The Sacramento Kings were steadily dispatched by the Eastern Conference leading Atlanta Hawks, as they suffered a 130-105 blowout on the road Monday night.
In what amassed to a shootout, the Kings allowed all five Atlanta starters to reach double figures, with the team being led by Kyle Korver and DeMarre Carroll, both of whom scored 20 points on the night while leading their team to victory over the Kings.
The Kings couldn’t come up with timely stops en route to giving up 130 points on the night, allowing the kings to shoot 60 percent on the field while surpassing their previous season high of 127 points in the process.
Sacramento’s defense was especially poor beyond the arc, where it allowed a league leading 20 three-pointers in the contest. Atlanta also set another NBA season record with 42 assists on the night in route to their scoring outburst.
The Kings were able to break the centennial amount on the night, led by Rudy Gay’s 23 points, but it was too little to match the sharp shooting Hawks, who seemingly couldn’t miss. DeMarcus Cousins notched another double-double under his belt by scoring 12 points and grabbing 14 boards on the night.
The Kings have not gotten out to as hot of a start as expected since new coach George Karl took over, going just 3-7 in that span while sporting a four game losing streak. The Kings will continue their road trip against the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday.
The Sacramento Kings were done in by the zone defense, a rookie guard and a Jekyll and Hyde performance on Saturday night as they lost to the Miami Heat 114-109 in OT.
The Kings started the game with great optimism knowing they would face the Miami Heat without Luol Deng, Goran Dragic, Hassan Whiteside and Chris Bosh. It appeared that containing Dwayne Wade would be enough to lead Sacramento to a victory on the road. The Kings had not won in Miami since November 2001.
Sacramento played a strong first half and took a 14 point lead into the locker room at halftime. The Kings shot 56.4-percent from the field. They were 8 for 12 (66.7-percent) from 3-point range. Rudy Gay scored 18 first half points and Ben McLemore added 17 of his own to lead the Kings to the 61-47 halftime lead. All the Kings had to do was show up and play the same way in the second half in order to escape with a victory.
The Heat came out in the second half and changed the dynamics by utilizing a zone defense to tie up Cousins and Gay. The Kings could have eliminated the zone by hitting outside shots, but their shooting touch left them as they went just 13 for 37 (35.1-percent) from the floor in the second half. They were 1 for 11 from beyond the 3-point arc. The Kings turned the ball over 11 times in the second half.
The Miami bench scored 29 points in the second half. The Kings bench scored 8 points in the half.
These factors combined to allow the Heat to close up the gap and ultimately to have the game end in a 96-96 tie at the end of regulation.
In overtime, Dwayne Wade took over for the Heat and scored 10 points. Tyler Johnson added five points including a back-breaking 3-point bucket late in OT. DeMarcus Cousins fouled out of the game with 1:41 left to go in the extra period. Veteran leadership from Wade, the magic of the rookie Johnson and the lack of their big man on the floor led to the Sacramento loss.
“The zone will show we need some zone work. In the same sense, I think our turnovers … I had one thought – our sloppy offensive decisions creates a lot points for the other team. Tonight, we gave them the free throw line. We gave them turnovers. They got to the rim way too often,” said Kings Head Coach George Karl after the game.
Sacramento turned the ball over 22 times and those miscues resulted in 27 points for the Heat. Miami scored 54 points in the paint.
The other area that killed the Kings on Saturday night was bench production. The Miami bench scored 59 points compared to just 22 bench points for the Kings. The Kings starting five tried to carry the load, but in the NBA, your second unit has to produce in order to win games.
Rudy Gay and DeMarcus Cousins led the Kings in scoring with 27 points apiece. Cousins posted a double-double by grabbing 17 rebounds. Ben McLemore scored 20 in the game.
Dwayne Wade led the Heat with 28 points. Miami capitalized on the outstanding performance of their rookie guard Tyler Johnson out of Fresno State who scored 24. Johnson was seven of 12 from the field, hit three of five 3-point attempts and went to the free throw line 10 times. Johnson also had six assists. Not bad for a player who spent 15 games in the D-League before being called back to the big club.
The Kings are now 3-6 in George Karl’s 30 game mini-season plan. They are 1-3 on the road trip with four games yet to be played.
The Kings have Sunday off, and then, they must play the Eastern Conference leading Atlanta Hawks on Monday night in Atlanta.
“I wanted to win that game so badly. It would have been great for our morale,” said Kings Head Coach George Karl after his team lost to the Orlando Magic 119-114 on Friday night.
The fact that the Kings had a chance to win the game in Orlando was a miracle in itself. Sacramento allowed the Magic to score 68 points in the first half. The Kings took their first lead with 6:45 to go in the game off a Nik Stauskas 3-pointer. Sacramento’s biggest lead of the night was one point. Their defense was inconsistent at best.
Even with all of those things going against the Kings, they still had a chance to win the game with 32.7-seconds left to go. Omri Casspi was fouled in the act of shooting a 3-pointer. Casspi went to the free throw line and converted all three opportunities to give the Kings a one point lead.
After an Orlando timeout, the Magic inbounded the ball, the Kings defense broke down and Tobias Harris was left open in the right corner. Harris hit the “short” 3-point shot to give the lead back to the Magic and ultimately gave his team the win.
“That’s what the road is. The road is a hard place. It’s an unfair place.A place where you might have been the better team in the second half and you don’t get rewarded,” summarized Karl during the postgame news conference.
Defensive breakdowns and turnovers were the Kings downfall against the Magic. Coach Karl pointed out the Magic scored on almost every possession after a Kings turnover. Orlando scored 22 points off of the 14 Sacramento turnovers in the game.
The Kings defense allowed Orlando to shoot 56.5-percent (48 for 85) from the field and go 13 for 24 (54.2-percent) from beyond the 3-point arc. The Magic posted 29 assists and made just 12 turnovers.
Victor Oladipo led the Magic recording a double-double by scoring 32 points and dishing out 10 assists. Elfrid Payton put up a double-double with 10 points and 12 assists. Channing Frye also had a double-double putting up 22 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Frye hit six 3-pointers for the Magic.
The Kings were led by Rudy Gay and DeMarcus Cousins. Gay scored 39 points for Sacramento. Cousins had a double-double night with 29 points and 12 rebounds. Ray McCallum (13) and Omri Casspi (12) were the other Kings who scored in double figures.
The Sacramento bench added just 28 points in the game.
The Kings went 38 for 85 (44.7-percent) from the floor and a respectable 37.0-percent (10 for 27) from downtown. They went to the free throw line 38 times and were successful 28 times (73.7-percent). A team does not go to the charity stripe 38 times and come away the losers very often.
It took the Kings too long to get into the game on Friday night, and their defensive breakdowns sealed their fate.
The Kings (21-39) record falls to 1-2 for the road trip. Sacramento has to play the second game of a back-to-back in Miami on Saturday night.
Orlando ended a four game losing streak with the victory over the Kings. The Magic are now 20-43 for the year.
A Spirited Conversation
Much will be made of a “dust up” between Rudy Gay and DeMarcus Cousins late in the second quarter of the game. The two exchanged words on the bench and on the floor after a turnover. It was really nothing more than two competitors who are sick of losing taking it out on each other for 30-seconds. “There‘s nothing to see here. Move along now. Nothing to see here.”
A night after routing the Knicks by 38 points, the Sacramento Kings were on the receiving end of a rout on Wednesday, falling 112-85 to the Spurs on the road.
On the back-end of a back-to-back, the Kings looked fatigued and it showed as the game went on.
After a close first quarter, the Kings were outscored 28-11 by the Spurs in the second quarter. It wasn’t that the Spurs were dominant offensively, but clamped down on defense as the Kings shot 4-of-15 from the field.
Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green shot the ball well to help the Spurs gain separation and a 54-38 advantage at halftime.
The second half wasn’t much better, as the Kings could not keep up with the Spurs on defense and were swarmed on the offensive end. DeMarcus Cousins had a rough night, defended well by the Spurs. He finished with 14 points on 5-of-12 shooting.
San Antonio led 85-61 after three quarters, and pushed its lead to as high as 40 at 110-70 in the fourth quarter.
Leonard finished with a game-high 21 points and Tony Parker had 19. Tim Duncan played just 19 minutes and finished with five points; no Spurs starter played more than 30 minutes as everyone on the Spurs’ active roster got on the court.
The Kings shot just 37.2 percent from the field and committed 17 turnovers. Cousins’ 14 points actually led the team, as no player had much of a scoring output whatsoever.
It looked promising at first.
The Kings started the game missing their first four shots and committing three turnovers, allowing the Spurs to jump out to an early 11-2 lead. But the Kings clawed their way back in it, and a fastbreak layup by Ray McCallum tied the game at 18-18. Derrick Williams scored seven consecutive points for the Kings late in the quarter, and the Kings led 27-26 after one.
Sacramento has another back-to-back upcoming: in Orlando on Friday and Miami on Saturday.
Notes
Frustration got the better of the Kings in the second, as both Jason Thompson and Rudy Gay picked up technical fouls. … The Kings drop three of four games to the Spurs in the season series. Sacramento is 55-109 all-time against San Antonio. … The Kings are 3-4 since George Karl took over as head coach.
SACRAMENTO–The Sacramento Kings who played in New York last night and won soundly at Madison Square Garden 124-86. This was a make up game that was called off due to a snow blizzard in February. The Knicks could have used a cancelation on Tuesday night after getting upended by the Kings.
The Kings who had to go back to New York were not particularly looking forward to the trip to New York not because they didn’t want to play there but because everybody wants to play the Knicks. The junior high school up from Sleep Train Arena wants to play the Knicks because the Knicks are so terrible.
The Kings started this seven game road trip and all of a sudden they do this make up game they had to travel to New York and play a Tuesday night game then fly overnight to San Antonio and the Kings are expected to get into San Antonio about three in the morning Wednesday. Then they play the Spurs on Wednesday night and they’ll go to bed in Orlando Wednesday night because they have to fly right out of San Antonio after the game to Orlando.
So this is a crazy trip, so to get this trip off to such a spectacular start Kings head coach George Karl and the Kings have to be very excited about annihilating the Knicks by 38 points in the Garden. The Kings had a 100 points at the end of three quarters, that was the kind of run away game it was. They were up 65-30 at half time.
The Kings had six players that scored in double figures on Tuesday night that is just incredible and they were playing the kind of ball that Karl wants them to play. They were executing, they were fast breaking, they scored 29 points on fast breaks to 11 points for fast breaks for the Knicks. That just shows you the transition that they were going on.
The Kings Rudy Gay had 25 points in just over 26 minutes, DeMarcus Cousins 22 points in 28 minutes, that was big because Cousins was just coming back after just missing a couple of games. They didn’t have to leave Cousins out there for 35-38 minutes just to get a win. That was a big thing because they could rest Cousins a little bit and he’ll be rested and be able to play in San Antonio on Wednesday night.
Charlie O is a beat reporter for the Sacramento Kings on http://www.sportsradioservice.com listen to Charlie on the Kings podcast below
The Kings haven’t had much to smile about in a poor campaign, but their trouncing of the Knicks on Tuesday certainly gave them a reason to grin. Sacramento humiliated New York by a final score of 124-86, even without guard Darren Collison and forward Eric Moreland.
Sacramento jumped out to an early lead, going up 35-19 after the first quarter, but took it into overdrive in the second. The Kings went on a 22-4 run that stunned the Knicks, and Sacramento never looked back. The Kings employed a team effort to emerge victorious, with six players scoring in double figures.
One of those six was star guard Rudy Gay, who scored 25 points in just 27 minutes, grabbing seven rebounds in the process. His three pointer with just over six minutes left in the contest put New York in a game-high 44 point hole, down an astounding 92-48. Without ‘Melo and confidence in their game, the Knicks were listless out on the court. They simply had no answer for the Kings, of all teams, allowingDeMarcus Cousins to score 22, and Ben McLemore to chip in with 20 points of his own. Gay, Cousins, and McLemore all sat out the fourth quarter with the game well in hand.
For all of the Knicks’ struggles, the most telling was that their starting lineup scored just 24 points. Guys like Jason Smith, Shane Larkin, and Alexey Shved all were in double figures, scoring 13, 13, and 15 points, respectively, albeit in garbage time. Sacramento moved to 21-37 with the win, and are now 3-3 under new head coach George Karl, who supplanted Tyrone Corbin. There is talk that the Kings disrespected Corbin in the hiring process, but nonetheless the move has seemed to be effective for Sacramento, which has beaten Boston and the West’s second best team, Memphis, since the swap.
The Sacramento Kings announced today the appointment of former star player Vlade Divac as Vice President of Basketball and Franchise Operations.
Divac will be responsible for advising the Kings front office and coaching staff. He will also assist the organization with its global marketing efforts. Divac will be involved with the evaluation and developing relationships with international talent for the Kings.
“With an unparalleled philanthropic track record that spans the globe, Vlade Divac is the epitome of our NBA 3.0philosophy,” said Kings owner Vivek Ranadive. “He has a unique perspective and global stature that will only further elevate our organization around the world.”
“It’s a great honor returning to the city that has provided a lifetime of unforgettable experiences,” said Divac. “Sacramento and the Kings organization were always in my thoughts and I often dreamed of having a role in helping our amazing fans realize the ultimate NBA prize. I’m thankful to Vivek for the opportunity and look forward to creating more special memories here.”
“Over the past year that I have gotten to know Vlade, he has proven himself as an ambassador to the Sacramento community,” said Kings General Manager Pete D’alessandro. “The organization is fortunate to have him as an advisor. I look forward to his contributions, especially with respect to his knowledge of the international game.”
Since retiring from basketball as a player, Divac has been involved in a number of administrative and leadership positions. He has spent a great deal of time on his philanthropic efforts focused on helping needy children in Serbia and around the world. In 2009, Divac was named the President of the Serbian Olympic Committee.
The Sacramento Kings battled the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday afternoon but lost the game 110-99. The Kings overcame deficits as large as 17 points to pull within one point of tying the game in the fourth quarter but ultimately could not overcome the size and talent of the Trail Blazers.
The Kings (20-37) were without DeMarcus Cousins and Darren Collison again on Sunday. Sacramento is now 2-12 when Cousins is not in the lineup. Portland (39-19) used their size to take advantage of the Kings having to play without their big center in the game.
The Kings trailed the Blazers 87-75 after three quarters. The Kings went on 13-2 run to erase Portland’s big lead. It was a one point Trail Blazers lead with 8:23 to play in the game. Portland fought back with strong play from Robin Lopez, Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Aldridge to maintain the lead and preserve the win.
Sacramento was led by the play of Derrick Williams and Andre Miller in the final period. Williams scored 13 points in the fourth quarter. Miller dished out five of his 10 assists in the final quarter. You will see more Williams and Miller on the floor together with the type of chemistry they demonstrated.
“I was impressed. We didn’t have much going after the first couple of quarters and even the third quarter. Andre (Miller) did a good job getting us some easy baskets. There was enthusiasm, but they are a very good team. They are a very good shooting team and execute real well, ” said Kings Head Coach George Karl.
The game was one big runs by the Trail Blazers followed by comebacks by the Kings. Portland led by as many as 17 points. The Kings could have given up, blamed their loss on not having Cousins available and limped out of town on their eight game road trip. They did not give up. The Kings showed tenacity and skill in giving the Blazers a real old fashion NBA batlle.
Rudy Gay was the Kings leading scorer with 24 points. Derrick Williams put up 18 points. Guards Ben McLemore, Ray McCallum and Andre Miller all scored 12 points each. Miller recorded a double-double with his 10 assists.
Sacramento shot 45.3-percent (39 for 86) from the field but connected on just three of 12 3-point shot attempts (25.0-percent). They shot 78.3-percent (18 for 23) from the free throw line.
The most impressive stat of the night was the Kings assist to turnover ratio of 2:1. They dished out 24 assists and turned the ball over just 12 times. That marks real improvement in both statistical areas.
The Trail Blazers were led in scoring by Damian Lillard (31) and LaMarcus Aldridge (26). Aldridge posted his 30th double-double by adding 15 rebounds to his 26 points. Wesley Matthews scored 17 points while Robin Lopez added 15.
Portland shot 49.4-percent (41 for 83) from the floor. They burned the Kings hitting on 10 of 24 3-point shots (41.7-percent). The Blazers helped themselves at the charity stripe hitting on 18 of 20 tries (90.0-percent).
The Trail Blazers outrebounded the Kings 43-33.
The victory gave Portland a 2-1 win in the season series with the Kings.
Cousins and Collison Update
DeMarcus Cousins did come out on the floor for a light shoot-around prior to the game. The Kings are cautiously optimistic about his availability versus the Knicks in New York City on Tuesday evening.
Collison will be in Philadelphia on Monday for a medical evaluation. He is expected to have surgery on his hip flexor on Tuesday.
Coming up
The Kings now embark on a brutal eight game road that begins in New York City on Tuesday night. That is a make up game for the contest that was postponed in January due to a blizzard in the New York area.
The Kings will fly to San Antonio on Tuesday night for a Wednesday game with the Spurs.
The Kings will also visit Orlando, Miami, Atlanta, Charlotte, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. on the trip.
The San Antonio Spurs (35-23) broke out of a four game losing streak on Friday night beating the Kings (20-35) in Sacramento 107-96.
The Kings played without two of their starters – DeMarcus Cousins and Darren Collison – who were sidelined due to injuries. The Kings are now just 2-11 when Cousins does not play.
The Spurs led the Kings 80-78 after three quarters. It took three minutes and five seconds into the fourth period for either team to score. When the scoring began, the scales tipped toward the Spurs who scored 18 points off eight Kings’ turnovers. San Antonio outscored Sacramento 27-18 in the final quarter.
“The basketball IQ in the fourth quarter – I’m not saying it was bad – it wasn’t good,” explained Kings Head Coach George Karl after the game.
The Kings had no assists in the fourth quarter and were outrebounded 11-8. Sacramento committed nine personal fouls to just four personals for San Antonio.
“They’re a team that knows how to win games. They’ve been frustrated, and I think they played with an urgency. It was pretty much the class of a championship team,” summarized Karl.
Tony Parker led the Spurs scoring attack with 19 points. Kawhi Leonard scored 17 points, Manu Ginobili 16 and Tim Duncan added 12.
The Spurs shot just 39.8-percent (35 for 88) from the field and hit eight of 23 attempts (34.8-percent) from downtown. They were 29 of 32 (90.6-percent) from the free throw line. San Antonio recorded 18 assists and turned the ball over just six times.
Ben McLemore led the Kings in scoring with 21 points. He went five for eight from the floor and 10 for 12 from the charity stripe.
Ray McCallum scored 20 hitting on 10 of 17 field goal attempts. Rudy Gay added 16 points.
Jason Thompson had a strong night on defense and stepped up to score 12 points while grabbing 11 rebounds to record the double-double. Andre Miller had a 10 point game.
Sacramento shot 48.1-percent (38 for 79) from the floor. They attempted just four 3-point shots and were successful just once. The Kings were 19 for 23 (82.6-percent) from the foul line.
“In general, I thought how we played was very good. We ran better. We ran more often. The spacing and tempo of the game was pretty good. We just didn’t finish plays – didn’t make good decisions,” said Karl.
The Kings are now 1-1 on this three game homestand. The homestand comes to an end on Sunday afternoon when the Kings host the Portland Trail Blazers.
The Trail Blazers defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 115-112 on Friday night.
The Kings are hoping that center DeMarcus Cousins will be available on Sunday versus the Blazers. Cousins sat out the Spurs game due to a left ankle sprain and left hip contusion suffered in the Memphis game on Wednesday.
Darren Collison is headed to Philadelphia to be evaluated on Monday with surgery on his right hip flexor probable on Tuesday.
The Kings are now 2-2 under George Karl as head coach.
Sacramento will face the Spurs for the fourth and final time next Wednesday evening in San Antonio. The Kings play the Knicks in New York City on Tuesday.
The Sacramento Kings have announced that guard Darren Collison will have surgery to repair a core muscle injury next Tuesday. Collison will have a consultation with Dr. William Meyers in Philadelphia on Monday.
Collison suffered the injury in a game against the Dallas Mavericks on February 5th. He has been held out of all games played since that time.
Ray McCallum and Andre Miller will play the point guard position during Collison’s absence.
Collison will be re-evaluated in three to six weeks. The Kings season ends on April 15th.
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