Category: Sacramento Kings

By Tony Renteria

DeMarcus Cousins made is return after his bout with viral meningitis but even he could not help the as the visiting Milwaukee Bucks(13-13) handed the Sacramento Kings(11-14) another loss 108-107.

Cousins had 27 points and 11 rebounds in 33 minutes of action in his return.  Cousins who did look tired at times is looking to come back to his early form before his illness where many in the league had his considered any early candidate for MVP.

Kings Interim Head Coach Tyrone Corbin in his second game in that role still needs to find the right combination to get the Kings back on track.

Corbin did get some good play from Ben McLemore, the second year player from Kansas is starting to look the part of a lottery draft pick as he dropped 22 points and averaging almost 12 points a game this season.

The Bucks who were playing with out Injured star Jabari Parker who tore his left ACL last game were lead by point guard Brandon Knight who had 20 points for the undersized and aggressive Bucks.

The Bucks continue there west coast trip by heading to Staples Center to take on the Clippers on Friday, while Kings host the Los Angles Lakers on Sunday.

AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli

By Jeff Hall

SACRAMENTO –

It was a rolling Thunder making it’s way though Sacramento as the Thunder shook the Kings in defeat 104-92. The loss was the Kings fourth straight defeat. It was the first time the team played without Michael Malone as the team’s head coach this season. Tyrone Corbin the teams interim head coach led the way after Malone was fired by the team which was announced on Monday.

Kings General Manager Pete D’Alessandro said the decision to fire Malone was due to philosophical differences. It’s believed that management wanted to see team perform a more up-tempo offense, where Malone asked his players to focus primarily on Defense. The new up-tempo offense was not too effective and the Thunder began the game on a 9-0 run and finished the first with 34- 20 lead. The Kings continued to struggle with poor ball handling turning the ball over seven times resulting in nine points for the Thunder.

In the second quarter the Thunder increased their lead to 16 points. Guard Russell Westbrook led the way for the Thunder with 17 points in the first half.

The Kings made things interesting and pulled themselves back into the game in the fourth going on an 12-0 run and erupted the crowd of 17,317 at Sleep Train Arena when the Kings pulled ahead for the first time in the game with back to back baskets by Carl Landry. The run faded quickly as the Kings got sloppy with ball handling turning the all over nine times in the fourth quarter opening the door for the Thunder to close out the Kings when Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook began to take the game away.. Durant scored 26 points and Westbrook scored 32 points

DeMarcus Cousins missed his 10^th straight game still suffering with (viral meningitis) Cousins is now considered day to day. Omri Casspi also remained out with (left knee bone contusion).

With the win The Thunder has now won seven straight with The team has really turned around its play with the return of Forward Kevin Durant back in the lineup and the Thunder has now won eight of their last nine.

The Kings are hoping the same turnaround occurs when Cousins is able to get back on the floor.

The main reason for the loss is a common problem the Kings have struggled with in there last four losses, too many turnovers. The 19 turnovers in this game resulted in 26 points for the Thunder. “We can’t afford to turn the ball over like we did. ” said new interim head coach Tyrone Corbin.

Game Notes Kevin Durant scored his 15,000 point of his NBA career with his second basket of the game Durant reached the milestone in his 550^th career game. Only three players have reached 15,000 in fewer games. Michael Jordan (460) Lebron James (540) and Shaquille O’Neal (547).

The Kings retired the number of Peja Stojakovic. His former teammates, Vlade Divac, Doug Christie, Scot Pollard, Bobby Jackson and Brad Miller were in attendance.

Up next the Kings host the Milwaukee Bucks at Sleep Train Arena on Thursday Night.

 

 

AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli

By Jeff Hall

SACRAMENTO –

The Lowly Detroit Pistons appeared to be a team that the Kings could handle without their star player DeMarcus Cousins. After all the Pistons had only won one of their last 14 games and had just come off of a win over the Phoenix Suns the night before. But these days no team is easy for the Kings who fell to the Pistons 95-90 in front of 16, 242 fans at Sleep Train Arena.

Neither team played exceptionally well in the first half. The Kings came out shooting well beyond the 3 point line and ended up shooting fifty percent from the 3 point line in the first half which  resulted in a 3 point lead for the Kings a the half.

Rudy Gay was 4 of 6 from the 3-point line and led the Kings in scoring in the first half with 14 points. The Kings continue to be their own worst enemy as they struggle with capable ball handling and turned the ball over 11 times in the first half and resulting in 9 points for the Pistons. . The Pistons struggled with ball handling as well and the Kings scored 12 points on turnovers. Both Teams struggled shooting from the field in the first half. The Pistons shot 44 percent from the field a typical struggle for the Pistons so far this season. The Kings shot 39 percent. The Kings also struggled from the free throw line shooting 68 percent.

The second half was not any better, for either team. The Kings struggled the most in the third quarter. 14 Kings turnovers allowed the Pistons to take their biggest lead of the night with 14 points and the Kings could not get themselves back into the game with the larger deficit. “That third quarter really hurt us, I think that we shot 18 percent. That makes it hard to build a lead an win games when you aren’t making shots.” Said Kings head Coach Michael Malone. Malone said he wasn’t overly disappointed. “We had some good looks but we struggled making shots tonight. ” said Malone.

It was definitely not a game that either team will be proud of their play. The Pistons shot only 30 percent from the field with 15 turnovers. Two players who were the strongest for Detroit were Forward Josh Smith and Forward Greg Monroe. Smith had 21 points for the Pistons and Monroe had 24 Points. The first half success of the 3 point shot seemed to lure the Kings into continue trying from 3 point land, but the shot was not as successful in the second half. The Loss dropped the Kings to a 11-13 record on the season. The win was just the fifth of the season for the Pistons and only the team’s third road win. The Pistons record improved to 5-19 on the year. Rudy Gay led the Kings in scoring with 20 points.

It was a rough night for the Kings Guard Darren Collison who only scored 3 points in 32 minutes of play.

Once again the Kings were without DeMarcus Cousins (Viral Meningitis )and Omri Casspi (left knee bone contusion).

Up Next, the Kings will take on Oklahoma City at the Sleep Train Arena on Tuesday.

Notes: The Kings assigned rookie forward Eric Moreland to the team’s NBA D-League affiliate, the Reno Bighorns, it was announced today by Kings General Manager Pete D’Alessandro.

AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli

By Jeff Hall

SACRAMENTO –

A first half lead was not strong enough for the Kings to come away with a win. The Houston Rockets defeated the Kings 113-109 in overtime.

The Kings defense was strong in the first half. They held the Rockets to thirty six points in the first half. The lowest first half scoring of the season for the Rockets to fall behind the Kings by 10 points at the half.

Both teams were without their star players. The Rockets were without Dwight Howard and Demarcus Cousins was still out of action fighting viral meningitis. The Kings have a 2-6 record without Cousins in the line up.

It was a common second half performance for the Kings, their inability to protect the ball handling and turning the ball over frequently in the third and fourth quarter allowed the Rocket to cut away the Kings lead . The Kings had a total of 21 turnovers in the game. The Rockets were 15 of 44 beyond the 3 point line.

Darren Collison led the Kings in scoring with 24 points

James Harden came out firing in the second half and took control of his team in the second half and put the Rockets right back into the game that went into overtime where the Rockets took there first lead of he game and never looked back thanks mostly to Harden who scored a game high total of 44 points. Harden Scored 10 of his points in overtime to put the Kings away for good.

Up next the Kings will take on the Detroit Pistons at Sleep Train Arena on Saturday.

by Charlie O. Mallonee

“Defense wins in the NBA and tonight we didn’t defend anybody.” Those were the words of Kings Head Coach Michael Malone just after his team had been defeated by the Orlando Magic 105-96 on Saturday night in Sacramento.

Both teams came into the game in similar situations. Both were without their big man due to injury. Both were playing the second game of a back-to-back schedule. Orlando appeared to be at a greater disadvantage as they played in Utah on Friday and had to travel to Sacramento for the Saturday game. Both teams were coming off a win on Friday night.

The Kings came out in the first quarter a bit flat while the Magic showed some initial energy. Ben McLemore hit the first bucket of the game after taking the opening tip to the hole for a lay-up. The Magic kept the ball moving and worked on high percentage shots plus some well-placed 3-Point baskets. After a Kings timeout at 8:33, Sacramento settled down and played improved defense. A steal and slam by Rudy Gay energized the Kings attack. The Sacramento starting five remained in the game until the 1:38 mark of the quarter. The quarter ended with the score tied at 27-all.

The Magic started the second quarter with a 6-0 run as the second units were on the floor for both teams. Reggie Evans scored the Kings first points on two free throws 2:54 into the quarter. After a 4-0 mini-run by Orlando, Rudy Gay and Ray McCallum entered the game. With the Kings shooting poorly, the Magic opened up an 11 point (45-34) lead by the time a timeout was called with 4:55 remaining in the half. After shooting poorly most of the period, the Kings helped themselves with back-to-back high percentage baskets by Collison and Gay. Capitalizing on Orlando turnovers and poor shooting, the Kings closed the gap but trailed the Magic 52-49 at the half.

The Kings shot just 40.0-percent (16 for 40) from the field in the first half while Orlando posted a 52.3-field goal percentage. The Magic out-rebounded the Kings 19-17 in the half.

Tobias Harris opened the scoring in the third quarter with a 3-Pointer and a steal that resulted in an easy lay-up. That opening set the tone for the quarter. The Kings continued to look sluggish while Magic shot 50.0-percent from the field and 50.0-percent from 3-Pointland. The Kings turned the ball over six times in the quarter and fell as many as 12 points behind. Rudy Gay sparked the Kings with a driving lay-up at 2:22, but Magic came back to take an 11 point lead into the fourth quarter. After three quarters Orlando led the Kings 77-66.

Orlando made it a 14 point lead after Ben Gordon hit for five points off two baskets to open the fourth period. It appeared that the Magic might coast to the win, but the Kings had other plans. Derrick Williams converted a 3-Point play that kicked off a 9-0 run for the Kings. Sacramento continued to whittle away at the lead and finally tied the game at 90-90 on a Derrick Williams slam dunk with 3:59 to play. With the game tied at 92-all, Orlando went on a 7-0 run and created a gap that the Kings could not fill. When the final buzzer sounded, the Magic had beaten the Kings 105-96.

The Magic shot 50.6-percent (42 for 83) from the field and hit on 9 of 26 3-Point attempts. Orlando only visited the free throw line 14 times but they converted 12 of those opportunities into points. The Magic recorded 26 assists against just 11 turnovers in the game.

Orlando had five players score in double figures led by Tobias Harris’ 27 points. Harris was 4 of 5 from beyond the 3-Point line. Victor Oladipo added 16 points and seven assists. Evan Fournier put in 15 while Kyle O’Quinn recorded 13 points filling in for injured Nikola Vucevic at center.

With DeMarcus Cousins still out of the lineup, the Magic out-rebounded the Kings 40-35.

“I saw fierce competition, a will to win, a will to compete, being relentless throughout the course of the game. Overall, really impressed with this group to finish the trip with the win,” said Orlando Head Coach Jacque Vaughn.

The Kings shot 44.3-percent (35 for79) as a team from the field and 26.7-percent (4 for 15) from beyond the 3-Point arc. Sacramento was 22 for 28 from the free throw line. They had 22 assists and 11 turnovers.

Darren Collison led the Kings scoring with 22 points. Jason Thompson scored a season-best 18 points. Rudy Gay had 16 points to go with five rebounds and six assists. Derrick Williams scored 14 points in 12 minutes of play coming off the bench to lead the Kings in the fourth quarter.

“You can’t allow a team, who’s coming in here with four games in five nights, to start the game as comfortable as they did. They were shooting 80.0-percent at one point, so it’s tough to start getting stops after a team feels really comfortable,” said Coach Michael Malone after the game.

The Kings are off until Monday when they will host the Utah Jazz.

Game Notes:

The Kings are now 10-10 overall, 5-5 at Sleep Train Arena … the Kings are 1-3 on the five game homestand … Sacramento is 1-4 without DeMarcus Cousins in the lineup this season … the Kings have another set of back-to-backs this week at they host Utah on Monday and visit the Lakers in L.A. on Tuesday … the Magic win ended a four game losing streak to Sacramento

 

by Charlie O. Mallonee

Sacramento Kings Head Coach Michael Malone had made no secret about the fact he was sick of his team’s four game losing streak. Yes, DeMarcus Cousins was unavailable for all four of those games, and Cousins was not available for the game against Indiana. None of that mattered to Malone. He said his team must learn how to win without Cousins in the lineup. To do that, the Kings would need to play improved defense and someone on the team would need to be the leader on offense.

At times on Friday night, the Kings did play strong defensively. Rudy Gay scored 27 points. Darren Collison added 20 points of his own, but the Kings still had to go to overtime in order to post a 102-101 victory over the Indiana Pacers.

After outscoring the Pacers 34-20 in the first quarter, Indiana outscored the Kings in the second, third and fourth quarters. Sacramento outscored the Pacers 6-5 in overtime.

The Kings won the game in overtime when Rudy Gay missed a jump shot with 2.9 seconds left in the period. Carl Landry was able to rebound the ball and put it in the basket with just 0.8 seconds remaining on the clock. It was the first time Landry had hit the game winner in his career.

Malone was pleased with the way his team played defense in the overtime session. The Kings held the Pacers to just two of seven from the field and gave up just five points. Sacramento outrebounded Indiana six to two in overtime.

The Kings came out in the first quarter passing the ball to cutters under the basket and looking for high percentage shots. Sacramento shot 65-percent (13 for 20) from the field and scored 34 first quarter points. They only turned the ball twice (3 points) and held the Pacers to just 20 points. The Kings defense caused Indiana to turn the ball over six times (12 points). Sacramento led by as many as 15 points in the period. Rudy Gay”s 11 points led the Kings scoring.

The second quarter was a completely different for Sacramento. Gone were the high percentage shots in the paint replaced with less than accurate outside shooting. The Kings field goal percentage dropped to 38.1 (8 for 21) while the Pacers shooting warmed up led by Damjan Rudez who was four for four from the field including two 3-Pointers. Indiana outscored the Kings 25-22 in the quarter. At the half, Sacramento led the Pacers 56-45.

The Kings took the floor after the intermission with a renewed attitude. Sacramento was back to playing uptempo basketball led by the play of Gay, McLemore and Collison. At one point, the Kings opened up a 15 point lead on the Pacers. The Indiana bench led by guard C.J. Watson began chipping away at the Sacramento lead and outscored the Kings 27-24 in the third quarter. At the end of three periods, Sacramento was clinging to a 80-72 lead.

The Kings were able to open up a 13 point lead early in the fourth quarter but once again the Pacers refused to go away. Indiana cut the Sacramento lead to just two points with 1:33 to play on a Rodney Stuckey rebound that he then drove to the bucket for an easy lay-up. The Pacers tied the game at :28 seconds to go on a David West jump shot. The Kings had possession of the ball and played for what they hoped would be the final shot of the game. Rudy Gay put up a jump shot from the right side with 4.9 seconds to go and missed the shot. Gay was incensed that a foul was not called. A television replay showed Gay was fouled but it was not called by the officials. Regulation time ended with the game tied at 96 all.

The Kings took the lead in overtime on a Darren Collison jump shot off an Indiana turnover. Sacramento opened up a four point lead but the Pacers closed the gap to 100-99 on a 3-Point basket by C.J. Watson. Indiana then took the their first lead the game since the first quarter on a Watson bank shot 101-100. Again the Kings would have a chance to run down the clock and take the possible last shot. Rudy Gay missed a jumper with 2.9 seconds to play. Carl Landry grabbed the rebound and put the ball up into the basket to give the Kings a 102-101 lead with 0.8 seconds remaining. Indiana was unable to convert on a final shot attempt and the Kings won the game 102-101.

Sacramento shot 43.4-percent (36 for 83) from the field. The Kings converted just two of 10 3-Point attempts. They shot just 70.0-percent (28 for 40) from the free throw line. Sacramento turned the ball over 15 times. Those 15 turnovers resulted in 22 Indiana points.

The Pacers were led in scoring by their bench. The Pacers second unit scored 49 points in the game. The Kings bench produced 26 points.

Final Takes: DeMarcus Cousins was at the game and sat with the team in street clothes. Cousins will still be unavailable on Saturday night versus the Magic … the Kings wore the red, white and blue uniforms of the Rochester Royals to celebrate their historical ties to the 1951 NBA Champions.