Category: Sacramento Kings

No Boogie, No Problem as Kings defeat Bucks,129-118

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by Michael Martinez

photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images

SACRAMENTO- For the 6th time this season, the Kings had to play without their All Star big man, Demarcus Cousins, who sat out with a lower back strain. Prior to tonight’s game, the Kings were 0-5 with Cousins and 11-39 in the 50 games Cousins has not suited up. Nonetheless, the Kings were able to put together an offensive showcase with smart, quick ball movement while shooting at a high percentage. Although all the Kings starters played well, namely Rudy Gay and Rajon Rondo, the bench made a large impact. The Kings (5-10) win over the Bucks (6-8), 129-118, was an overall team win and a huge boost of confidence to pick up the victory without one of their team leaders in Milwaukee at the Bradley Center.

The 1st quarter was an offensive flurry for both teams and Gay started off the game hot, which would continue for most of the game. Gay made the Kings first 6 points and finished the quarter with 14 points, going 6-7 from the field and adding 2 boards. The Kings started getting the ball moving early on and pushing the ball towards the hoop. The team had 26 points in the paint in the 1st quarter and Rondo’s 7 assists in the quarter helped the Kings on the offensive end and he totaled 6 points as well. The whole team did a good job of getting it inside especially to Kosta Koufos who had 8 points in the 1st. The Kings shot the ball at an incredible 77.3% in the first although their defense was not the best especially their transition defense. The 1st was very back and forth with little turnovers, but the Kings closed the quarter on a 14-7 run to take the leader, 40-33, heading into the 2nd quarter.

The Kings offense and lights out shooting slowed down  in the 2nd quarter, however the bench started to step up big. Omri Casspi shot the ball well and attacked the hoop. He was able to get to the line on 2 occasions, going 3-4 from the charity stripe, while shooting 2-3 from the field. Marco Belinelli put up 7 points in the quarter and although his 3 point shot was not quite there, he was able to still find some offensive rhythm. While Rondo got some well deserved rest throughout the 2nd, Darren Collison kept the ball moving with 3 assists in the 2nd and totaling 6 points on 2-3 shooting. The Bucks bench also did a good job of scoring and making the Kings defense work. The Bucks outscored the Kings, 33-29, and had a slightly higher shooting percentage, 52.4%-50%. George Karl picked up a technical foul in the quarter, but the Bucks missed the free shot. To end the quarter, Gay drove to the hoop and made a nice lay up, which was answered by Jarryd Bayless with a buzzer beating 3 pointer. The Kings still led heading into the locker room, 69-66, even after being out rebounded 22-17 especially on the offensive end, which allowed the Bucks to get 2nd chance opportunities.

Coming into the 2nd half, both teams picked up where they left off. The action was once again back and forth with Gay making it look easy. The 3rd quarter for the Kings was a huge team effort as they did a good job of finding the open man throughout the 3rd and the entire game. None of the Kings players put up double digits in the quarter, but everyone who played in the quarter scored. Gay continued his hot shooting, 3-6 in the quarter, with 6 points. The 3rd ended and Gay had 26 points, while Casspi and Belinelli had 14 points each. Casspi and Belinelli’s bench play helped the Kings stay ahead throughout and Rondo kept pushing the ball up court, adding 4 more assists. Giannis Antetokounmpo showed up in the 3rd quarter where he scored 10 points, 3-5 from the field. Khris Middleton did a good job of scoring, with 8 in the quarter and 15 at the end of the 3rd. Luckily for the Kings, Middleton got into early foul trouble in the quarter and the Bucks slowed down a little bit. As the clock was winding down, Belinelli was able to hit a buzzer beater from behind the arc to give the Kings the 96-92 lead at the end of the 3rd.

The Kings did a better job on the defensive end against the Bucks, while Gay’s stroke was still smooth as butter. Gay was able to get to the line and was flagrantly fouled early on, by John Henson as he attacked the hoop. Gay put up 10 points in the 4th quarter, which was matched by Darren Collison. Collision continued the theme of solid bench play in the 4th quarter with his hustle and dribbling ability helping him get to the basket. The Kings started to pull away from the Bucks towards the end of the 4th as they did a good job with their help defense and getting stops on that end of the court. The Kings held their biggest lead of the game, 12, in the quarter. Frustration poured over for the Bucks as Michael Carter-Williams picked  up a technical. That would not be the only tech, as the Bucks head coach Jason Kidd got furious over not getting foul calls. Kidd approached referee Zach Zarba, giving him an earful and swiped the ball out of Zarba’s hand. Kidd was immediately ejected from the game and had to be held back, leaving the court to a standing ovation from Bucks’ fans. The Kings’ offense was just too much for the Bucks and the Kings were able to get just enough stops to pull out the win, 129-118.

Without Cousins, who is averaging 27.9 points a game according to ESPN.com, the Kings needed players to step up on the offensive end. Overall, the Kings did just that with the whole team playing well. Although their defense is not quite where it needs to be, their 57.1 shooting percentage, 42 rebounds and 23 assists was just enough. Gay had a game high 36 points, 13-21, while Rondo was one rebound shy of yet another triple double. Rondo finished with 10 points, 9 rebounds, 13 assists as he continues to pass the ball on an incredible level. Rondo’s vision and patience allow him to see the play he wants to make ahead of time. Koufos benefitted from Rondo’s passing ability, totaling 14 points. Casspi scored 19 points and grabbed 7 boards, 6-9 on field goals. Belinelli posted 18 points, 5-10 from the field, 3-7 from downtown. Collision put up 18 points as well and finished with 3 assists. Those 3 were the only Kings bench players, but helped the bench total 55 points.

After a great team win, the Kings are now 6-10 and will take on the Minnesota Timberwolves at home. Picking up their 2nd road win on the season, the Kings look to continue their hot shooting and hopefully can start causing more disturbance on defense as last year’s Rookie of the Year, Andrew Wiggins, and rookie Karl Anthony-Towns head to Sacramento.

Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O: Talk of Calipari coming to replace Karl very unlikely

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On the Kings podcast Charlie O discusses if the Kings will fire head coach George Fire and replace him with Kentucky U head coach John Calipari it’s a scenario that is very unlikely to happen. The Kings are 1-3 on the five game road trip. They want to pick up that last win and come home 2-3. DeMarcus Cousins who elbowed the Atlanta Hawks Al Holford and was suspended one game for the elbowing. Charlie talks about how much of a distraction the elbowing discipline for Cousins was to the team.

photo credit allkyhoops.com of Kentucky U head coach John Calipari

Charlie O talks Kings basketball on the podcast below and every week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Sacramento Kings Monday night game recap: Cousins Sits as Kings Fall Late

Published on by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

photo credit: thebeast980.com Sac Kings DeMarcus Cousins

The Sacramento Kings had a memorable regulation performance Monday night in Charlotte, but the good feelings evaporated in the overtime period. With DeMarcus Cousins on the bench with back stiffness in the final minutes of regulation, Rajon Rondo connected with Rudy Gay on a buzzer beating inbounds alley-oop to tie the contest at 112-all. Bay Area native Jeremy Lin scored 8 of 15 Hornet points in overtime, while the Cousins-less Kings (5-10) only scored 10 to fall to Charlotte 127-122. T

The Kings led by 11 at 108-97 with just over 5 minutes left in the game after Cousins hit a free throw. That would be the last point the Kings star would score in the contest, exiting the game with 30 points and back pain. From there Hornets guard Kemba Walker performed his trademark clutch run to lead Charlotte (8-6) to the win.

Walker and Nicolas Batum scored 13 of the remaining 15 Hornets points while the Kings managed only two field goals capped by Walker driving to the hoop for a 110-108 lead with .7 seconds left in the game. The Hornets scored 38 points in the fourth quarter to erase a 91-74 deficit after three quarters.

Despite the early exit, Cousins still pieced together a monster effort. The Kings talent notched a double-double with 30 points and 11 rebounds over 30 minutes of play. Rondo collected his 7th 20 assist game of the season for the league lead and came a pair of rebounds short of the triple-double with 14 points. Gay had 28 points for the Kings, including the game-tying jam with .7 seconds left in the game.

The Kings continue their five-game roadtrip with a stop in Milwaukee for a showdown with the Bucks on the eve of Thanksgiving. By then they’ll know if they’ll be without the services of Cousins as the season progresses, though for the moment it appears Cousins won’t miss significant time. A win against the Bucks would be Sacramento 2-3 since last playing at Sleep Train Arena.

 

Kings win on the road downing the Magic 97-91

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
NBA: Sacramento Kings at Orlando Magic
Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

By Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings won their first road game of the season defeating the Orlando Magic 97-91 on Saturday night. The victory was also the Kings first win on this five-game road trip.

The Kings had to pick up the win without the help of Rudy Gay. Gay strained his shoulder on Thursday in the Miami game. Gay’s status is listed as day to day.

Rajon Rondo and DeMarcus Cousins led the Kings to the win but had some solid help from the bench. Omri Casspi, Kosta Koufos and Marco Belinelli all played key roles in the victory.

Sacramento took a 53-47 lead to the locker room at halftime. When the Kings returned to the court to start the third quarter, it was like a different team was wearing their uniforms.

In the first half, the Kings (5-9) played team basketball looking for the extra pass, hitting the cutter going to the basket and drawing fouls. During the opening minutes of the third period, Sacramento reverted to playing one-on-one basketball and abandoning the team game that had given them the lead.

After the Magic went on a 7-0 run to begin the third quarter, Kings head coach George Karl called a timeout. The Kings returned to the floor and starting playing team basketball again. They closed out the third with a 22-2 run over the Magic.

Orlando (6-7) made several attempts to create runs in the fourth quarter but they were not able to overcome the Kings lead.

Kings

Rajon Rondo had another outstanding game for Sacramento. He dished out nine assists to go with 13 points and seven rebounds. Rondo was 3-for-4 from behind the 3-point line.

DeMarcus Cousins recorded another double-double game. The Kings center scored 29 points and grabbed 12 rebounds as he dominated the paint. Cousins went to the free throw line 15 times and converted 13 of those tries into points.

Marco Belinelli played 26-plus minutes off the bench scoring 13 points. He also was very efficient from the charity stripe going 5-for-6 after being fouled.

Kosta Koufos had a productive game that included some floor time with DeMarcus Cousins. Cousins fed Koufos two beautiful assists that went for scores. Koufos posted 12 points.

Omri Casspi was called upon to fill many of the minutes left open with the absence of Rudy Gay. Casspi played 31-plus minutes posting a double-double of his own with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Sacramento shot just 38.3-percent (31-for-81) from the floor. The Kings compensated for their poor shooting percentage by converting 28 of 31 free throw attempts (90.3-percent).

The Kings distributed 23 assists while turning the ball over just 14 times.

Magic

Tobias Harris led the Magic in scoring with 24 points. He shot 10-for-16 from the field but was 0-for-4 from 3-point range.

Evan Fournier finished the game with 17 points after putting just two points in the first half. He shot 7-for-20 overall and was 3-for-11 from behind the 3-point arc.

Nikola Vucevic and Victor Oladipo scored 11 points each. Point guard Elfrid Payton scored seven points and had nine assists.

The glaring team team statistic for Orlando was their lack of trips to the free throw line. The Magic went to the line just eight times in game. When your opponent goes to the free throw line 23 more times than you and hits 90-percent of those shots, it becomes almost impossible to beat that team.

What they said after the game

“I think Rondo and DC (Cousins) did a great job of putting ball pressure (on them) which we have not done in many games,” Kings head coach George Karl said after the game. “Our big guys have been pretty good all year long protecting the basket. We made them miss a lot of shots which created pace on our side so we were running until the end when we ran out of gas a little bit.”

“I am – especially Cuz (Cousins). He likes to get the rebound and push it, but he’s been giving the ball up to me a lot more and he knows he’s going to get it back as a reward,” said Rajon Rondo when asked if he felt his teammates were learning to trust him to distribute the ball.

“All my teammates … I’ve got to give them all the credit. We rebounded well tonight – especially our bigs. They got it to me on the break and we were able to make plays in transition,” said Rondo when asked to analyze the win over the Magic.

Kings’ defense leads to loss, 116-109, in offensive shootout against Heat

Published on by Michael MartinezLeave a comment

by: Michael Martinez

picture credit Google Images

SACRAMENTO-  Coming off a tough loss against the Hawks the night before, the Sacramento Kings (4-8) looked to continue their solid play against the Miami Heat (6-4). After notching another triple-double against the Hawks, his 4th of the season, Rajon Rondo looked to carry the Kings who were without Demarcus Cousins due to a 1 game after a hitting Al Horford in the face with a forearm. Rondo did all he could to lead the Kings and was one rebound shy of another triple-double, but the Kings lack of defensive effort and carelessness with the ball on the offensive end (18 turnovers) cost them the game. The Kings lost to the Heat, 116-109, in Miami at American Airlines Arena.

As the game got underway, the Heat got off to a slow start, while the Kings began to score points in the paint, per usual. As the quarter progressed, Heat big man Hassan Whiteside picked up 2 fouls within 4 minutes, forcing Amar’e Stoudemire to come in. The Kings had no answer for Stoudemire, who put up 10 points in the 1st quarter, shooting 4-5 from the field. The 1st quarter had little offense, but the Heat went on an 8-3 run and a 9-2 run later in the quarter, which gave them the lead. The Kings best offensive player was Rudy Gay who scored 7 points, 3-6, while adding 3 rebounds. Rondo did a good job of pushing the ball into the paint with 4 assists and kicking the ball out to Marco Belinelli who scored 6 points, 2-3 from behind the arc. The Kings collectively shot 52.9%, 9-17, with 10 points in the paint, however with the Heat ending the quarter on a run, they led 25-21 to end the 1st quarter.

Starting off the 2nd quarter, the Heat continued their run from the 1st quarter, making it a 14-2 run. Willie Cauley-Stein had a big block on the Heat rookie Justise Winslow and Belinelli stopped the run after he was fouled behind the 3 point line, sinking all 3 shots from the charity stripe. The Kings were able to flip the script and go on a 8-2 run, however their defense looked slow and lackluster. The Kings allowed the Heat to get into the paint much too often, 20 points in the paint in the 2nd quarter alone and 30 points for the half. Cousins’ presence as a big body in the paint was definitely missed throughout the night. On the offensive end, the Kings scored a little more, however their shooting percentage lowered. Ben McLemore put up 5 points on 2-4 shooting, with a field goal from behind the arc, finishing the game with 17 points on 7-12 shooting. Dwayne Wade was also an issue for the Kings by putting up 9 points in the 2nd quarter alone, 6-12 FG and 13 points for the half. Gay finished with 11 points to end the first half, 5-10 shooting, adding 8 rebounds. With the Heat’s offense getting easy buckets, they continued to hold their lead 56-46 going into the locker room.

The Kings looked to come out of the locker room with a vengeance as they went on a 15-4 scoring run, including the end of the 2nd quarter. After the Heat had seen enough, they wound up going on a run of their own. Whiteside brought unmatched energy and his blocking ability was unreal throughout the 3rd. Dwayne Wade started right where he left off and his shot looked really good. Rondo looked to help the Kings as he distributed the ball extremely well in the paint, especially to Cauley-Stein. Even though the Kings began to falter, Rondo’s play was keeping them in the game as he scored his first points of the quarter in the 3rd. Rondo only scored 4 points in the quarter, but notched 8 assists in the quarter alone. McLemore and Cauley-Stein benefitted from this, both scoring 7 points in the 3rd. The Kings were able to stick around by shooting 61.9% from the field, 66.7% from behind the arc in the 3rd alone, and shooting over 50% for the game. The Heat kept their lead, however, up 82-76 heading in the final 12 minutes of play.

The 4th quarter for the Kings was a lot of clawing and scratching, although at first the Kings let the Heat go up by 16 at one point. The defense was doing a terrible job of keeping defenders in front of them and keeping a hand in shooters’ faces at all times. The momentary lapses on defense crushed the Kings even though they started to come back. Rondo was a huge part of this by adding 10 points in the 4th, with 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Rondo’s vision allowed him to get open looks for Belinelli who put up 10 in the 4th as well. Belinelli finished the game with a team high 23 points, shooting 5-11 from the field, 5-10 from 3 point range. Although the Kings tried to fight their way back into the game, Chris Bosh had himself a solid 4th. Bosh put up 13 points in the 4th, 23 for the game on 8-12 shooting and 11 rebounds to give himself a double-double. Wade finished with a game high 24 points. The Kings and Heat had a back and forth shootout, where both sides kept making three pointers. The Kings comeback attempt was hindered when Gay left early with a left shoulder strain. Rondo’s overall play, 14 points, the NBA’s season best 18 assists, and 9 rebounds was just not enough to get the victory. The absence of defensive stops gave the Heat the win over the Kings, 116-109.

After dropping their 2nd straight game in back to back night’s, the Kings are now 4-9 on the season. Minus Cousins and losing Gay in a close game hurt the Kings chances of defeating Miami. The loss is not one to dwell on completely as Rondo continues to play at an extremely high level and the Kings’ shooting percentage was 51.2% for the game, in part to Belinelli and McLemore’s shooting. With a slow start to the season. McLemore’s confidence looks much higher than it once was. The Kings will take on the Orlando Magic this Saturday and to get their first road win, they will have to take care of the ball and play much better defense.

 

 

Cousins suspended for Miami game

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

cuz elbow

by Charlie O. Mallonee

Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins has been suspended for one game without pay by the NBA. Cousins was disciplined for using his forearm to hit Atlanta’s Al Horford in the head in the first of quarter of last night’s game.

Cousins will serve his suspension tonight and  will be unavailable for the Kings game versus Miami.

Cousins is averaging 27.5 points and 11.2 rebounds per game for the Kings this season.

Hawks Trump Kings Despite Rondo Triple-Double

Published on by Matthew HarringtonLeave a comment

By Matthew T.F. Harrington

Rajon Rondo notched a triple-double, but the Sacramento Kings couldn’t complete a fourth quarter comeback in Atlanta Wednesday night to snap a three-game win streak. Rondo scored 12 points and DeMarcus Cousins netted a game-high 24 points but the Hawks (9-5) came away with the 103-97 victory at Phillips Arena to put coach George Karl even further under the microscope amidst talk of his disma.

The Hawks led by 11 points with 2:49 left in the game, but the Kings (4-8) went on a 9-0 run capped by Darren Collison’s three to bring the visitors down 99-97. The Hawks closed the game out with the final four points and the W in the win-loss column.

The Kings led 30-27 after the first quarter, but were manhandled by a Hawks offense led by Paul Millsap (23 points, 16 rebounds) and Al Horford (17 points) in the second quarter. At half-time, the Kings trailed 62-52. A strong third period (27 points for, 19 against) helped the Kings pull within two points 81-79 heading into the final 12 minutes.

As a team, the Kings went 38-for-86 from the floor, in line with their season average of 44.2 percent shooting. Led by point guard Rondo’s 12 rebounds and another 12 from Cousins, the Kings out rebounded their hosts 52-45. Sacramento turned the ball over 20 times, while Atlanta coughed the rock up only 11 times.

Rondo went 6 of 9 from the field for his 12 points, dropping 10 times to complete the triple-double. Kostos Koufos pitched in 13 points off the bench and starter Rudy Gay added 14 points of his own.

Sacramento travels further south for game two of a back-to-back to face the Miami Heat Thursday night in South Beach.

Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O: Kings getting their confidence up after last three wins

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On the Kings podcast Charlie O discusses the Kings wild week and what did the team did to makes things work so well. Rajon Rondo and his important role in helping the Kings make it happen. Also the Kings are glad that DeMarcus Cousins is back from his injury he’s the force the Kings need right now.

Also Cousins kind gesture reaching out to the family of a high school football player Jaulon JJ Clavo who was shot in the back driving to a team meeting. Clavo played for Grant Union High in Sacramento and his teammate was shot but was expected to survive. Cousins who privately offered to pay for the funeral of Clavo was only revealed because a member of the Sacramento City Council mentioned it at the vigil for Clavo.

Charlie O talks Kings basketball on the podcast listen in for more below at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Cousins named Western Conference Player of the Week

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
NBA: Toronto Raptors at Sacramento Kings
Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

by Charlie O. Mallonee

DeMarcus Cousins has had quite a week. He returned to lineup last Monday and was involved in a post-game tirade after a frustrating loss to the Spurs. On Tuesday, Cousins was present for a “kumbaya” meeting with the Kings management, coaching staff and players. Cousins then led his team to victories over the Pistons, Nets and Raptors.

Sunday news leaked that Cousins had committed to paying for the funeral of a local high school football player who shot and killed on Friday night prior to his game.

Now, the Kings big man has been rewarded with being named NBA Western Conference Player of the Week. This is the third time in his career that he has received the award.

Cousins led the Kings to a 3-1 record for the week. Over those four games, he averaged 32.5 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists and 1.5 blocked shots in 36.5-minutes of playing time. Cousins recorded three double-doubles (points/rebounds) in three of the four contests.

On Friday night, Cousins scored 40 points including 19 straight points in the third quarter. He literally put his team on his back and led to them a much needed win.

Cousins missed four games with a strained Achilles tendon. The Kings lost all four of the games without Cousins in the lineup.

The Kings begin a five-game road trip on Wednesday in Atlanta.

The winning streak continues; Kings beat Raptors 107-101

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

by Charlie O. Mallonee

Sacramento – The Sacramento Kings won their third game in row defeating the Toronto Raptors 107-101 on Sunday night.

The Kings trailed the Raptors by 10 points early in the fourth quarter. Sacramento battled back using a bruising defense and opportunistic scoring to tie the game. The Kings went on a 11-0 run holding the Raptors scoreless in the final  2-minutes and 52-seconds.

The game featured an uptempo style with quick passes, scoring down low and from beyond the 3-point arc and 34 turnovers. It was old school NBA basketball.

Toronto came into the game leading the Atlantic Division with a 7-2 record. The Raptors had a two game winning stopped on Sunday night.

The win capped off a chaotic week for the Kings (4-7) that included a loss to San Antonio, a tirade by DeMarcus Cousins, a team meeting and wins over Detroit, Brooklyn and Toronto.

Kings

DeMarcus Cousins was the leading scorer in the game with 36-points. Cousins recorded another double-double game adding in 10-rebounds. The Kings center also had three assists, three blocked shots and one steal.

Rudy Gay – who returned after missing the Nets game with the flu – made his presence known putting up 27-points in 37-plus minutes of playing time. Gay shot 10-for-16 from the floor.

Rajon Rondo did not have a triple-double, but he did dish out 14-assists. That is his fourth game consecutive game with 10-plus assists. Rondo also scored seven points and had seven rebounds.

Omri Casspi had another strong night coming off the bench. Casspi scored 14-points and grabbed five rebounds for the Kings.

Ben McLemore – who returned as a starter – put up eight points shooting 3-for-6 from the field. Two of his buckets were 3-pointers.

Marco Belinelli had a very quiet game until the fourth quarter. Belinelli scored seven points that helped the Kings get the win.

Sacramento shot 51.3-percent from the floor. They shot 40-percent from beyond the 3-point arc connecting on 10 of 25 shots.

The big negative for Sacramento was their turnovers. The Kings turned the ball over 20 times and those mistakes allowed the Raptors to score 20-points.

Raptors

DeMar DeRozan was the leading scorer for Toronto. The guard put up 24-points while recording 5-steals and dealing 5-assists.

Kyle Lowry had a 22-point night. Lowry went 6-for-12 from 3-point land. He also had 7-assists.

Cory Joseph came off the bench and recorded 17-points. Joseph shot 8-for-10 from the floor.

Toronto relied heavily on the 3-point basket versus the Kings. The took 31 three point shots converting 15 for a 48.4-percentage.

Up next

The Kings head out on a five game road trip. They return to action on Wednesday night in Atlanta when they will play the Hawks.

The Raptors West Coast swing will continue on Tuesday night when they play the defending NBA Champion Golden State Warriors.