Category: Sacramento Kings

Heat burns the Kings 95-83

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
NBAE/Getty Images
NBAE/Getty Images

By Charlie O. Mallonee

Sacramento Kings Head Coach Tyrone Corbin summarized the game versus the Miami Heat (18-22) on Friday night in five words, “It was a disappointing loss.”

The Heat, without Dwayne Wade, rode the play of their star forwards Chris Bosh and Luol Deng to a 95-83 runaway victory over the Sacramento Kings (16-23) at Sleep Train Arena.

Bosh led all scorers in the game with 30 points to go with seven rebounds, three assists, three steals and one blocked shot. Bosh was a perfect three for three from beyond the 3-Point arc.

Luol Deng added 25 points for the Heat on just 18 shots. Deng grabbed six rebounds, had four assists, two steals and two blocked shots in his 37-minutes on the floor.

Miami guard Shabazz Napier was the only other Heat player to score in double figures with 12 points. Napier also had five assists, two steals and one blocked shot.

DeMarcus Cousins led the Kings scoring with 17 points but 14 of those points came in the first half. Cousins made it a double-double game pulling down 11 rebounds. One stat that Cousins would like to forget was his eight turnovers.

Ben McLemore (15), Darren Collison (13), Ray McCallum (11) and Derrick Williams (10) all scored in double figures for the Kings. McCallum was a perfect three for three from 3-Point range.

The Breakdown

The opening quarter was really a precursor of what was to come in this game. Miami’s Hassan Whiteside picked up two personal fouls in less than two minutes. The Kings committed three turnovers that led to four Heat points. The Kings controlled the boards (8-4) but committed five turnovers to one for Miami. Sacramento got into early foul trouble as Cousins, Casspi and Thompson all picked up two personals. Tyrone Corbin was forced to go to a two forwards and three guards small line-up. The Heat led the Kings 26-22 after one period.

Miami came out in the second quarter determined to control the pace. With Cousins on the bench, the Heat defense forced the Kings to take high percentage outside shots that were not falling. Cousins returned to the game and scored 10 points all in the paint. The Heat used a 7-0 run at the end of the quarter outscore the Kings 26-22 in the second. Miami shot 55.6-percent (10 for 18) while the Kings shot 38.9-percent (7 for 18). There were no second chance points scored in quarter.

At the half, Miami led Sacramento 52-44.

The Heat opened the third quarter by going on a 5-0 run. Miami then took control of the pace and slowed the tempo down to the way they like to play. The Kings cut the Heat lead to 10 but that was as close to the lead they would come in the second half. Sacramento’s poor shooting (6 for 19, 33.3-percent) allowed Miami to open up a lead of up to 17 points. Corbin even tried going back to his small line-up of two forwards and three guards, but it did not help. Miami outscored the Kings 23-17 and led the game 75-61 after three quarters.

The Kings opened the fourth quarter with a turnover on their first possession which was symbolic of the entire game. Miami played tough defense and controlled the clock preventing the Kings from making a run to get back into the game. Sacramento did outscore Miami 22-20 in the final quarter but it was too little too late. DeMarcus Cousins did not score in the fourth period while Chris Bosh led the Heat with eight points. With 2:04 to go in the game, Coach Corbin cleared the bench and the Heat coasted to their third victory on this five game road trip.

The final score was Miami 95 Sacramento 83.

By the Numbers

Miami shot 47.3-percent (35 for 74) for the game. They were 8 for 17 (47.1-percent) from 3-Point range. The Heat out-rebounded the Kings 38-35. Miami had nine steals and six blocked shots in the game. They turned the ball over 10 times (eight points).

The Kings shot just 42.7-percent (32 for 75) from the field. They actually shot better from beyond the 3-Point arc connecting on seven of 16 attempts (43.8-percent). Sacramento went to the free throw line just 14 times compared to 21 opportunities for Miami. The Kings turned the ball over 15 times and that allowed the Heat to score 17 points.

The Kings outscored the Heat 32 to 28 in the paint. Miami won the battle for second chance points 12-8. The Heat tallied 17 fastbreak points to just seven for the Kings.

In Their Own Words

Kings Head Coach Tyrone Corbin said after the game, “Well it was a disappointing loss. We just couldn’t find our place to generate points. We thought we had a chance at the end of that second quarter … We can’t feel sorry for ourselves because we have another tough opponent (LA Clippers) coming in here tomorrow. Hopefully, we can get some guys back tomorrow, but if not we have to be ready to go.”

Speaking on the pace of the game Corbin commented, “I just thought that we couldn’t create pace all night. We were looking around for someone to bail us out. We can’t afford to do that. This team (Miami) wanted to play at a slow tempo, so we talked about creating pace and pushing the ball down the floor. We ended falling into a trap and playing at a pace that was favorable to the other team.”

When asked about how the Kings can find some consistency DeMarcus Cousins said, “Craziest thing about it is, we know what the problem is. We know we’ve got to be a consistent defensive team and just don’t do it. So that’s something the guys on the floor have to figure out. We have to come together and figure it out – either you want to get it right or you want to continue to have nights like this.”

Game Notes

The Kings are now 10-13 at home and 2-3 on the six-game homestand … Sacramento played without Rudy Gay (knee), Carl Landry (wrist) and Ramon Sessions (back) – all three are considered day-to-day … DeMarcus Cousins’ double-double was his 23rd of the season … Ben McLemore scored in double figures (15 points) for the 27th time this season.

Miami is now 11-10 on the road … they were 3-2 on this five-game road trip … the Heat played without Dwyane Wade for the 10th time this year … this was Chris Bosh’s fifth 30-point game of the season … it was Luol Deng’s sixth 20-point plus game of 2014-15.

Up Next

Sacramento plays the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night.

Miami is off until next Tuesday when they will host the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Sac Kings commentary & podcast: Injuries plaguing Kings, Gay is day to day, Sessions out, and Casspi coming back

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by Charlie O Mallonee

SACRAMENTO–Sacramento Kings head coach Tyrone Corbin really has his work cut out for him this week as Rudy Gay went down against the Dallas Mavericks the other night and it was a knee injury and the Kings haven’t been very forthcoming of what the injury is exactly and that’s not surprising and they didn’t do an MRI and they didn’t do anything that would require surgery.

Their listing Gay as day to day but in a update on Thursday night officially from the team Gay has been downgraded as doubtful for Friday night’s game versus the Miami Heat. In the NBA listings of injuries when your doubtful there is less than a 25 percent chance that your going to play. It doesn’t look good that Gay will be dressed and on the floor for the Kings on Friday against the Heat.

Whether he will be able to bounce back and make it in time and go Saturday night against the Clippers it’s on a day to day situation. Gay did not participate in Thursday’s practice so that’s a precursor that Gay will probably not play on Friday. The good news for the Kings is that Omri Casspi did practice on Thursday and he is at this point questionable which means there is a 75 percent chance that he is going to play.

He comes in as the sixth man off the bench and gives the Kings some help up front adjusting down a little bit especially if Gay is going to be on the bench Casspi’s involvement becomes really critical that could be helpful to them. The King just can’t get healthy is Ramon Sessions who continues to have problems with his back. There has been no statement of when he’s going to be back and get ready.

To be frank with you at this point in time Sessions probably played himself out of a spot to really be in the rotation and there’s always that theory that you can’t play yourself out of the lineup until there’s an injury. We’ve seen over and over again in recent history in all sports that’s no longer true. Sessions has been out due to the back injury Ray McCallum whose in his second year for the Kings has been playing really good basketball.

Sessions at this point is becoming expendable if they can get him healthy Sessions stay as a King is going to be very, very short. Eric Moreland who is the free agent rookie who they added to the team was out for the rest of the season to have that torn labrum repaired. We won’t see Moreland but we will continue to update his situation because he’s on the roster and will be so for sometime.

Charlie O does commentary & podcasts on the Kings each week for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Kings suffer Tough Loss in OT to the Mavericks

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AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli

By Jeff Hall

SACRAMENTO­–

The Mavericks had lost two straight games heading into Sacramento and it took an overtime battle to steal a victory from the Kings 108 – 104, in OT. The credit for the win goes to Rajon Rondo after he nailed a three point shot with 1 minute remaining to give the Mavericks a 2 point lead and it was a lead  that the Mavericks would not give up.

Rondo had a total of 21 points in the game.

Both teams began the game shooting well in the early minutes of the first quarter. Monta Ellis led the way for the Mavericks scoring 10 points in the first quarter. Ellis was two for two from the 3-point line. His hot shooting from beyond the arc lulled Dallas into a false sense of security with the three point shot and Dallas began slowing down offensively when they began going aggressively for the three point shot and were four of 12 from beyond the three point line .  DeMarcus Cousins led the Kings in scoring in the first with 14 points. The Kings did spread the scoring out evenly as a team in the first.

Dallas outscored The Kings in the second quarter 31-30 but the Kings hung onto a 63-60 lead. The Kings held Dirk Nowitzki to just eight points in the first half. The Kings turned the ball over five times in the second quarter that led to eight Dallas points. Cousins scored 20 points with six rebounds in the first half. The Kings shot well in the first half shooting 68 percent from the field. in the first half.

Turnovers became a problem early in the third quarter reducing the Kings lead. The Kings seemed to be fired up After Cousins was called for his third foul, he followed by coming away with a steal and making an long pass above the rim to Derrick Williams for a dramatic dunk electrifying the response from the crowd of 15, 747 at Sleep Train Arena.

Cousins had another impressive game Leading the Kings in scoring with 32 points, 16 rebounds and nine assist.  In most games this season the Kings have been riding on the back of Cousins, but this game was a definite team effort on both the offensive and defensive end and despite losing the game, it could be one of the best games the Kings have played this season despite the turnovers.

“Our guys fought hard, they did a good job of competing. We turned the ball over 20 times with 27 points in the ball game. I can’t say enough about the way our guys played in the ball game.” Said Kings Head coach Tyrone Corbin who’s team is now 5-9 since he has taken over the Kings Head Coaching position.

The game was sent into overtime after a questionable foul call by NBA Official Lauren HoltKamp. HoltKamp called the sixth and final foul on Cousins for an offensive foul in the fourth quarter.  When Coach Corbin was asked about the call and if he believed there was a foul, he responded, “You take a look at it and tell me.”

The Kings were also without Rudy Gay their second-leading scorer, late in the first quarter with a left knee strain  Kings Coach Tyrone Corbin said ” I was going to call Rudy into play, it was then I realized he was not on the bench and he had gone into the locker room to have the knee examined by a trainer.”

Dallas was led offenively by the play of Monta Elis who scored 28 points and 10 assists. Nowitzki finished with 15 points.

Up next for the Kings will host the Miami Heat on Friday at Sleep Train Arena. The Mavericks head to Denver to face the Nuggets tomorrow night.

No LeBron, too much Cousins – Kings handle the Cavs 103-84

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
NBA/Getty images
NBA/Getty images

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Cleveland Cavaliers (19-19) came into Sacramento without LeBron James in the line-up and left town having lost their fifth consecutive game. The Sacramento Kings (16-21) handed the Cavs a 103-84 loss and improved to 2-1 on their six game homestand.

After losing a shootout to Denver on Friday, the Kings needed to find their defensive focus, take care of the basketball and hit high percentage shots against the Cavaliers.

Sacramento gave up 29 points to Cleveland in the first quarter by allowing them to shoot 63.2-percent from the floor and 44.4-percent (4 for 9) from 3-Point range. The Kings locked down their defense in the second quarter and held the Cavs to a 31.6-Field Goal Percentage (6 for 19) and only allowed Cleveland to score 15 points in the period.

The teams went into halftime with the Kings leading the game 59-44.

The Kings gave up 20 points to the Cavs in the third quarter on just 7 for 18 shooting (38.9-percent). Sacramento did not let up on Cleveland in the fourth quarter allowing just 20 points on 8 of 22 shots (36.4-percent). For the game, the Kings held the Cavaliers to 42.3-percent (33 for 78) shooting from the field and 34.4-percent (11 for 32) from beyond the 3-Point arc. Cleveland had been averaging 90.1 points per game over their last eight games. The Kings held them to just 84 points on Sunday night.

Sacramento came into the game averaging 16.5 turnovers per game. They turned the ball over just five times against the Cavs (a season low). The Kings had zero turnovers in the second quarter.

The Kings outrebounded the Cavs 45-41.

The Kings needed to take higher percentage shots and they did. Sacramento outscored the Cavs 40-30 in the paint and led the game in Fastbreak points 17-5. The Kings scored 12 Second Chance points to just 7 for Cleveland.

The Kings dished out 20 assists for the game. Darren Collison led the team with six assists. DeMarcus Cousins added five, Ben McLemore four, Derrick Williams three and Rudy Gay two assists.

DeMarcus Cousins recorded his 21st double-double of the season putting up 26 points (game high) and grabbing 13 rebounds for Sacramento. Rudy Gay put up 23 points, Darren Collison 16 and Carl Landry 11.

Kevin Love led Cleveland with 25 points and 10 rebounds. Kyrie Irving added 21 points and seven assists. Timofey Mozgov, who just joined the Cavs from Denver, had a double-double with 14 points and and 12 rebounds.

Jason Thompson had the task of guarding Kevin Love on Sunday night. Love did score 25 but he had to put up 21 shots to record those points because of Thompson’s relentless defense.

There was a LeBron James siting. “The King” worked out before the game in front of adoring fans. James is expected to be back in the starting line-up as early as Thursday versus the Lakers in Los Angeles.

The Kings return to action on Tuesday when the host the Dallas Mavericks at Sleep Train Arena.

Kings get outgunned by Denver, lose 118-108

Published on by rgstewardLeave a comment

AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli

By Robert Steward

SACRAMENTO–

On most nights in the NBA, if a team shoots about 50% from the floor for most of the night and finishes at 49% for the game, there’s a strong chance that you will win. However, if the opposing team shoots in the high 50 percentile for the night and finishes at 55% from the floor, you’re probably not going to win the game. Such was the case tonight at Sleep Train Arena, where the Sacramento Kings hosted the Denver Nuggets. The Kings were hoping to build on their strong victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night and win their second in a row, something they had not done since Nov 20-25, when they won three in a row. A new winning streak will have to wait for another game as the Nuggets, behind a big third quarter, defeated the Kings, 118-108, in a game that was not nearly as close as the final score would indicate, certainly after the third quarter.

DeMarcus Cousins, fresh off a 23-point and 15 rebound game in Wednesday night’s victory, got off to a quick start, scoring 8 of the Kings’ first 10 points of the game. Not to be outdone, the Nuggets’ Arron Afflalo scored 9 of his team’s first 13 points. Both teams favored an up and down tempo, pushing it up the court at a fast pace and getting out in transition. Denver hit 11 of its first 15 shots from the floor and finished at 62% for the quarter on 13 of 21 shooting. Sacramento wasn’t far behind, lighting it up at a 55% clip, shooting 12 of 22 from the floor. Denver led, 30-27, after the first quarter.

In the second period, both teams got a bit sloppy in the early going. The Nuggets struggled from the free throw line, hitting only 2 of its first 8 free throws. The Kings had already committed 7 turnovers when Nik Stauskas came off the bench and hit a three-point shot for his 8th point of the game, the game was tied at 34-34 with 8:39 left in the half. Both teams see-sawed back and forth throughout the rest of the quarter. But when Darren Collison hit a 10 foot floater and Ben McLemore hit a running 3-pointer as the horn sounded, the Kings found themselves with their biggest lead of the game, 60-54, at halftime, outscoring Denver, 33-24 in the quarter. Rudy Gay had the hot hand for the Kings in the first half, hitting 7 of 9 from the floor to lead the Kings with 16 points. Cousins had 13, to go with 8 rebounds, and Collison chipped in with 10 points along with 7 assists. Afflalo led Denver with 13 and J.J. Hickson came off the bench to score 12 on 6 of 9 from the floor. At the break, Sacramento was shooting to the tune of 58% from the floor, while Denver, having cooled off slightly, was not far behind at 55%.

In the third quarter, the Nuggets jumped on the Kings and quickly ran off the first 8 points of the quarter to re-take the lead at 62-60, forcing the Kings to call a timeout with 10:18 left to go in the quarter. Per Denver’s Head Coach, Brian Shaw, the Nuggets “really ramped it up defensively in the third quarter. Got after it, got active, and played with a lot of energy.” Ty Lawson heated up in the quarter, scoring 14 points, including all three free throws after being fouled on a three-point attempt with 7:00 left. Denver went on a 9-0 run and opened up their biggest lead to that point, 76-64, before Collison drained a trey to break the drought with 5:24 left in the quarter. The Nuggets, however, continued to push the tempo, while the Kings “settled for jumpshots and didn’t make them,” according to Kings Head Coach Tyrone Corbin. “They were running and made some shots, but then they got on us a little bit in the paint. We couldn’t stop their run.” Denver crashed the boards and got plenty of second chance points. Jusuf Nurkic, Denver’s “Bosnian Beast” at 7’0″ and 280 pounds, was hard to stop in the low post and even popped a 20-foot jumper from the outside. He added 8 points in the quarter. The Nuggets eventually increased their lead to 19 before the Kings scored the last 4 points to trail 90-75 after three quarters. Denver continued its torrid shooting from the outside, hitting 13 of 22 in the quarter, while Sacramento cooled off considerably, only hitting 7 of 22 from the floor. The Kings also failed to get to the free throw line at all in the 3rd, while the Nuggets found their way there, hitting 10 of 11 from the charity stripe.

The fourth quarter was much of the same, with Denver continuing to dictate the tempo of the game and Sacramento not responding. The Nuggets eventually extended their lead to 20 points at 107-87 when Kenneth Faried converted a 3-point play with 6:02 left in the game. They attained their biggest lead of the night when they scored their last points with 2:31 left in the game, to go up, 118-97. The Kings scored the last 11 points of the game to close out the scoring but it was of little consolation. Sacramento shot 49% for the game. Cousins is still not fully 100% while recovering from a nasty bout of viral meningitis that caused him to miss 10 games earlier in the season. Still, he managed to log 39 minutes of playing time, finishing with 32 points and 13 rebounds, along with a season-high 4 blocked shots. Gay finished with 22, while Collison had 15. Stauskas had 13 off the bench. Denver had a balanced scoring attack, with 6 players in double figures, led by Afflalo and Lawson, who both finished with 22. Hickson and Nurkic both had 16 apiece, while Kenneth Faried ended up with 12 points and led the Nuggets with 13 rebounds. Darrell Arthur finished with 10 points for Denver.

The Kings will look to get back in the win column when they play host to Cleveland on Sunday at 6pm. For the season Denver improved to 17-20, while Sacramento now stands at 15-21.

 

 

 

 

Sac Kings commentary & podcast: With Corbin “staying” for rest of sesaon the Kings remain a work in progress

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by Charlie O Mallonee

SACRAMENTO–This past four game road trip that the Sacramento Kings have just been on back east that took them to Brooklyn, Boston, then Minnesota and Detroit they were talking about the Kings possibility about going 0-4 against the competition that they were going to face. They went 1-3 but they would have been happy to finish 2-2. In the NBA if you could go .500 on the road you’d be very successful the problem is they came home 1-3.

All you have to do is look at the score in those four games and it tells you everything you need to know they lost to Brooklyn 107-99, they lost to Boston 106-84, they beat Minnesota 110-107, but then they turned around and lost to Detroit 114-95. You just had to ask the question “where is the defense?” you cannot give up 100 plus points that consistently in the Association and expect to win basketball games right now the defense is suffering greatly for the Kings.

Right now you have to say the coaching change is not working out very well, the Kings are 3-7 since Corbin took over, that is not reflective of Corbin coaching but it’s symptomatic of the fact that the Kings management and when I say that I’m talking about Kings owner Vivek Ranadive and Kings general manager Pete Alessandro have instructed Corbin to try to get the team to play a more up tempo offense.

As far as Corbin coming in it’s very difficult to change a system on the fly, this team under former coach Michael Malone was built to play very tough defense and hold the opponent under 95 points a game and play them and play a pretty good half court offense. The Kings are trying to change that all around. In changing it around they’ve lost their defensive center.

As far as Corbin goes I feel bad for him because he’s doing the best coaching job that you could do, it’s difficult for him to do and go in a direction that can be successful. A local talk show host reported yesterday he had heard that in the locker room. Even though the Kings have said that Corbin is their coach until the end of this season the players and fans feel that Corbin is on his way out at the end of the season.

Corbin right now is struggling to find the level of respect and the ability to be the leader that you need to be of an NBA ball club because the players don’t believe he’s going to be there after the end of the season. Corbin at this time is really in a no-win, no-win situation. The Kings have indicated that their going to stand pat and stay with Corbin for the rest of the season.

Charlie O covers Kings basketball for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Detroit crushes the Kings 114-95

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Clarence Tabb Jr/Detroit News
Clarence Tabb Jr/Detroit News

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Detroit Pistons (10-23) won their fifth a game in row as they defeated the Sacramento Kings 114-95 in Detroit on Sunday night.

Detroit road the “hot hand” of guard Brandon Jennings who scored 35 points on just 21 shots. Jennings was five for eight from 3-Point range and a perfect two for two from the free throw line. Jennings accomplished all of this in just 30 minutes of playing time.

The Pistons as a team shot 49.5-percent from the field (45-91) and 12 for 31 (38.7-percent) from beyond the 3-point arc. Detroit out-rebounded the Kings 49-41. The Pistons had 12 second-chance points to just one for Sacramento.

DeMarcus Cousins posted another double-double (18 points, 15 rebounds) in the Kings losing effort. Darren Collison was the bright light for Sacramento scoring 17 points on just seven shots including going two for two from 3-Point range. Derrick Williams scored 12 points off the bench for the Kings playing well in uptempo situations. Rudy Gay was held to just 12 points.

The Kings(14-20) shot just 42.7-percent (32-75) from the floor and three for 15 from beyond the 3-Point line. Sacramento recorded 18 assists, nine steals and four blocked shots in the game.

Kings Head Coach Tyrone Corbin was disappointed in his team’s defensive effort, “To give up 90 points in three quarters, you can’t say you had good effort. To have 31,29 and 30 (points) in three consecutive quarters regardless of how well they shot the ball … we could have found a little more than that.”

Game Flow

Both teams started the game slowly. In the first quarter, the Kings shot a very poor 39.1-percent (9-23) and were 0-4 from beyond the 3-Point line. Detroit put up 27 shots but hit on just 10 of those opportunities for a 37.0 Field Goal Percentage. The Kings used a late 8-2 run to keep the game close in the opening frame. Jason Thompson, who returned to the Kings starting lineup, led the team with seven points in the quarter. Detroit led the Kings 24-22 after the first 12 minutes.

DeMarcus Cousins made his presence known early in second quarter. Cousins filled the lane taking charges and causing Jonas Jerebko to pick up three personal fouls early in the period. McCallum brought the Kings some needed energy off the bench. When the Pistons starters returned to floor, they began to pull away from the Kings. Detroit shot a blistering 52.4-percent from the field and went 4 for 11 from 3-Point range. Jodie Meeks led the Pistons with eight points and Anthony Tolliver added six. Cousins and McLemore led the Kings with seven points each. The Pistons led the game 55-46 at the half.

The Kings opened the third quarter with Darren Collison being fouled and going to the line sinking three free throws. Sacramento had a 5-0 run to open up the period. Collison hit the Kings first 3-Pointer of the game and it began to feel like Sacramento could make a run at taking the lead back. Derrick Williams came off the bench and brought energy to the floor for the Kings. Williams drove to the hoop for a lay-up and was fouled. He hit the free throw to cut the Pistons lead to one point, but Brandon Jennings came back to life scoring seven points in the last 2:37 to help Detroit go back up by six points, 84-78, at the end of the quarter. Jennings scored 15 for the Pistons in the period while Collison had 10, Gay 8 and Williams 7 for the Kings.

Ray McCallum opened the fourth quarter with a field goal for the Kings, but things went downhill quickly for Sacramento. The Kings were unable to put together any kind of run, and they shot very poorly (5-15, 33.3-percent) from the field. While the Kings faltered, the Pistons heated up shooting 11 for 21 (52.4-percent) from the floor and hitting four of nine from 3-Point range. The Kings had no second chance points and zero fastbreak points in the quarter. Brandon Jennings was a perfect 3-3 shooting, good for eight points while Drummond added seven points. Jodie Meeks and Caron Butler scored five points each. The Pistons outscored the Kings 30-17 in the final period.

Game Notes

Sacramento finished the four game road trip with a 1-3 record … the Pistons five game winning streak began after the team waived forward Josh Smith … Brandon Jennings’ 35 points was a season high … the Kings return to Sacramento for a six game homestand that begins on Wednesday with the Oklahoma City Thunder … Added note: Rookie forward Eric Moreland has undergone successful surgery to repair the torn labrum in his left shoulder. The surgery was performed the renown Dr. Arthur Ting. Moreland will begin rehab immediately and should be available for the NBA Summer League.

Sacramento Kings Snaps Two Game Skid Against Minnesota Timberwolves

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By Shawn Whelchel

The Sacramento Kings snapped their two-game road skid on Thursday night using an opportune matchup against the cellar dwelling Minnesota Timberwolves, battling their way to a 110-107 victory.

After dropping consecutive games to Brooklyn and Boston, the Kings used a balanced scoring attack that saw all five starters in double digits to down the Timberwolves, who are currently tied for the second worst record in league with just 5 wins on the season.

Rudy Gay and Darren Collison led the team with 21 points a piece, while DeMarcus Cousins followed closely behind with another strong showing, posting 19 points and seven rebounds in the winning effort.

But despite the scoring outbursts from the Kings’ starting five, another weak night from Sacramento’s bench allowed Minnesota to make it an interesting game down the stretch. Sacramento had lost both of their key starters in Gay and Cousins with the score tied at 99, with just a little over 4 minutes left to play.

But Collison came up clutch for the Kings down the stretch, sinking two key free throws that forced Minnesota into a last second three pointer that missed its mark, securing the win for Sacramento in the tight contest.

Rookie standout Andrew Wiggins had an impressive showing for Minnesota, posting 27 points and nine rebounds while keeping the Timberwolves within striking range.

After dropping the first two games of the roadtrip,  Sacramento can now finish the four game series with a 2-2 showing, as they look to keep their win streak alive against the Detroit Pistons on Sunday.

 

Sac Kings podcast & commentary report: Defense will be the Kings biggest stigma; fourth quarter drubbing in Boston is evidence of that

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by Jeff Hall

BOSTON–The Boston Celtics on Wednesday night got off to a great start in their big victory over the Sacramento Kings 106-84 at TD Garden. The Kings are moving onto Minnesota and Detroit for their next two games. The Celts ran the game with a opening 9-0 run and the Kings were behind from the beginning to the end. The loss is a reflection that the Kings DeMarcus Cousins needs more help in the line up and off the bench and it’s not going very well of late if he doesn’t get more help.

The Kings have lost two of their last eight games under new head coach Tyrone Corbin and the game in Boston was Corbin’s sixth loss. Corbin is 2-6 since he has taken over. The Kings wanted to move away the defensive play which is what former head coach Mike Malone was focused on. The Kings have now done that because they have not played good defense as reflected in the 22 point loss to Boston from Wednesday night. The Kings have now given up 100 points or more to every opponent since Corbin has taken over.

The Minnesota Timberwolves might be something that the doctor ordered for the Kings as the Wolves are 5-25 and the Kings have a shot at this game although no game is easy for the Kings. It seems that whenever they have a team they should beat they don’t play well they always play at the level of the team their playing. There’s a chance here the Kings could get a win on the road and they’ve lost six straight on the road so it’s their hope they can break that streak.

The Celtics dominated most of the way and the Kings didn’t play very good defense the only time the Kings really had a shot at it was in the second quarter when they tied the game up. That was the best chance Sacramento had and then they went south and the third quarter was not good. The Celtics ended that third quarter with a three point shot by the Celtics Marcus Smart. That game was pretty much over at that point and the Kings defense was not much in the fourth quarter. The Kings played actually their worst basketball of the game in the fourth quarter.

Cousins got stopped all night and it was very frustrating in his tally to get 11 points and there was a point when Cousins grabbed onto Smart’s jersey and threw him to the floor which resulted in his second technical foul for the game and he was done for the night. Cousins first technical came earlier in the game for arguing with the referee for a non-call he thought that he was fouled and unfortunately those arguments never go the player’s way.

The Kings Rudy Gay also didn’t have a great performance he finished up with only nine points for the evening, so if your going to be without Cousins your going to need a pick me up somewhere else and that’s going to have to come from Gay. The best performance from the Kings last night came from Carl Landry and Derron Collision both scored 14 points in the contest. The Kings get ready for a 5:00 PM PST tip at the Target Center with the Timberwolves tonight.

Listen to the rest of the podcast below and follow Jeff Hall covering the Kings on http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Kings Play Flat from Beginning to the End in loss to the Celtics

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AP Photo/Elise Amendola

By Jeff Hall

BOSTON –

The Kings played the game sporting Rochester throwback uniforms and began the game like it had been that long since they last played a game. The Celtics began the game on a 9-0 run on their home floor. The Celtics would never give up the lead in this game where they beat the Kings 106-84.

The Kings did pull back into the game and were able to tie the score for a short time of the first half. Play for the Kings was not any better in the second half

The Celtics ended the third quarter and essentially the game with a 3 point shot by Marcus Smart that gave the Celtics there largest lead of the game thus far. Smart finished the game with 11 points. Power forward Jared Sullinger led the Celtics in scoring with 20 points.

The play of the Kings did not improve in the second half and the team played at its worse in the final quarter and with 7:31 remaining in the fourth quarter frustrations began to show when Celtics guard Marcus Smart got tangled up with DeMarcus Cousins and ran into Cousin’s knees. Cousins responded to the collision by grabbing Smart by the jersey and throwing Smart to the floor. Each player received a technical after the incident. Cousins technical led to an ejection since this technical was his second technical of the game. Cousins received his first technical in the first quarter after showing his frustration on what he felt was a non-call by an official. Cousins concluded with a double double game finishing with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

The Kings just did not seem sharp at all during the game, both Cousins and Rudy Gay struggled throughout the game. Gay finished with nine points. Darren Collison and Carl Landry led the Kings in scoring each had 14 points. The team may have played one of their worst defensive games of the season.

“We just didn’t seem to have any rhythm, we couldn’t get anything going. “ said Kings Head Coach Tyrone Corbin after the game.

Prior to the game Kings interim Head Coach announced that his interim tag had been removed and he would complete the season as the team’s Head Coach. The Kings are 2-6 since Corbin has taken over the Kings head coaching position. The team has not given an official announcement on the decision.

With the loss the Kings have lost two straight and it was the teams sixth straight loss on the road. Up next the Kings will begin the new year in Minnesota to take on the Timberwolves on New Years day.