Category: Sacramento Kings

The other shoe just dropped in the Matt Barnes – DeMarcus Cousins NYC club fight story

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

by Charlie O. Mallonee

barnes-nyc
Photo NY Daily News

If you are old enough to remember the movie “All the President’s Men” which chronicled the infamous break-in of the Democratic National Headquarters at the Watergate office complex, the key informant – “Deep Throat” – told the two young investigative reporters “to follow the money”. When unusual events happen to famous people or organizations, Deep Throat’s advice is usually a very solid approach to uncovering the truth – “follow the money”.

According to TMZ Sports, two of the people involved in the melee at The Avenue nightclub in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City early on Monday morning have filed lawsuits against Sacramento Kings players Matt Barnes and DeMarcus Cousins. Cousins was known to have been present during the incident but had not been the subject of the alleged violence that took place inside the club. Only Barnes had been mentioned as a possible suspect in the fight.

TMZ is reporting that Jasmine Besiso and Myrone Powell have filed suit against Barnes and Cousins claiming they were “brutalized” by the players.

The lawsuit reportedly breaks the events down as follows:

  • Besiso and Powell claim they were just “hanging out” when Barnes came up to Besiso and started to choke her
  • Powell says he then tried to intervene to stop the attack and that is when Cousins became involved and punched him in the face
  • After Powell was struck, Barnes supposedly released Besiso and elbowed her in the face, knocking her unconscious
  • Myrone says he taken to the ground and Barnes and Cousins kicked and punched him in the head and body
  • NYPD was called and responded but Barnes and Cousins were gone by the time the authorities arrived
avenue
Photo: NY Daily News

The “victims” rep says it was a serious situation

  • The alleged victims representative called the incident a “vicious and unprovoked attack” according to TMZ
  • The same spokesperson called Cousins’ first involvement a “blindside punch”
  • The rep also stated the two persons who are suing were taken to hospital by ambulance and treated for what they called serious injuries – which were not specified

The defendants also had something to say

  • A representative for Matt Barnes had stated earlier that Barnes and his party were attacked after he accidentally bumped a person in the club’s VIP section
  • Barnes himself has encouraged everyone to understand there are two sides to every story
  • Cousins or any of his representatives have yet to make a statement concerning the incident

No charges have been filed in NYC

  • Initial reports had the NYPD ready to charge Barnes as the assailant based on video it had obtained – presumably from security cameras inside the club
  • That informantion was given to TMZ Sports by a person who was “not authorized” to speak about the situation
  • There have also been unconfirmed reports that Barnes was in communication with NYPD before leaving the city for Dallas
  • The fact that no charges have been filed yet does not mean none will be filed – it is truly a wait and see situation while the incident is investigated
  • Obviously, a lawsuit would be enhanced if criminal charges were brought forward and a some type of a guilty verdict or plea resulted from those charges

nypd-car

The Kings have still issued just one statement related to this event

“We have clear standards of conduct and behavior expected of the entire Kings organization – on and off the court. We are working with all parties involved to gather information in order to take any appropriate next steps.”

How long will the NBA remain silent?

  • Do not mistake silence for complacency – you can take it to the bank that NBA security is actively investigating this situation as you read this article
  • Naturally the NBA wants to give the NYPD room to do its criminal investigation and is hoping that no legal charges will be filed as a result of this incident
  • Even if no criminal charges are brought forward that does not mean Barnes and Cousins are out of the woods with “the Association”
  • The NBA standards of acceptable behavior may well be above what is acceptable by the laws of the State of New York – this entire event may well have negative results for Barnes, Cousins and the Kings even criminal charges and civil lawsuits are avoided

Post incident video

TMZ has posted video that it says was taken outside the club just after the events transpired. You can view the video at http://www.tmz.com/category/tmzsports 

Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O: Kings Barnes now wanted for questioning in night club choking of woman

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AP file photo: Sacramento Kings forward Matt Barnes shown here playing against the Boston Celtics on Fri Dec 2 is the subject of an assault investigation by NYPD during a mishap that took place on Mon Dec 5th in a Manhattan Nightclub

Matt Barnes Sacramento Kings forward has been accused of choking a woman at Avenue Nightclub just 20 blocks from the main offices of the NBA in Manhattan on Monday morning. Barnes more than likely will end up sitting on the hot seat in the NBA Commissioners office with some serious explaining to do. Barnes and the woman reportedly were seated at a table in the club when an argument escalated between the two. Barnes according to witnesses at the club put his hands on the woman’s neck and appeared to choking her.

Barnes threw two punches at a man and a woman who tried breaking up the fight according to witnesses. TMZ had reportedly obtained video of the fight and also got a video of Kings center DeMarcus Cousins who reportedly said on the video and who was at the club that he threw a punch too. Although the sound quality on the video was not good police are examining the tape and also doing a follow up investigation.

Barnes and Cousins were not available to answer any of the cops questions as they were on a team flight to Dallas for Tuesday night’s game against Owner Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks. There was talk that the NYPD could issue a summons and have Barnes and Cousins returned back to New York to answer any questions or charges. There have been no reports of any injuries that the woman who reportedly was choked and the man and the woman who intervened sustained.

Charlie O fills you in on this podcast with latest in the Matt Barnes assault investigation and more Kings news here at http://www.sportsradioservice.com Eric He has the Kings-Mavericks game recap following Tuesday game in Dallas

Matt Barnes wanted by NYC Police for assault in night club

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

by Charlie O. Mallonee

TMZ Sports was the first to release news that Sacramento Kings forward Matt Barnes was involved in an incident in a New York City area night club early Monday morning.

barnes-cousins-kings

Barnes was in the club with teammate DeMarcus Cousins. According to the story, Barnes became involved in some sort of altercation with a woman in the club and the woman was choked by Barnes. Another man and woman tried to intervene and were reportedly punched by Barnes.

Per the TMZ story, video they obtained that shows Barnes and Cousins after the fight has the Kings center talking about hitting one of the people involved in the altercation.

http://www.tmz.com/2016/12/05/matt-barnes-bar-fight/?adid=hero1

In USA Today’s report on the altercation, they state the video obtained by investigators shows Barnes as being the assailant in the assault of the women and the man. The statement on the video content came from a source not authorized to release information on the contents of the evidence.

Barnes made a statement via Instagram that “there are two sides to every story.”

“We continue to cooperate fully with authorities,” said Barnes’ attorney Alex Spiro.

The Sacramento Kings issued the following statement on Monday:

“We have clear standards of conduct and behavior expected of the entire Kings organization – on and off the court. We are working with all parties involved to gather information in order to take any appropriate next steps.”

The Kings have a game in Dallas on Wednesday night with the Mavericks. Will Matt Barnes be with the team? That is open to question at this time.

What is not open to question is this is exactly the kind of situation the Kings did not at this time based on what is happening with the franchise on the floor.

 

 

The Kings shoot poorly and lose to the Knicks 106-98

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

by Charlie O. Mallonee

Sacramento Kings v New York Knicks
Cousins drives on Noah at the Garden photo: NBAE

“48” – that is the most import number the Sacramento Kings have to drill into their minds right now. They need to learn that a NBA basketball last for 48 minutes and that means as a team the Kings need to play hard for 48 minutes.

The Kings did not play hard for all 48 minutes in the game at Madison Square Garden in New York on Sunday night and Sacramento lost to the Knicks 106-98. This was an unusual game in the sense it was lost in the first half and almost redeemed in the second half, but that is exactly how so many games in the NBA are lost.

Shots would not fall for the Kings in the first half

The Kings shot just 28.6-percent (14-49) in the first half. The term is often used that “the basket had a lid on it”. Well in the first of the game on Sunday for Sacramento, the basket had a lid on it. The Kings were not taking bad shots . The Knicks were not playing great defense. Literally, the ball would not fall through the hoop. The Kings went 9-for-26 in the paint.

The Knicks did not shoot the lights out of the Garden. They shot 42.3-percent (22-for-52) in the first half of the game. New York shot just 36.7-percent in the first quarter.

As the teams headed to the locker rooms at the half, the Kings were lucky to trailing by just 14 points, 55-41.

The Kings came alive in the third quarter

Sacramento Kings v New York Knicks
Carmelo Anthony and Rudy Gay photo: NBAE

The third quarter began like the second quarter ended. The Knicks kept pouring it on behind the scoring of Porzingis and Anthony and opened up a 20-point lead with 7:59 left to play in the period. At that point, the Kings began to turn the game around.

Starting with a  Rudy Gay 25-foot 3-point basket at the 7:02 mark, the Kings began to cut into the Knicks lead. Led by Cousins’ 11 points and Gay’s 10 points the Kings cut the New York lead to one point with 48-seconds remaining in the quarter. At the end of three quarters, New York led the game 81-77.

The Kings came close in the fourth quarter but could not close the deal

The Knicks behind the play of Prozingis opened the lead back up to eight points. Cousins kept the Kings close and Sacramento cut the New York lead down to two points with help of strong play from Gay, Collison and Cauley-Stein.

Carmelo Anthony and Brandon Jennings took over from there adding to the Knicks lead and the Kings were unable to respond. Sacramento had spent so much energy working their way back into the game – they did not have enough left in the tank to fight back overcome the Knicks lead.

The Knicks won the game 106-98.

Cousins was the star of the game again for Sacramento (7-13)

  • The big center recorded his 10th double-double with 36 points and 12 rebounds. He also had four assists and three blocked shots. Cousins was 9-for-30 shooting from the field
  • Rudy Gay scored 22 points shooting 7-for-18 and grabbing nine rebounds
  • Darren Collison put up 13 points and dished out six assists
  • Kosta Koufos scored only two points but he pulled down 11 rebounds that included five offensive rebounds
  • Willie Cauley-Stein played 23 minutes scoring nine points and hauling in four rebounds. Coach Dave Joerger said Cauley-Stein’s length on defense matched up well against Prozingis
  • The Kings shot just 32.3-percent (31-96) as team for the game
Sacramento Kings v New York Knicks
Willie Cauley-Stein at the Garden photo: NBAE

The usual suspects came through for the Knicks (11-9)

  • The Knicks had four players score in double figures while shooting 44.3-percent (39-for-88) from the floor. NYK also shot 37.9-percent (11-for-29) from 3-point range
  • Carmelo Anthony and Derrick Rose each scored 20 points in the game. Rose continues to look more like the Rose of old all the time
  • Brandon Jennings put up 19 points with 4-of-5 his scores being 3-point baskets. He was also a perfect  7-for-7 from the free throw line
  • Kristaps Porzingis started the game slowly but finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds

Up next on the schedule

The Kings wrap up their five game road trip on Wednesday night in Dallas with what has become a must win game over the terrible Mavericks. A win would let the Kings finish the road trip 2-3.

The Knicks also hit the road and visit South Beach to take on the Heat on Tuesday night.

Kings lose a battle in Boston 97-92

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by Charlie O. Mallonee

Sacramento Kings v Boston Celtics
Cousins and Horford battle under the basket Photo NBAE

The Kings and Celtics went to war on the basketball court on Friday night in Boston. The game featured 23 lead changes and 12 ties. As those stats would imply, both teams had the opportunity to win the game. In the end, Boston led by Al Horford was able to put the “W” in the books because of their tough play late in the fourth quarter.

The Celtics won their 11th game of the season as they downed the Kings 97-92. Sacramento now drops to 7-12 on the season and 1-2 on what is now a five-game road trip.

The Kings started slow and finished sluggish

Sacramento went with the “the big” starting lineup in this game – Koufos, Cousins, Gay, Afflalo and Collison. Boston began running away from this starting five immediately. By the 4:26 mark in the first quarter, the Celtics held a 13-point lead 24-11. Dave Joerger pulled all of his starters except Cousins and the second unit erased the deficit tying the game at 29-29 at the end of the first period.

That set up a real battle between the teams that played out in second, third and part of the fourth quarters.

With 7:54 to go in the game, Al Horford hit a hook shot that tied the game and the Celtics eventually went on a 10-0 run that created a major uphill battle for the Kings. Sacramento led by Cousins tried to fight their way back into the game and did cut the Celtics lead to three points with 39 seconds remaining in the game. The Kings were unable to score again in those final seconds and lost the game.

The Kings lost Cousins for medical treatment late in the 3rd and early in the 4th quarters

Late in the third quarter, Ty Lawson and DeMarcus Cousins were both going for a defensive rebound when Lawson’s left elbow hit Cousins above the left eye. The blow opened up a cut above Cousins’ left eye. He was taken to the locker room where they glued the cut shut and he returned to the game with under eight minutes to play in the fourth quarter.

Was that the turning point in the game? No, it was not. Read the next section and you will understand why it was not the key to the loss.

Missed shots in the paint – poor shot selection – turnovers all haunt the Kings

“We just shot ourselves in the foot. We turned the damned thing (the ball) over like I’ve never seen.We take bad shots sometimes and it just ticks me off. At bad times … stuff we know we have to get better at. We’re not a bunch of rookies. We can get better. We’ll keep plugging away and keep getting better, but we shot 47 shots in the paint and missed how many layups? Turnovers killed us. Shots come and go – we didn’t make shots,” said Kings head coach Dave Joerger after the game.

Sacramento outscored Boston 42-34 in the paint but went 21-for-47 in the high percentage shooting area. The Kings shot just 37.9-percent (33-for-87) for the game. It is almost impossible to win a game in the NBA and shoot under 40-percent. Sacramento turned the ball over 15 times and those TOVs created 21 points for Boston.

Cousins was the Kings scoring leader but it was not his best night – Barnes was big

  • DeMarcus Cousins was the game’s leading scorer with 28 points but he had to take 26 shots to tally those points. He was 2-for-7 from long range. Cousins had nine rebounds so he did not record a double-double
  • Matt Barnes did have a double-double for the Kings on Friday night. He scored 12 points, grabbed 16 rebounds (game-high) and added five assists. Barnes also provided some much needed energy on defense several times in the game
  • Rudy Gay and Darren Collison each scored 12 points for Sacramento. Gay had eight rebounds but went 1-for-7 from 3-point range. Collison had three assists
  • Omri Casspi played almost 27 minutes off the bench and scored seven points. Casspi brought some much needed energy late in the first quarter
  • Willie Cauley-Stein had some strong minutes of playing time in the first half and scored six points in the game
Sacramento Kings v Boston Celtics
Matt Barnes moves with the ball in Boston Photo NBAE

Al Horford was the star for Boston in the game

Horford had a complete game for the Celtics on Friday night against the Kings. The Boston center played 35-minutes scoring 26 points, recorded eight rebounds, dished out three assists, had two steals and six -yes you are reading correctly – six blocked shots. He shot 10-for-18 from the floor and 4-for-7 from beyond the 3-point line.

Celtics head coach Brad Stevens was even more impressed with Horford’s defense. Stevens talked about how his center is always at the ready on defense. Horford did make a key defensive play on Cousins in the final seconds of the game to deny the Kings big man a 3-point shot opportunity.

Other Celtic contributors

  • Former Kings player Isaiah Thomas put up 20 points and handed out seven assists on a night when he did not shoot his best. Thomas shot 6-for-21 from the floor and 0-for-5 from 3-point land
  • Jae Crowder added 16 points and Avery Bradley scored 15 for Boston
  • One of the big weaknesses for the Celtics is the lack of bench scoring. The Celtics reserves scored just 12 points in the contest. The Kings bench scored 33 points in the game
Sacramento Kings v Boston Celtics
Isaiah Thomas goes to the basket against his old team on Friday night Photo NBAE

Up next on the schedule

The Kings have the day off in New York City on Saturday and then will face the New York Knicks in “the Garden” on Sunday at 4:00 p.m. PST in game four of the five-game road trip.

The Celtics kick off a road trip on Saturday night in Philadelphia with the Sixers assuming the floor is dry enough for play. The NBA will make sure the floor is game-ready for the Celtics and Sixers … take that to the bank.

Kings – Sixers game postponed due to wet grounds … make that floor!

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

by Charlie O. Mallonee

cuz-mops
Cousins mops up in Philly (CSN Philly)

The Sacramento Kings and the Philadelphia 76ers were supposed to play a basketball game Wednesday night at the Wells Fargo Center in Philly. The game was not played due to unsafe conditions on the floor.

The Wells Fargo Center is a combination arena where they play basketball and hockey. The basketball floor is laid down over the ice which happens in a number of arenas around the country and is usually not a problem.

On Wednesday, it was unusually warm for Philadelphia with temperatures in the 60’s. Officials believe that some malfunction with the refrigeration system caused the the condensation to form on the basketball floor. When mopping up the water did not solve the problem, NBA officials had to step in and make a decision based on the safety of the players.

What should we do all great and powerful NBA?

The only logical decision was to postpone the game to a later date.

Why not play the game on Thursday?

The Wells Fargo Center was dark on Thursday night and the Kings would have been available, but the Sixers were already scheduled for a back-to-back home set on Friday with Orlando and on Saturday with Boston. Philly also has a back-to-back home/road set scheduled for Monday and Tuesday. A Thursday contest would have been just to much to ask of the players.

Has this ever happened before?

In October of 2015, a Lakers – Warriors preseason game at a casino in San Diego was canceled late in the third quarter due to wet floor conditions. In 2010, a preseason game between Orlando and Miami was canceled in St. Petersburg for the same problem.

There are reports that a similar problem that canceled an NBA game in the late 80’s cost the home team $1-million in fines. The Sixers or whoever controls the Wells Fargo Center had better get out the checkbook because the fines and lawsuits are coming.

The Sixers were already announcing to the crowd Wednesday night that their tickets and parking stubs would be honored for the rescheduled game between Sacramento and Philadelphia. They also announced bonus vouchers to upcoming games in December for fans as compensation for their time and trouble for showing up and having the game canceled.

Boogie had fun with the moment  

Best moment of the night had to be DeMarcus Cousins helping to mop the floor at the Wells Fargo Center. “Boogie” may be known for his temper but he has a fun-loving side that can be very flexible in a situation that could have a very stressful event. There is more to the Kings’ big man than just what happens after officials make a call he does not agree with and he expresses his feelings openly for the world to see. Enjoy the video. http://www.csnphilly.com/the700level/watch-demarcus-cousins-literally-mops-wells-fargo-center-floor-during-bizarre-pregame

Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O: Kings can hang with some of the best in the NBA

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AP file photo: DeMarcus Cousins has to be floored by how well the club has been handling some of the competitive NBA teams coming into Golden 1 Center

The Kings had a game last Wednesday night with Oklahoma City and frankly we thought that would be a very difficult game to play for the Kings just because Oklahoma City is Oklahoma City of course they lost Kevin Durant but they still have a lot of super talent on that team. The Thunder came in and the Kings just stood up and said “not in our house” and the Kings beat them 116-101.

The Kings beat them like they were a lower level team, it was phenomenal I don’t think anybody expected there to be that kind of victory but the Kings just got ready and came after them. It was a big win and the Kings were very excited about it and it was a tremendous pump up for the team.

Charlie O discusses Kings basketball on the podcast and each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Kings run out of gas in overtime loss to Wizards

Published on by Eric HeLeave a comment

By: Eric He

DeMarcus Cousins scored 36 points and grabbed 20 rebounds, but the Kings couldn’t find their offense in overtime in a 101-95 loss to the Wizards on the road on Monday.

The Wizards scored the first seven points of overtime, helped by a three-pointer from Bradley Beal and second chance opportunities for Washington. Sacramento managed just three points in the extra session — a “too little, too late” three-pointer by Rudy Gay.

Cousins forced overtime with a tough driving layup with 10 seconds left in regulation, and John Wall missed a jumper at the buzzer to preserve the tie.

But for Cousins, it was just one of his spectacular baskets on a night where he carried the Kings — Gay was the second-highest scorer on the team with 18 points. Cousins hit on an array of contested jumpers that kept his team in the game.

Sacramento trailed 12-4 early but took a 53-50 lead into halftime after outscoring Washington 34-25 in the second quarter. After a tightly-contested third quarter, the Wizards jumped ahead by as many as eight points in the fourth, but the Kings grinded their way back into it.

It wouldn’t be enough, though, as the Wizards prevailed in overtime. Beal had a game-high 31 points, while Wall chipped in 19 points.

“This was a very winnable game,” Cousins told the Sacramento Bee. “Hopefully this doesn’t come back to bite in the butt later on.”

The Kings are now 1-1 on their six-game road trip. Next up, they play at Philadelphia on Wednesday.

Kings news & notes Monday 11-28-16

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

by Charlie O. Mallonee

webber

Cousins passes Webber on the scoring list

DeMarcus Cousins scored a game-high 37 points in win over the Nets on Sunday night. Those 37 points allowed Cousins to pass Chris Webber for third on the all-time Sacramento Kings scoring list.

Cousins now has 8847 career points for Sacramento. Webber accumulated 8843 points during his six-plus years with Sacramento.

Peja Stojakovic is currently in second-place with 9498 points and the great Mitch Richmond holds down the number one spot with 12,070 points. The all-time franchise (Royals/Kings) points leader is Hall of Famer Oscar Robinson.

Based on his current scoring projections, Cousins could pass Stojakovic for second-place on the scoring list later this season.

It was a night of technical fouls plus a flagrant two ejection

DeMarcus Cousins picked up his fifth technical foul in the third quarter of the game for contact with Luis Scola’s face. It was incorrectly reported as his fourth technical foul in last night’s story. Cousins is now tied for the league lead in that category with DeAndre Jordan of the Clippers.

The Kings Kosta Koufos was charged with a technical foul in the fourth quarter for arguing with the officials. Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson picked up a “T” in the fourth out of frustration with the officials and his team. Nets guard Randy Foye was also a recipient of a technical late in the final period.

Matt Barnes received his flagrant two foul (which was a flagrant one all the way) and ejection from the officiating crew on Sunday night in Brooklyn.

Four technicals and a flagrant two ejection begins to sound like an officiating crew that might have lost control of a game. This would be a good game for the chief of officials to review.

The Kings went back to the big starting lineup on Sunday in Brooklyn

After using the the “small ball” starting lineup for the past three games, Sacramento head coach Dave Joerger went back to the “big lineup” versus the big Nets. That means Koufos started at center, Cousins slid back to power forward, Rudy Gay played the three, Arron Afflalo was at shooting guard and Darren Collison started as the Kings point guard.

Three Kings return to Reno

reno-sc

Center Georgios Papagiannis, Forward Skal Labissiere and Guard Malachi Richardson ended few days with the parent club and returned to the D-League on Sunday. The Bighorns hosted the Warriors D-League entry the Santa Cruz Warriors.

The Bighorns used a runaway second quarter to establish a solid lead over Santa Cruz and won their second game of the season 100-84.

Malachi Richardson led the Bighorns scoring attack with 24 points and made it a double-double with 11 rebounds. He shot 8-for-18 from the floor, 3-for-6 from 3-point range and hit 5-of-6 from the free throw line.

Skal Labissiere recorded 18 points and grabbed four rebounds. He went 6-for-11 shooting from the field and was 6-for-8 from foul line.

Papagiannis did not play which was listed as a coach’s decision. Kings head coach Dave Joerger had told us that having all three players in a game really limited the number of touches each player received and they want to maximize that number to speed up player development.

The Bighorns will host the Rio Grande Valley Vipers (Houston) on Thursday.

Don’t let this guy get to close to you on the court in D.C.

For entertainment purposes only

FiveThirtyEight.com says the Wizards have a 68-percent chance of beating the Kings tonight in Washington (remember: this is the second game of a back-to-back set on the road). FiveThirtyEight’s CARMELO system predicts the Wizards are the favorites minus 4.5 points.

CARMELO also predicts the Wizards will finish with a record of 34-48 and have a 31-percent chance of making the playoffs in the Eastern Conference.

The fellows who make those predictions for the owners of those big resorts say go with the Wizards minus 4.5 points. They call the over/under as 210 to 210.5.

Looking ahead to game six of the road trip in Dallas

dallas-dirk

As reported by HoopsHype via Dallas Morning News on the Dirk Nowitzki injury: He’s only played five of 16 games. “We have every expectation that it’s not serious,” owner Mark Cuban said. “It’s dramatically better. That’s why he played the other night (in Cleveland). He just felt it again, so there’s no reason to take a chance. We’re just being cautious.” Said Carlisle: “The important thing is that we’re doing the right things to get him to a full recovery. He’s come a long way in a four-plus week period. But it’s an Achilles strain and it’s taking time. My hope is that it can be complete sometime in December, sooner than later. But we just got to be patient with it. He’s too important to us. If we have to play without him, we’ll play without him.”

Kings win game one on the road beating Brooklyn 122-105

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

By Charlie O. Mallonee

NBA: Sacramento Kings at Brooklyn Nets
Photo USA Today Sports

The road is a harsh place in the NBA

The chances of a road team winning a game in the NBA stand at approximately 40-percent. That means the odds are against you before you ever start the game.

The Sacramento Kings kicked off a six-game road trip in Brooklyn on Sunday night against the Nets. The Nets came into the game having lost six consecutive games and were desperate for a win. Sacramento knew this was a team they could beat and needed to defeat to make it a successful start to the road trip.

The Kings (7-10) met their goal by soundly defeating the Nets 122-105 to start the long road trip on a positive note.

The Nets opened the game with fast and furious play

Brooklyn plays fast as team normally, but they opened this game with a sense of urgency wanting to end their losing streak and feeling like the Kings were a team they could beat on their home court.

The Nets decided to use the Rockets philosophy and started shooting as many 3-pointers as possible against the Kings. The concept worked momentarily as Brooklyn opened up a nine point lead shooting 5-for-10 from long range, but the Kings got organized on offense scoring with high percentage shots in the paint. At the end of the first quarter, the Kings had cut the Nets lead to four points – 35 to 31.

The Sacramento second unit slowed the Nets down in the second quarter

The Kings second unit led by Matt Barnes and Garrett Temple slowed the Nets down by increasing the defensive pressure and continued to cut into the Brooklyn lead using high percentage shots in the paint. Sacramento tied the game up with 8:52 to in the first half, and then they took the lead.

The Nets took the lead back before the end of the half, but they were not able to reestablish the fiery pace of the first quarter. Also, the Kings continued to score. DeMarcus Cousins hit a 25-foot bank shot for 3-points near the end of period. At the end of the 12-minutes, Sacramento had won the quarter 27-24. Brooklyn went to halftime with a 59-58 lead over the Kings.

Sacramento Kings v Brooklyn Nets
Photo NBAE

In the third quarter the Sacramento Express rolled into Brooklyn

The Kings have been a strong second-half team in general this season. On Sunday night in Brooklyn, they found a whole new running gear thanks to their star center. Cousins took charge of the game scoring 18 points in the quarter, shooting 6-for-9 from the floor including hitting 2-of-2 from 3-point range. He went 4-for-4 from the free throw line, grabbed five rebounds and had three steals in the period. Cousins did in 12-minutes what a majority of players would love to do in an entire game.

Rudy Gay added five points and two assists. Darren Collison scored five points and had one assist. Matt Barnes put up three points and dished out three assists in just 5:30 on the floor.

By the end of the quarter, the Kings had outscored the Nets 34-18 in the period and had a 92-77 lead in the game.

The one negative of the quarter was that DeMarcus Cousins picked up a technical foul for hitting Luis Scola in the face under basket while trying to make a layup. Cousins then went to the line to shoot two free throws because Scola fouled him in the act of shooting. It is Cousins fourth technical of the season.

Sacramento Kings v Brooklyn Nets
Photo NBAE

The fourth quarter should have been an easy one for Sacramento but is wasn’t

Everything started off the Kings in fourth quarter just the way they wanted things to go. It looked like it would be a forgettable 12-minutes and Sacramento could move on to Washington, D.C. for the game on Monday night.

Then at the 9:35 mark of the fourth quarter, Sean Kilpatrick of the Nets drove to the basket for a layup. Matt Barnes of the Kings ran in from the angle to cut him off and there was heavy contact. Replay revealed that Barnes’ left arm made contact with Kilpatrick’s face. The officials went to review the video and everyone knew Barnes was going to be issued a flagrant one foul. Instead, the referees called it a flagrant two foul and Barnes was ejected from the game. (Let me just say that Barnes previous reputation as a tough guy may have come into play in the call – imho).

The ejection changed the momentum of the game and the Nets promptly went on a 16-2 run and cut the Kings lead down to 99-93.

Rudy Gay hit a 19-foot jumper with 6:29 to go in the game which kicked off a 14-0 run by the Kings. That run killed any hope the Nets had of coming back in the game.

Sacramento won the game by the final score of 122-105.

Sacramento leaders

NBA: Sacramento Kings at Brooklyn Nets
Photo USA Today Sports
  • DeMarcus Cousins was the leading scorer in the game with 37 points and made it a double-double with 11 rebounds
  • Rudy Gay had a big game with 22 points, eight assists and eight rebounds
  • Darren Collison scored 18 points
  • Ty Lawson scored 13 points coming off the bench for the Kings
  • Omri Casspi played again for the Kings putting up eight point and grabbing five rebounds. He was 2-for-2 from 3-point range.
  • Everyone on the Sacramento bench except Anthony Tolliver – that includes Ben McLemore and Willie Cauley-Stein- played in the game

Brooklyn’s top producers

  • Guard Sean Kilpatrick was the Nets leading scorer with 22 points. He went 8-for-13 shooting including three 3-point baskets
  • Brook Lopez put up 17 points and hauled in seven rebounds while battling with DeMarcus Cousins all night
  • Bojan Bogdanovic added 13 points for Brooklyn
  • Justin Hamilton was the Nets rebounding leader with 10

Key stat of the game

Points in the paint: Kings 50 Nets 36 – this is where the game was won

Up next on the schedule

The Nets game was the first game of a back-to-back set on the road for the Kings. Sacramento will play on Monday night in Washington, D.C. The Wizards are 5-10 on the season and are coming off a loss to San Antonio. The Kings did play the Wizards in the preseason at Rupp Arena on the campus of the University of Kentucky.

The Nets will try to end their seven-game losing streak on Tuesday night when they host the 14-4 Los Angeles Clippers.