the arc.
  • Bogdan Bogdanovic also put up 21 points by shooting 9-for-18 from the floor (3-for-6 from 3-point land).

Other Kings contributors

  • Willie Cauley-Stein recorded a double-double, scoring 11 points and hauling in 12 rebounds
  • Iman Shumpert scored eight points, but did not have a great shooting night
  • Yogi Ferrell also put up eight points in just over eight minutes of playing time

Team Stats

Kings

  • The team shot 48.4-percent (46-for-95) from the field
  • They went 13-for-34 (38.2%) from 3-point land
  • They were outrebounded 50-45
  • Sacramento made 14 turnovers that resulted in 16 Laker points

Lakers

  • LAL shot 46-for-95 from the floor (48.0-percent)
  • The Lakers hit 15-of-44 3-point shots (34.1%)
  • LA recorded 30 assists versus the Kings
  • Caldwell-Pope’s 26 points were a career-high

Up Next

The Kings (19-17) will host the Portland on New Year’s Day at the Golden 1 Center.

The Lakers (21-16) will welcome the Thunder to the Staples Center on January 2nd.

Kings stun the Lakers 117-116

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Photo credit: @SacramentoKings

By: Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Sacramento Kings would play a team from Los Angeles for the second time in as many days on Thursday evening at Golden One Center. Yesterday, the day after Christmas, the Kings squared off against the LA Clippers and the Kings would ultimately lose the game 127-118 in LA. Looking for redemption the Kings were set to face the very injured LA Lakers. Notably not available for the Lakers was Lebron James, Rajon Rondo, and Javale McGee. Needless to say, the Kings were feeling good about the matchup.

In the first quarter, the Kings would jump ahead early, thanks to Willie Cauley-Stein and company. With only a minute 1:30 gone in the game, Cauley-Stein already had six points. From about that point until the final whistle in the first, the game was not pretty for the Kings. The Lakers would go on a terror, aided by Lonzo Ball and his 11 points to lead the Lakers to a 34-32 score after the first.

In the second quarter, the pace of the game balanced out a little bit. The two teams traded shot for shot. However, during the final few minutes of the quarter, the Lakers would create a little separation going into the half. When it was all said and done, the Kings would be down 67-61. Leading scorers for the Kings in the first half included Willie Cauley-Stein (11 points), Nemenja Bjelica (9 points), and Iman Shumpert (9 points). Leading the Lakers was Kyle Kuzma (23 points), Brandon Ingram (16 points), and Lonzo Ball (9 points).

Going into the second half, the Kings knew that had to play better defense. Unfortunately for Kings fans, they weren’t able to do so. Nearly through the third quarter, the Kings trailed the Lakers 78-92. At this point, a loud “Let’s go Lakers” chant rained down on Golden One Center. It’s safe to say the game was not going as planned for the Kings. The Kings were able to go on a 6-3 run in the final minute and go into the final quarter down 95-84.

The Kings would need 12 more points than the Lakers in the fourth at a minimum to pull off the win. Halfway through the fourth, the Kings didn’t appear as if they could pull it off. However, after a 3-pointer from Iman Shumpert and a timeout from Dave Joerger, the Kings appeared to have some life. Apparently, the Kings’ bench was able to hear me from press row. I said they showed life and life is what they showed. With 1:42 left in the game, the Kings cut the deficit to 110-107. This game got more exciting going down to the end for the backdrop. The Kings were down 116-114 with 4.3 seconds to go. The Kings inbound and Bogdan Bogdanovic threw up a step back three from near the Golden One Center logo and he hit it at the buzzer. The Kings won 117-116.

The Kings and Lakers travel to L.A. to face each other again on Sunday, December 30 at 6:30 pm PST.

Kings’ comeback effort falls short in 127-118 loss to the Clippers

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Photo credit: @SacramentoKings

By: London Marq

On Wednesday the Kings were facing the other team in L.A. It was battle of California teams at the Staples Center as the Clippers hosted the up and coming Sacramento team.

The Clippers opened the game on a mission with a 12-3 run, carving through the young Sacramento team like swiss cheese. Tobias Harris had it going early, from deep. He would end the game with 17 points and 6 rebounds. Sacramento played with good energy staying true to their run-and-gun mentality, but a lack of effort defensively kept them behind the gun.

Montrezl Harrell had a dominant game playing a feisty brand of basketball along the baseline. His effort led to second chance points and smoothing defense around the rim on both sides of the floor. Harrell completed the game one rebound short of a double-double, 27 points and 9 boards. The Clippers controlled the game in the first half and would go into the locker rooms with a big lead, 71-48.

The Kings would have their day in the second half, however. De’Aaron Fox, the Kings young stud point guard would start to find his rhythm find his shot from beyond the arch and slashing through the lane. Fox finished with 19 points leading all Kings for the night. The Kings would surge in the third quarter and get the lead back to 10 with three and half minutes left in the period. Lou Williams would punch the Kings right back as he started dropping threes all over the Kings’ defense. He finished 4-of-5 from deep, with 24 points.

The Kings, as they often have this season tried to get the last quarter run in effect and just as they have so far, they were successful. Late in the fourth, the Kings would rattle off a 24-1 run against the Clippers starting when the game score was 118-91. They would battle to get the game to within 3, but a clutch play by Harrell, kept the Kings at bay and the Clippers walk away with the home win.

Final: Clippers defeated the Kings 127-118.

Up Next: The Kings return home to host the Lakers on Thursday at 7:00 pm.

Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O: Kings make an 11-point comeback on Pelicans for 122-117 win Sunday

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sacbee.com photo: The Sacramento Kings’ Bogdan Bogdanovic (8) takes aim against the New Orleans Pelicans Darius Miller (21) Sunday night at Golden 1 Center.

On the Kings podcast with Charlie O:

#1 The Sacramento Kings’ Willie Cauley Stein loves the deuces, scoring 22 points, 17 rebounds and getting a double double in the Kings’ win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday 122-117.

#2 Bobby Hield continues to lead the Kings with 28 points. He’s been a huge impact player in the Kings’ success.

#3 What does that say about the Kings to overcome an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter and come away with a five-point win? The Kings were down at one time 19 points.

#4 The Kings’ Anthony Davis with 26 points and D’Aaron Fox with 19 points. Both these players are big contributors each night.

#5 The Kings travel to LA to play the Los Angeles Clippers Wednesday. Charlie sets this one up. Also, join reporter London Marq for exclusive coverage.

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