Category: Sacramento Kings

Kings battle the Nets and win 111-109

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 second consecutive game squeaking by the Brooklyn Nets 111-109 on Friday night. It was a game that literally hung in the balance with 1.1 seconds remaining in the game as the Nets in-bounded the ball in the front court down by just two points. Rajon Rondo was able to steal the in-bounds pass and run out the clock for the Kings.

The Kings suffered from poor shooting and lackadaisical defense in the first half. Sacramento shot just 23.3-percent from the floor in the first quarter and just 35.3-percent for the first half. They allowed the Nets to shoot 51.1-percent from the field and score 60 points in the half. Brooklyn led by as many as 15 points while the Kings never had the lead.

The Kings used back-to-back-to-back 3-point baskets to close within six points, 60-54 after 24 minutes of play.

Sacramento came out in the third period unable to pick up where they had left off in the first half. They fell behind by as many as nine points and it appeared that overcoming the Nets might not be possible on this night. DeMarcus Cousins thought differently. The Kings big man, who been shooting poorly all game, shot 8-for-11 including two 3-pointers and three free throws to score 21 points in the quarter. Sacramento took its first lead of the game with 2:17 to play in the third. The Kings took an 85-82 lead to the final period.

The Kings built up a lead of as many as nine points in the fourth quarter on the offense provided by Cousins, Rondo, Belinelli and McLemore. Brooklyn rode the 10-point scoring barrage of Joe Johnson to keep the game close and the result in question right down to the final buzzer.

The Kings (3-7) defeated the Nets (1-8) 111-109.

Kings

DeMarcus Cousins was leading scorer putting up 40 points. He also added 13 rebounds to make it a double-double game. Cousins had a remarkable game considering he shot 1-for-10 from the floor and scored just 10 points in the first half. He did foul out of the game with 43.6-seconds to play.

Even though he was not the Kings leading scorer, Rajon Rondo was the Kings’ star of the game. The point guard recorded his third triple-double of the season scoring 23 points, dishing out 14 assists and pulling down 10 rebounds. There were several times in the first half when Rondo was the only offense the Kings had on the floor. Had it not been for Rondo’s extraordinary efforts in the first half, the Kings would not have been in the position to win the game at the end.

Ben McLemore had a coming out party versus the Nets. He came off the bench in the second quarter and played 24:57 in the game. McLemore scored 15 points shooting 5-for-8 from the floor and hitting on 3 of 4 3-point opportunities. It was without a doubt McLemore’s best game of the young season.

Marco Belinelli had another strong game for Sacramento. He made good on 5 of 14 field goal attempts and made two, well timed 3-point baskets. Belinelli finished with 14 points.

The Kings had to play this game without Rudy Gay – who had his best game of the season on Wednesday – because of the stomach flu. George Karl was quick to point out the energy that was brought to the game by Ben McLemore and Quincy Acy as key to helping the team play and win without Gay.

Seth Curry did play in the game after missing the previous two contests with a sprained ankle. He handled the point guard position for just over four minutes giving Rondo some much needed rest. Curry did not.

Darren Collison (left hamstring strain) did not dress.

The Kings shot 42.6-percent (40-for-94) from the floor. They connected on 11 of 27 3-point attempts (40.7-percent). Sacramento went 20-for-26 from the free throw line.

Sacramento out-rebounded the Nets 50-44. They turned the ball over 14 times yielding 19 points off those mistakes. They recorded 11 steals and three blocked shots.

The Kings allowed Brooklyn to shoot 47.2-percent (42-for-89) from the field and 38.1-percent (8-for-21) from 3-point range.

Nets

Brooklyn had a balanced attack versus Sacramento as four of their five starters finished in double figures. Jarrett Jack led the Nets scoring with 21 points. Jack made it a double-double game as he handed out 12 assists.

Brook Lopez – who battled Cousins all night long – also recorded a double-double scoring 17 points and pulling down 10 rebounds.

Thaddeus Young posted 16 points and Joe Johnson added 14 points of his own. Bojan Bogdanovic scored 15 points off the bench.

The Nets recorded 24 assists and 15 turnovers. The Kings scored 16 points off those turnovers.

What they said after the game

“Thank you to Quincy Acy and Ben McLemore, (who) brought the energy to the table (that was) well needed in our pick and roll defense in the second half. Cuz (DeMarcus Cousins) was unbelievable offensively and it’s a great win, (a) good win for us,” said Kings head coach George Karl after the game.

DeMarcus Cousins commented on his third quarter turnaround, “Caron (Butler) talked to me. Told me to stay aggressive and shots were going to fall. That’s what I did and luckily they fell.”

“Had a good first half, made some runs in the second,” said Nets center Brook Lopez. “Cousins played well. Great job in the second half and he got off. That’s why I think that definitely cost us.”

“It’s tough,” added Brooklyn guard Jarrett Jack. “I thought it was a game that we had control of for the majority (of the game). We weren’t able to stop the runs that they made in the second half.”

Up next

The Kings return to action on Sunday night when they host the Atlantic Division leading Toronto Raptors. The Toronto game will be the last home game for the Kings until November 27.

The Nets return to Brooklyn where they will host the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday.

Kings ReBound From Drama, Drop Pistons

Published on by tonyrenteriaLeave a comment

Sacramento CA

By Tony Renteria

photo credit bing head coach George Karl Sac Kings

The Sacramento Kings(1-7) are fighting thru a horrible start and some internal strife while having to host a hot Detroit Pistons(5-2) squad managed to start fast early and hold on to a 101-92 victory.

The Kings who are been rumored to have a serious rift between Head Coach George Karl and an All Star DeMarcus Cousins seemed for an evening to put that away as the Kings Jumped out to an early 36-23 lead after the the first quarter.

Cousins himself seemed to be a three point machine as was 4-5 from beyond the arc in pacing the Kings with 33 points to go along with nine rebounds.  Point Guard Rajon Rondo keep feeding Cousins at the three point line as the assists piled up and he ended the game with a triple double, 14 points, 11 rebounds and 15 assists.

The Kings needed a win badly and Cousins put the squad on his back as he showed that once again he is the premier big man in the League.  Cousins who called a players only meeting the day before seems to ready for that leadership role the Kings organization has hoped he would assume to lead the franchise into the new arena in 2016.

The Pistons who play the Los Angles Clippers on Saturday down in south were led by both Marcus Morris and Reggie Jackson who both had 16 points in the losing effort.

The Kings Next play Friday night against Brooklyn in Sacramento.

Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O: Cousins calls meeting will there be a team revolt against Karl?

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

by Charlie O Mallonee

Bing photo Sac Kings DeMarcus Cousins

SACRAMENTO–Kings star DeMarcus Cousins was scheduled to call a team meeting on Tuesday the Kings have the day off. The Kings did have a game on Monday night so it’s a question if the team was going to practice on Tuesday morning and then their going to have a game on Wednesday Nov 11th on Veterans Day with Detroit.

The Kings plan to have a players only meeting. Frankly I hate players only meetings, I don’t know if they accomplish that much because for one thing their a team. The coaching staff is part of that team and if that entire team is not working together then you got a problem. It might be a meeting where DeMarcus says “hey we got to start listening to coach” okay that would be nice but there will other things that will come out and people will be bellyaching.

We see a lot in the game of baseball you hear about player only meetings all the time in baseball, you don’t hear too much about it in the NFL. To have a players only meeting that’s serious stuff. They would do better if they said let’s do an extra practice and say to head coach George Karl “let’s do some things that we could possibly do.”

Charlie O does the Kings podcasts each week for http://www.sportsradioservice.com take a listen below

 

 

Spurs hand Kings 6th straight loss, 106-88, after Sacrameto’s 4th quarter meltdown

Published on by Michael MartinezLeave a comment

by Michael Martinez

picture credit Google Images

SACRAMENTO- On a night where the Kings celebrated women in sports, especially with Becky Hammon and Nancy Lieberman being the first opposing women coaches in NBA history to square off, the Kings looked to end their losing woes. Against one of the deepest teams in the NBA, the Kings knew they would have their hands full. While the Sacramento Kings continue to search for a way to stop their opponents on the defensive end, the San Antonio Spurs capitalized with offensive runs. As the Kings stuck around with the Spurs for the first 3 quarters, they collapsed on every end of the floor in the 4th, even with All Star Demarcus Cousins back in the lineup. Every ounce of hope the Kings had prior to the 4th quarter, was quickly lost when the Spurs outscored, out hustled and out played the Kings in all aspects of the game. The Spurs handed the Kings their 6th straight loss at Sleep Train Arena, defeating the Kings 106-88.

The Kings got their offense going in the 1st with a nice fast break push where Rudy Gay assisted Demarcus Cousins for a big jam. The 1st quarter was more about defense and the team’s willingness to hustle and put forth their best effort. The Kings held the Spurs to a shooting percentage of 37.5% from the field, 9-24. The Kings made sure to pressure the Spurs’ ball handlers at all times and kept a hand in their face. The team also did well crashing the glass, finishing the quarter with 15 rebounds. Most importantly, the Kings pushed the ball and had 14 points in the paint. As they pushed the ball around the perimeter, the team did a good job of getting the ball close to the hoop for easy looks. Cousins struggled early on, but finished the quarter with 8 points, shooting 3-8 from the field, adding 4 rebounds and 2 assists. Rajon Rondo matched Cousins with 8 points as well, shooting 4-4 from the field. Rondo’s jumper looked solid in the first quarter, which was important with Darren Collison inactive. Rondo played the whole quarter and with his efforts, the Kings held a lead over the Spurs 24-23 to end the 1st.

After a great 1st quarter, the Kings hoped to bring the same defensive effort to the 2nd quarter. Both teams started off slow, but Rondo quickly helped the Kings out with his passing ability. Rondo has great vision and he did a nice job of seeing Marco Belinelli coming off screens and anticipating when he would be open. The combination of the two helped the Kings score early on, but when Belinelli started missing the mark, the offense slowed down big time. As the offense slowed, the defensive end began to allow the Spurs to score and the Spurs went on an 8-0 run in the middle of the 2nd. Ben McLemore ended the run by driving to the hoop and scoring on a lay-up. The big blow to the Kings was their defense, allowing the Spurs to shoot 57.1% from the field in the 2nd. The Kings did not do enough to get to the paint and stop the Spurs in the paint. Rondo, who played the entire first half, finished with 8 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Bellineli finished the half with 10 points, 4-7 from the field, 2-2 from behind the arc, with all points coming in the 2nd quarter. Cousins picked up a technical foul towards the end of the quarter and the Kings sloppy 2nd quarter, 5 turnovers, put them down 49-43 to end the first half.

After a disappointing 2nd quarter, the Kings looked to stay close with the Spurs. Gay started the quarter off strong, making all 6 of his points in the first 5 minutes. The Kings did a good job of scoring, but after tying the game at 55, the defense fell apart. Once the score was tied up, the Spurs went on an 11-0 run. The Kings defense was playing poorly, but once Kawhi Leonard came out of the game, the Kings began to find a bit of a rhythm. The Kings went on a 10-3 run late in the 3rd with Cousins getting to the foul line often. Cousins put up 13 points in the 3rd, going 9-12 from the free throw line. He shot 2-6 from the field and added 5 rebounds and 1 assist. To end the quarter, the Kings pushed the ball, playing to their up-tempo offense and were only down 72-69 to end the 3rd.

The Kings looked to make a stand and tried to pull out a win against the Spurs only down by 3. However, for the Kings, they allowed their opponents to score with ease. The Spurs began to pour it on when they went on a 22-0 run. Patty Mills contributed to this run by not only putting up 7 points while adding 6 assists in the 4th alone. Mills finished with 8 assists and 9 points. Omri Casspi was the little offense the Kings had, scoring 9 points on 4-6 shooting with 2 rebounds. All of the Kings star players, Gay, Rondo and Cousins did not do much on either end to help the Kings. With the Kings down, fans began to leave with 6:31 remaining in the game, as they were tired of watching the Kings get outrebounded and out hustled. The Kings’ players began to play selfishly and when the ball movement died down, the Kings did as well. The 4th quarter was the difference in the game as the Kings never found any moment on either end of the court, losing 106-88.

When asked about the 4th quarter, Coach George Karl said “Bad offense, creates bad defense.”

The Kings’ poor shot selection created easy opportunities for the Spurs to score.

In his first game back, Cousins was out of sync with his mid range jumper. Typically Cousins is money from mid range, but being a little rusty he shot 5-20 from the field. Cousins did a good job of getting contact at the rim and shot 11-15 from the charity stripe. Rondo played all 48 minutes and after a good scoring first quarter, he finished with the same 8 points and totaling 6 rebounds and 12 assists. The Kings shot 40.5% from the field for the game and 36.8% from behind the arc. The team was out played in the 4th quarter and hopefully the Kings can find a quick solution.

The solution might not be that easy though, as the Kings seem to have some issues in the locker room. Cousins told reporters that their would be a players only meeting and said “Just to make it clear, I believe in every single person in this room. We just got to stick together.”

Cousins reiterated this idea throughout the post game interview and it will be interesting to see if the Kings can figure it out at tomorrow’s practice.

I asked Gay if the difficultly of their schedule has played a factor in their 6 game losing streak.

“Not having a rhythm completely, and then playing against playoff teams, it doesn’t help,” said Gay.

The Kings will once again be tested by a good team as they take on the Pistons at home this Wednesday. The Kings will need to find an answer on the defensive end of the floor as newly crowned player of the week, Andre Drummond, looks to continue his domination.

In the battle of Northern California the Kings lose to the Warriors 103-94

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
Rocky Widner/NBAE
Rocky Widner/NBAE

By Charlie O. Mallonee

Sacramento – The Sacramento Kings had to face the undefeated Golden State Warriors without DeMarcus Cousins and Darren Collison on Saturday night. The result should have a very predictable “blow out” by the Warriors, but it was not walk over win for the defending NBA Champions.

Golden State defeated the Sacramento Kings 103 to 94. It was a two-point game with four minutes to go in the contest. No one – Warriors fans or Kings fans – could believe this game was so close at the end.

The Kings played tough, hard-nosed basketball, but in the end, the talent of Curry, Thompson, Barnes, Green and Iguodala proved to be too much for Sacramento to handle with a short-handed team.

Frankly, the Warriors came out flat or overlooking the Kings in the first half. The Kings took an early lead in the first period and held that lead until the 3:35 mark in the quarter. Golden State stepped up their play with scoring from former King Jason Thompson, Shaun Livingston and Andre Iguodala. The Warriors established a 20 to 14 lead after one quarter. Most people in the building expected them to just continue to stretch that lead in the second period.

Golden State did open up a 14-point lead with scoring from Klay Thompson (8), Iguodala (4) and Marreese Speights (4). Just as the game appeared to be headed for a runaway, the Kings came back with a 3-point basket from Marco Belinelli. Belinelli was then fouled attempting a 3-pointer and converted three free throws to cut the Warrior lead to eight.

At the half, Golden State led the Kings 46 to 38.

Sacramento came out strong in the third quarter as center Kosta Koufos scored six unanswered points. The Kings cut the Warrior lead to one on a Koufos lay-up at the 7:31 mark. Sacramento then took the lead when Belinelli sank another 3-point basket from 25-feet out. Golden State then went on 12-0 run that again threatened to put the Kings away. Again the Kings – led by Belinelli – closed the gap to four points. After three quarters, the Warriors led the Kings 72 to 68.

The Kings continued to keep the game close early in the fourth quarter. Sacramento took the lead 79 to 78 on a Rajon Rondo 19-foot jump shot with 6:37 to play. The game stayed close until the Warriors opened up a 10-point lead with under two minutes to play. The teams traded baskets and fouls, but the Kings were unable to find that something extra to propel them back into the game.

The Warriors defeated the Kings by nine points, 103 to 94.

Kings

Marco Belinelli on Saturday night showed why the Kings signed him to a 3-year contract. He scored 22 points shooting 5-for-11 from the floor. The Italian sharp-shooter was 3-for-6 from 3-point range. He went 9-for-10 from the free throw line. Twice Belinelli converted 3-point plays from the charity stripe after being fouled in the act of shooting a 3-pointer.

Rudy Gay stepped up for Sacramento against the Warriors. He shot 10-for-25 from the field scoring 22 points for his team. Gay showed an aggressiveness that George Karl would like to see more of on a nightly basis.

Rajon Rondo handled the point for 44 minutes against Golden State. With Darren Collison inactive due to a hamstring issue, Rondo was the only point guard on the floor for Sacramento. He put together a rare triple-double scoring 14 points, pulling down 12 rebounds and dishing out 15 assists. After the game Kings head coach George Karl said, “He knows how to do that, he has great history of leading teams and tonight he was very special.”

Center Kosta Koufos recorded a double-double scoring 12 points and hauling in 10 rebounds. Omri Casspi put up 10 points. Willie Cauley-Stein added six points with two nice finishes off lob passes under the basket.

The Kings shot .437 (38-for-87) from the field. They went 6-for-19 (.316) from 3-point range. The team continued to improve from the free throw line making 12 of 16 attempts (.750).

Sacramento turned the ball over 22 times which resulted in 29 Golden State points. The Kings were out-rebounded 46 to 45.

Warriors

Steph Curry led the Golden State scoring with 24 points. Curry scored 21 of those points in the second half of the game. He did not have a great game from beyond the 3-point line shooting just 2-for10 from long distance.

The much anticipated Curry versus Curry match up did not occur as Seth Curry did not play for the Kings. Seth Curry was nursing an ankle sprain coming into the game.

Klay Thompson put up 18 points shooting 7-for-16 from the floor and hitting on 4 of 11 3-point opportunities.

Harrison Barnes (13), Draymond Green (10), Festus Ezeli (10), and Andre Iguodala (14) all scored in double figures for the Warriors. Ezeli made it a double-double game by recording 12 rebounds.

As a team, Golden State shot .413 (38-for-92) from the field. They were a dismal .205 (8-for-39) from 3-point land. The Warriors were impressive at the free throw line converting 19 of 22 opportunities (.864).

The Warriors scored 19 points off second chance opportunities. The Kings scored nine second chance points.

What they said after the game

“It was a pretty impressive game, but they (Kings) have fought through four games in five nights. Obviously there was some fatigue there (shown by) our turnovers in the first half. They kept fighting. I thought our leader was Rondo. Rondo was incredibly into the game, incredibly intense. His defense on (Stephen) Curry was first class. I just wish we would have (had) more gas in the tank to finish off the game,” said Coach George Karl.

“There’s a lot of good we can take out of it (the game) as a team,” explained Rudy Gay. “But I think we’re overdue for a win – we need one bad. It’s another game I thought we could’ve had.”

“Our guys played hard and we knew it would be a tough game coming in,” said Warriors interim head coach Luke Walton.”Sacramento – they compete. Like I said before the game, they haven’t been winning a lot of games but they’ve been playing hard and (been) in the games. We couldn’t get out shots to go in tonight which happens but we found a way like you said to grind it out and come out with a victory.”

“Definitely not pretty but we overcame missed shots, turnovers, kind of a sluggish first half,” said Stephen Curry after the game. “With our defense, we gave ourselves an opportunity to have some minute runs. Pretty much had control of the game the whole way through. They made a decent run to take the lead by one in the fourth. Made some plays down the stretch and pulled it out. That defense allowed us to overcome a poor shooting night.”

Up next

The Kings have Sunday off, but their day of rest will be short lived. Sacramento will host the very talented San Antonio Spurs on Monday night. DeMarcus Cousins is expected to be available for that game.

The Warriors will also have Sunday off and return to action on Monday night hosting the Detroit Pistons.

The Rockets outlast the Kings 116-110

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli
AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli

By Charlie O. Mallonee

Sacramento – No DeMarcus Cousins, no defense and too much James Harden equaled a loss for the Kings on Friday night. The Houston Rockets – sans Dwight Howard – defeated the Sacramento Kings 116-110 at Sleep Train Arena.

The Kings announced before the game that DeMarcus Cousins’ strained Achilles tendon would prevent him from playing against Houston and would keep him on the bench versus the Golden State Warriors on Saturday night. It is very tough for a team to end a losing streak when your best player is on the bench in street clothes.

The Rockets roared out of the gate building up a 21-6 lead on the Kings in the first quarter. Sacramento’s starters were unable to score or stop Houston from scoring. It appeared that it would be a Rockets runaway, but the Kings bench had a different idea.

The Sacramento second unit led by Darren Collison with assistance from Willie Cauley-Stein, Omri Casspi and Ben McLemore put together a nice run to put the Kings within striking distance. The Kings trailed 29-23 after the first period.

The Kings continued to play small ball and took the lead 37-35 for the first and only time in the game with 7:23 left to play in the first half. James Harden caught fire scoring 17 points in the quarter and Houston took a 61-50 lead to the locker room at the half.

The Rockets went on a 10-3 run to open the third quarter and it appeared that game might get out of hand. George Karl went to his bench and they responded by making defensive stops while scoring points. Sacramento went on an 11-0 run that included a dramatic 3-point basket by Darren Collison to keep the Kings in the game trailing Houston by seven – 85 to 78 – heading to the final period.

The Kings continued to make baskets and cut the Houston lead to one point when Seth Curry hit a 3-point bucket with 10:02 to play. The Rockets then went on a run that allowed them to take a 100-89 lead with 6:53 remaining. Sacramento’s second unit continued to work hard but in the end, they could not overcome the hard charging Houston offense led by Harden. The Rockets won the game by six points, 116-110.

Kings

Sacramento shot below their season average hitting on 40 of 93 field goals for a .430 percentage. The Kings went 9-for-28 (.321) from 3-point land. One of the positive notes was the free throw shooting. They converted 21 of 29 free throw opportunities for a .724 average. The team has been averaging just .640 from the charity stripe.

The Sacramento bench was the story in the game a they scored 70 points. Darren Collison and Omri Casspi each scored 22 off the bench. Ben McLemore had a strong night for the second unit scoring 11 points, grabbing four rebounds, recording four assists and adding three steals. Seth Curry scored eight points while Willie Cauley-Stein added seven points and nine rebounds.

Rudy Gay led the Kings starters with 15 points. Rajon Rondo scored 12 points, pulled down eight rebounds and handed out five assists.

Sacramento committed 15 turnovers while recording 26 assists. Houston out-rebounded the Kings 49-43.

Houston

This game was all about the play of James Harden and some devastating 3-point shooting for the Rockets. Harden posted a double-double scoring 43 points and hauling down 13 rebounds in 41 minutes of playing time.

Trevor Ariza scored 18 points going 4-for-8 from long distance. Former King Marcus Thornton went 4-for-10 from beyond the 3-point line scoring 16 points. Ty Lawson and Clint Capela scored 13 points each.

As a team, Houston shot .488 from the floor, .417 from beyond the 3-point arc and .778 from the free throw line. The Rockets dished out 23 assists and turned the ball over 21 times. Houston’s bench added just 13 points.

Dwight Howard was held out of the game to rest his back. He is expected to play in the Rockets next game versus the Clippers.

What they had to say after the game

“All you can ask of your team when your team is struggling … and a lot of our offense was pretty good but we didn’t make shots to reward them,” said Kings head coach George Karl. “Their bench came in and got juiced, played the game at a high level for an extended period of time. The hole we dug, and we ran out of gas.”

“The nightmare when you play Houston is you have defend layups and threes. First half we did a good job covering threes and didn’t cover the layups. Second half we covered the layup and didn’t cover the three’” added Karl.

Up next

The Kings will have no time to lick their wounds as they must turnaround and face the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors on Saturday night. The Warriors (6-0) have yet to lose this season.

Houston travels to Los Angeles to face the Clippers tomorrow night. Dwight Howard is expected to play for the Rockets.

Kings look sloppy at home, lose to the Grizzlies, 103-89

Published on by Michael MartinezLeave a comment

By Michael Martinez

picture credit Google Images

SACRAMENTO- Any team that has to play a playoff caliber team without their starting All Star center is going to struggle. Not only is it difficult to play without your only All Star, but when the team you are playing lost by 50 the night before, you know you could be in even more trouble. Without Demarcus Cousins, who is dealing with an achilles injury, the Kings looked lost and hopeless in many aspects. As nobody was able to step up to replace Cousins, the Kings ball movement was lifeless, the defense was filled with holes and the Grizzlies got an easy win at Sleep Train Arena, 103-89, boosting their morale after an embarrassing loss to the Warriors the night before.

For the Kings, the whole game was not a complete disaster as the 1st quarter went well. To start the 1st quarter, the Kings looked sluggish on the offensive and defensive end. They allowed the Grizzlies to take an early 7 point lead, but nevertheless the Kings came back swinging with a 5-0 run to cut the lead to 2. The Kings began to put themselves in a better position with good ball movement and Rudy Gay’s hustle really helped as well. When Gay was asked to guard Zach Randolph, he used his length to his advantage on the defensive end and his speed on the offensive end as well. Gay put up 8 points in the first quarter by attacking the rim and getting good looks from the field. Marco Belinelli also helped the Kings by finishing the quarter with 8 points on 2 for 2 shooting behind the arc. The Kings began to cause Memphis to turn the ball over and by shooting 58.8% from the field the Kings finished the quarter with a 29-25 lead.

Entering the 2nd quarter with a 4 point lead over the Grizzlies, the Kings looked to continue scoring on the offensive end. However, the second quarter was absolutely atrocious for the Kings in many ways. Nobody on the team could hit the broad side of the barn with their shots, including free throws. Free throws aka free points were more of a kryptonite for the Kings who finished the half shooting 57.1% from the charity stripe. Their field goal percentage also dropped 20% as they finished the quarter shooting 37.5% from the field. Gay looked to continue to step up but his shot was completely out of sync. The ball movement was stagnant as the Kings had 0 assists in the 2nd quarter. Sloppy play and being out rebounded, 27 to 16, caused the Kings to be outscored. Without Demarcus Cousins and with Kosta Koufos in foul trouble, it was to be expected but this hurt the Kings. Luckily the Grizzlies did not play well either, except they had a couple big put back jams from Jaymychal Green and Courtney Lee, which were the only real highlights of the quarter. The Grizzlies finished the quarter with a fast break lay up at the buzzer to take a 50-40 lead as they outscored the Kings 25-11.

After an awful second quarter, the Kings hoped to come out of the locker room with a vengeance. Unfortunately for the home team, their defense looked even sloppier than the quarter before. The Grizzlies continuously got wide open shots and were able to get easy hoops close to the basket. Randolph came out strong and had 8 points in the quarter. He finished the game with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Although the Kings scored more than they did in the second quarter, thanks to Gay and Darren Collison, their field goal percentage dropped to 37% for the game. The ball movement that helped the Kings play well in the preseason became nonexistent in the 3rd quarter. A lot of selfish play put the Kings in a bad position even though they put up 27 points in the 3rd. As the Kings’ defense failed to improve, the Grizzlies led 83-67 to end the 3rd.

With the Kings down by 16 to start the 4th, Cousins sat with his teammates on the bench to try and encourage a come back. The come back was not meant to be, as nobody on the team could get enough offense going to cut the Grizzlies lead. Belinelli had a nice pass to Willie Cauley-Stein for a big dunk, but once Coach George Karl saw the lead was too much, the bench players came in. For the Grizzlies, Brendan Wright did a good job in the 4th quarter off the bench. Wright finished with 10 points on 4 for 5 shooting, adding 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Although the Kings outscored the Grizzlies, 22-20 in the 4th, they simply could not shoot the ball all night. They finished the game with a 39.2 shooting percentage and shot 60% from the free throw line.

The only bright spots for the Kings, more like dim spots, was the scoring of Collison and Gay. Collison finished the game with 18 points, but uncharacteristically only had 1 assist. Gay finished the game with 19 points, adding 5 rebounds and 3 assists. The Kings biggest problem was that there was very little ball movement. After 7 assists in the 1st quarter, they finished the game with only 17 assists. Without the team’s best scorer and rebounder, the Kings are going to need Rajon Rondo to create open shots and the Kings’ shooters are going to need to hit open shots and get better looks. The Kings will take on the Phoenix Suns tomorrow night, where hopefully they can improve in every aspect as Cousins will be sitting out once again.

Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O: Rondo likes playing 21 and leading the team in scoring

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On the podcast tonight Charlie O takes a look at tonight’s battle between the visiting Memphis Grizzlies who are coming off a frustrating 53 point loss to Golden State and the Sacramento Kings who are coming off a 114-109 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. The Kings DeMarcus Cousins suffered a Achilles injury and his status has been day to day. He missed part of the Clippers contest last Saturday.

Also a look at Willie Cauly-Stein and if the move to make him a starter is good, bad, or a desperate measure on the Kings part. The pairing is a good fit says Kings head coach George Karl, the experiment is going so well that Rajon Rondo had back to back 20 point games the first time he’s done that since the 2012-13 season.

During pre season there was a concern about how Ben McLemore would progress looks like he’s done well through his first three games on Saturday night at Los Angeles. Rondo had racked up 21 leading points that night, the Kings won the game before that defeating the Lakers at Sleep Train 132-114 and again scored another 21 points,

Charlie O does the Sacramento Kings podcast each week for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

AP photo Rajon Rondo Sacramento Kings

Sacramento Kings Saturday game recap: Clips 2nd half free throws help edge Kings 114-109

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by Jessica Kwong

AP Photo by Jae C Hong of LA Clips Blake Griffin fouled by the Sac Kings Ben McLemore

LOS ANGELES-It was a thrill of a game Halloween night at Staples Center with the Sacramento Kings coming close to avenging their season opener loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Kings, newly competitive with Rajon Rondo on a one-year contract, lead the Clippers several times in the first half but trailed for most of the second half, and after rallying in the fourth quarter fell 114-109 to Los Angeles, who they lost to three days earlier at Sleep Train .

With 15 seconds left in the game on Saturday, the Kings’ Marco Belinelli scored a 21-foot turnaround fade away jump shot to close the Clippers’ lead to 112-109. After Los Angeles’ JJ Redick made two free throws, though, Rudy Gay missed a tip lay-up and the clock ran out.

Kings Head Coach George Karl said his team “played great early” and a good attitude and energy but had “no flow” in the second quarter because the Clippers kept going to the free throw line. Sacramento got in the flow for the second half, he said, but couldn’t come out on top.

“Just a disappointment you know, disappointment that we couldn’t win a big game,” Karl said. “In general, they are a very tough team for us to play at this moment and I think we have played them twice pretty well.”

Rondo, the leading scorer for Sacramento with 21 points, said the Clippers managed to stay on top in the second half by “making a bunch of free throws” – 17 out of 25 attempts.

“They slowed the game down and they were the more aggressive team, I believe, and they got back into the game,” Rondo said. “They closed quarters better than us and I think that’s the next step for us, is closing the quarters and closing the game.”

Blake Griffin dominated the game for the Clippers, scoring 37 points and making 11 out of 15 free throws. Los Angeles, with a 3-0 record has a new mindset coming into the season, the forward said.

“From the start of training camp, we always talked about doing the little things like not wasting any time,” Griffin said in live interview on court after the game. “We’ve had a rough road and learned a lot of lessons over the last four or five years.”

Griffin also acknowledged the Kings appear to be a stronger team than they have been in recent seasons.

“To get off to a good start and beat a good team like (the Kings) is important for us,” he said.

A positive for the Kings Saturday night, Rondo said, was that they “stayed with it.” Improving will come down to learning from film and continuing to grow as a team, he said.

“We scored over 100 points in the last three games,” Rondo said. “We need to find a way to get stops down the stretch when it counts.”

The Kings, 1-2, return to Sacramento on Tuesday for a 7 p.m. game against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Kings crush the Lakers 132-114

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
NBA.com
NBA.com

By Charlie O. Mallonee

Sacramento – The circus came to town on Friday night in the form of the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers might not see the Kings as their archrivals, but Kings fans see the purple and gold as an enemy that needs to conquered.

The Kings conquered the Lakers on Friday night 132-114 in a game that was not a close as the score would indicate. Sacramento dominated the game from the opening tip. The Lakers had only one lead in the game – 4 to2 at the 10:40 mark in the first quarter. Los Angeles never came close to a lead after that.

The Kings scored 40 points in the first quarter and 34 more in the second period. They held a 74-50 lead at halftime. The only question was how would the Kings respond coming out of halftime?

There was a bit of a letdown as the Lakers outscored the Kings 33-28 in the third and 31-30 in the fourth quarter. The Lakers tried to make a run in the fourth quarter but the game outcome was never in question.

Preseason prognosticators predicted the Kings would finish three to five places ahead of the Lakers in the NBA Western Conference. After the game on Friday, you can see why those predictions are accurate. The Kings are an improved team while the Lakers are young and not very good at this point. The Lakers have potential, but it is going to be painful while that potential develops into a winning basketball team.

Kings

George Karl was unhappy with the Kings pace in the first quarter of the game with the Clippers. In his pregame press conference he made it clear that wanted his to play defense from the opening tip with the Lakers.

Karl even changed his starting lineup in order to achieve his goals. Rookie center Willie Cauley-Stein made his first NBA start on Friday night versus the Lakers. Karl said he liked the match ups with Cauley-Stein in the lineup.

Cauley-Stein did not let his coach down. The Kings newest big man played 30-plus minutes, scored 17 points, grabbed nine rebounds and had three blocked shots. He also took care of the ball making only two turnovers during his time on the floor.

Rajon Rondo had a breakout game for Sacramento. He scored 21 points and dished out eight assists in just 23 minutes of playing time. Rondo was very much the floor general the Kings want him to be on Friday.

DeMarcus Cousins put together another double-double night. He scored 21 points and pulled down 11 rebounds. Cousins also had three assists and two blocked shots. He shot 11-for-14 from the free throw line.

Rudy Gay also had a big night for the Kings. He put up 19 points shooting 8-for-12 from the floor. Gay also had three assists and two steals.

The Kings second unit had a productive night as well. Darren Collison scored 14 points, Omri Casspi 12, Kosta Koufos 8 and Marco Belinelli six.

The Kings shot .515 (52-for-101) from the floor. That is not a typographical error. Sacramento took 101 shots in the game.

If there was a disappointment in the game, it was the Kings 3-point shooting. They shot just .273 (6-for-22) from beyond the 3-point line.

Sacramento was also an improved team from the free throw line. They were 22-for-30 (.733) from the stripe. The 30 attempts were a vast improvement over the mere 18 chances they had against the Clippers. The Kings were driving the ball to basket versus the Lakers.

The Kings exceeded George Karl’s goal for 25 assists per game by dishing out 26 assists.

The also took better care of the basketball cutting their turnovers down to just 14 and giving up just 10 points off those mistakes.

The Kings scored 80 points in the paint to just 38 for the Lakers. Just another example of the team’s complete domination of Los Angeles in the game.

Lakers

Guard Jordan Clarkson led the scoring for the Lakers with 22 points. He shot 10-for-15 from the floor and 2-for-3 from beyond the 3-point arc.

Nick Young was productive off the bench for Los Angeles putting up 17 points in his 21-plus minutes on the floor.

D’Angelo Russell – the Lakers number one draft pick – scored 13 points shooting 5-for-10 from the field. He also dished out two assists as he alternated with Clarkson at point guard.

Kobe Bryant played 22 minutes in the game putting up 13 points, recording three assists and hauling in four rebounds. Bryant moved into fifth place on the NBA’s all-time career list for the most field goals made, passing Shaquille O’Neal (11,330).

As a team, the Lakers shot .461 (41-for-89) for the game. They shot a very respectable .324 (11-for-34) from 3-point land.

Turnovers were a major problem for the Lakers. They gave up 30 points to the Kings off 19 turnovers.

The Lakers used all 13 of their active players in game Friday night. Metta World Peace and Larry Nance Jr. were inactive for the Lakers.

What they said after the game

“I think we challenged them to play defense,” said George Karl. “Our pressure took the offense away and forced them into a lot of jump shots. We ran into a different team in the second half. I wasn’t really happy with the defensive performance in the second half. Learning how to play 48 minutes fast is not always as easy as people think it is. I thought tonight they did a good job for the most part, there were some muddy moments where the ball got sticky and we got a little selfish.”

When asked if he had a good time in first start, Willie Cauley-Stein said, “Yeah, it was a great time. A lot of fun – definitely – a lot of fun. We were sharing the ball really well so that made it a lot more fun. Sharing the ball and not having ball stoppers – that is vital to us. If we want to be a good team, we’ve got to share the ball like that.”

Up next

The Kings play the Clippers in Los Angeles on Saturday night. Playing the very tough Clippers on the second night of back-to-back games will be no easy task. After the Saturday night game, the Kings will not face another Los Angeles team until January 2016.

The Lakers will return to action on Sunday night when they host the Dallas Mavericks at Staple’s Center.