Category: Sacramento Kings

Sacramento Kings game wrap: Kings played improved ball but can’t hang on with Blazers 123-119

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The Portland Trailblazers forward Robert Covington tried prying the ball out of the hands of the Sacramento Kings forward Nemanja Bjelica during first half action Thu Mar 4, 2021’s contest in Portland (AP News photo)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

The day has finally arrived for Kings players. That day is the end of the first half of the 2021 season. The first half of the season has been very up and down for the Kings. They went on a streak of winning 7-8 games, and also a nine game losing streak. It was really a tale of two teams.

On Thursday night, the Kings would suit up for the last time before the All Star break. It would be the second night of a back to back after playing in Sacramento against the Lakers the night before.

In Wednesday’s game, the King battled. It wasn’t the cleanest game of all time but the Kings did manage to pull out the win against the Lakers. Granted, the Lakers were without their stars Lebron James and Anthony Davis. The Kings managed to win 123-120.

Thursday night, the Kings would be on the road against the Portland Trail Blazers in Portland. Tip-off was set for 7 PM PST. Only to lose it in a close well battled game between the two clubs with the Blazers winning 123-114.

In the first half, the Kings played well. They didn’t allow the Blazers to take a large lead and kept the game close. The Kings were out scored 30-27 in the first quarter as they looked to solidify the defensive end of the floor.

In the second quarter, The Kings and Blazers both scored 29 points to send the game into halftime with a 59-56 lead over the Kings. The Kings would look to continue the decent defense in the second half to keep the game close.

In the second half, the Kings pulled ahead early. After the third quarter, in which the Kings out scored the Blazers 34-30, the Kings offense began to show life. It would be up to the defense in the fourth quarter to contain Damion Lillard and come away with a win.

That wasn’t to happen. The Blazers out scored the Kings 34-29 in the final quarter to beat the Kings. The Kings played sloppy offense in the final minute which ultimately cost them the game.

Lillard finished the game with 44 points and the Kings were led by De’Aaron Fox who had 32. This was the Kings final game before the All Star break and I wouldn’t be surprised if we see some roster moves when the next Kings game takes place.

Up next: The All Star break will last until Thursday March 11th when the Kings welcome in the Houston Rockets at 7 PM PST in Sacramento.

Kings hand Lakers second straight loss, 123-120

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Photo credit: @LakersSBN

By Jeremiah Salmonson

The Sacramento Kings had a few days off since their last game. The Kings last played on Sunday night against the Charlotte Hornets before taking on the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night. In the game against the Hornets, things didn’t go well down the stretch. The Kings had positioned themselves to get a win again the Charlotte Hornets. However, in the final minutes of the game, a sloppy defense and bad free throw shooting would cost the Kings the game. The Kings wound up losing 127-126 in the final seconds of the game. 

The Kings would like to move past that as they took on the Lakers at 7 PM PST in Sacramento on Wednesday. Fortunately, both Anthony Davis and Lebron James were not available. The Kings beat LA by a final of 123-120 at Golden 1 Center.

In the first half, the Kings played better than we have been accustomed to as of late. The Kings’ defense didn’t shine, but it also didn’t crumble. The Lakers scored 31 points in the first compared to the Kings’ 21. So, the Kings immediately put themselves in a hole.

However, the Kings’ offense took off in the second quarter. The Kings outscored the Lakers 40-30 in the second quarter to take a 63-61 lead into halftime. The Kings had to tighten of the defense to pull out a win against the short-handed Lakers. 

In the second half, the game went back and forth. In the third quarter, the Lakers outscored the Kings 27-24. Neither team was really able to get in offensive rhythm and the game was for the taking heading into the final 12 minutes. In the fourth quarter, the Kings were able to hold on and win the game. The Kings outscored the Lakers 37-32 to take the game 123-120.

With both Lebron James and Anthony Davis out, this was a game the Kings desperately needed to win. It was good for the Kings to hold onto and hopefully it’ll boost their confidence going into Thursday night’s game. The Lakers were led by Denis Schroder, who had 28, while the Kings were led by Buddy Hield, who had 29. 

Up Next: The Kings will head to Portland to take on the Trail Blazers on a back to back on Thursday at 7 PM PST. 

Kings Lose Heartbreaker In Final Seconds 127-126

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The Sacramento Kings starting five left to right De’Aaron Fox (5), Buddy Hield (24), Harrison Barnes (40), Marvin Bagley III (35), and Richaun Holmes (22) couldn’t hold onto to beat the Charlotte Hornets on Sun Feb 28, 2021 at Golden One Center in Sacramento (photo from @SacramentoKings)

By Barbara Mason

Sunday night the Sacramento Kings took on the Charlotte Hornets. Friday night the Kings snuck past Detroit in their first win in a very long time breaking a nine game losing streak. They are hoping to make a win tonight a more favorable streak, one that appears in the win column.

They are still without Tyrese Haliburton on the bench. That was just one of the glaring weak spots in Friday’s game scoring only seven points the entire game. They will need more help off the bench in tonight’s game against the Hornets as well as getting their long shot back on track.

Defense, another sore spot on this team has to find a way to get some stops. They couldn’t do it, leading the entire game the Kings lost it in the last 1.4 seconds 127-126 at Golden One Center in Sacramento.

The King’s led at the end of the first quarter 39-36 keeping pace with the Hornets. By the half, Sacramento managed to hang onto their lead 67-66. Four of their starters had shot double digits after two quarters.

Buddy Hield had 20 points for the half. After 28 minutes the bench had scored a miserable two points. More help was desperately needed from their bench players. The Hornets had 26 points off the bench leaning heavily on their bench players. The Charlotte bench saw 48 minutes of action with Malik Monk scoring 12 points.

The Kings extended their lead as the third quarter came to an end 96-88. The King held onto their lead through the fourth quarter. In the final 1.4 seconds left in the game the Hornets pulled out some Charlotte magic.

The Kings were leading 126-124. Charlotte’s Malik Monk made a driving layup to tie the game. He drew a foul and made the shot to win the game for the Hornets. It was a heart breaker for the King’s who just could not finish the game.

Sacramento got some great work from their starters, especially Buddy Hield with 30 points and Harrison Barnes with 28. Marvin Bagley had 24, De’Aaron Fox with 20 and Richaun Holmes finished with 13 points. Nemanja Bjelica had 11 points off the bench.

The Kings will take on the Lakers on Wednesday in a game that will challenge them to the max. It will have to be all hands on deck for this game. Tipoff is at 7:00 PM.

Sacramento Kings game wrap: Kings snap nine game losing streak defeat Pistons 110-107

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The Sacramento Kings forward Harrison Barnes (40) struggles to get away from being fouled by the Detroit Pistons center Isaiah Stewart, left as the Pistons Dennis Smith behind Barnes watches Fri Feb 26, 2021 at Little Cesar’s Arena in Detroit (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

Simply put, the Sacramento Kings are in trouble. Offensively they are struggling and their defense is atrocious. Their Head Coach Luke Walton is having meltdowns on the sidelines out of pure frustration.

Their rookie phenom Tyrese Haliburton is out with a calf injury and to top it all off, they have lost nine games in a row. The last time they won was February 7th a win over the Clippers 113-110. Since then it has been a goose egg. The Kings finally woke up at Little Cesar’s Arena in Detroit with a 110-107 victory to snap their nine game losing streak on Friday night.

The Kings took on the Detroit Pistons another struggling team. The Pistons have the second worst record in the NBA and the Kings are not far behind. Thursday night the Kings allowed 140 points against the NBA’s worst offense the New York Knicks.

Sacramento’s nine game losing streak ties their longest losing streak in 12 years. De’Aaron Fox had a very productive game shooting for 29 points and eight assists. Harrison Barnes had 22 points and Bagley had 19 points.

Very decent numbers but the team still managed to lose the game. Off the bench Tyrese Haliburton had 17 points. The Knicks had some firepower off the bench with Julius Randle who had 21 points. The Kings just could not handle the Knicks.

The Kings three point attempts were better in the Knick game, all fingers point to the defense which is still lacking. The question is can the Kings pull it together to beat the worst team in the Eastern Conference. Can they break this losing streak tonight.

At the half the Kings held a slim lead 55-52. The Kings were setting a nice pace in the first quarter and led 35-25 as time elapsed. They stumbled in the second quarter struggling to maintain that lead and didn’t get a whole lot of help off the bench in the absence of Haliburton. The possibility of losing a tenth game in a row loomed over their heads heading into the second half.

In the third quarter it was a close one with both teams trading the lead. In the final minutes of the third quarter the Pistons started to show up and led by the score of 80-75 after three quarters. Every one of the Sacramento starters had shot double digits but the bench had only contributed two points the entire game.

Midway through the fourth quarter the Kings had tied the game at 91. After trailing by as many as eight points Sacramento was fighting to end their losing streak and getting back to the business of winning.

With 7.4 left in the final quarter and a 110-107 Kings lead Sacramento was finally able to get back in the win column. De’Aaron Fox finished with 27 points and Harrison Barnes had 21. Bagley and Holmes each had 19 points while Buddy Hield had 14.

The King’s bench was a real disappointment with only ten points in the game to the Pistons 34 points off the bench. It wasn’t pretty and it was as close as they come but it was a win and it has been a long time coming.

Sunday night the Kings will take on the Charlotte Hornets in a game that will be anything but easy. If Sacramento can get Haliburton back on the bench and play with the confidence they gained in this win they just might be able to compete with Charlotte. Tipoff is at 7:00 PM PT.

 

Sacramento Kings podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson: Kings can’t control worst offense in NBA as Knicks score 140 points

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The New York Knicks leading scorer Immanuel Quickley guard (5) is congratulated by forward Obbi Toppin (1) after scoring on the Sacramento Kings on Thu Feb 25, 2021 at Madison Square Garden New York (AP News photo

On the Kings podcast with Jeremiah:

#1 Jeremiah nine straight loses in the row how bad does it have to get for Sacramento (12-20)?

#2 140 points by one of the worst offenses in the NBA the New York Knicks (16-17) was this a game the Kings defense just let down or was it a Knicks team that just keep running up the score and doing the right thing to move the ball?

#3 Immanuel Quickley led New York with 25 points, Alec Burks 24 points, Julius Randall 21 points, and Derrick Rose followed up with 18 points they made it look easier than in other games with previous opponents.

#4 If De’Aaron Fox 29 points and Harrison Barnes 22 points carried the team last night  and no one is helping out on the defense end and everyone is at a lose for the Kings right now?

#5 Tonight the Kings are in Detroit to face the Pistons (9-23). The Pistons have won four of their last ten games which includes a win over the Brooklyn Nets 122-111 on Feb 9th. How do you see this match up tonight turning out at Little Caesar’s Arena?

Join Jeremiah for the Kings podcasts each Friday morning at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sacramento Kings podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson Fri Feb 26, 2021 by Sports Radio Service | Free Listening on SoundCloud

Kings fall to Knicks 140-121, lose 9th straight game

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Photo credit: reuters.com

By: Jeremiah Salmonson

The Sacramento Kings are floundering around like a dying duck. The Kings had an off day on Wednesday as they prepared to take on the upstart New York Knicks on Thursday night. The Kings came into Thursday on an eight-game losing streak. They lost to the Brooklyn Nets in their previous game. On Tuesday, the Kings lost to the Knicks in blowout fashion 140-121 at Madison Square Garden.

The Kings weren’t able to snap the streak against maybe the best team in the NBA. The Kings were set to play at 4:30 PM PST at Madison Square Garden. 

In the first half, the Kings played terribly. In the first quarter, the Kings allowed the last ranked offense in the NBA to score 38 points. The Kings offense was able to put up 29 points, but it was not enough to outpace the Knicks. In the second quarter, it was more of the same. The Knicks added another 39 points in the quarter and managed to score 33 themselves. Even though the Kings managed to score 60 first half points, they still went into halftime losing 77-60. It would take a miracle in the second half to snap the losing streak. 

The second half started better than the first. In the third quarter, the Kings held the Knicks to 24 points and scored 32 themselves. It looked like the beginning of a comeback. However, it didn’t last long. The Kings allowed the Knicks to score 39 points in the fourth as the Kings only managed 27 points. The Kings would lose their ninth game in a row 140-121 to the Knicks.

The Kings were led by De’Aaron Fox, who managed to score 29 points. Immanuel Quickley led the Knicks with scored 25 points and Alex Burks scored 19 points in the fourth quarter. It was an embarrassing loss for the Kings as they will have to look to their game on Friday to right the ship. 

Up Next: The Kings have a back to back game against the Detroit Pistons in Detroit on Friday at 5 PM PST. 

Sacramento Kings podcast with Tony Renteria: Will Kings be able to snap 8 game loss streak tonight against Knicks?

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The Sacramento Kings forward Marvin Bagley III tries to get his hand on the ball as the Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving tries to go for the score at the Barclay Center in Brooklyn on Tue Feb 23, 2021 (AP News photo)

On the Sacramento Kings podcast with Tony R:

#1 Anytime you look at the schedule and it says your going to play in Milwaukee (18-13) and Brooklyn (21-12) and in the case of the Sacramento Kings (12-19) instead of bringing your A game you bring your A for effort game.

#2 The game in Brooklyn on Tuesday night started out rough for the Kings but in the second half they actually made a game of it in the third quarter before Brooklyn was able to pull away in the fourth quarter for the 127-118 win.

#3 The Nets usual suspects led by James Harden and Bruce Brown each scored 29 points each and Kyrie Irving scored 21.

#4 The Kings had four scorers in double figures on Thursday night led by De’Aaron Fox with 27 points and Richaun Holmes and Harrison Barnes had 18 points but not good enough to catch the Nets.

#5 With the loss the Kings are on a eight game losing streak their next task is against is against the New York Knicks (15-6) at the Garden tonight for a 4:30pm jump time. The Knicks are coming off a tough loss to Golden State on Tuesday night 127-118. The Knicks have won five of their last nine games how do you see this match at MSG tonight.

Join Tony for the Kings podcasts every other Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sacramento Kings podcast with Tony Renteria Thu Feb 25, 2021 by Sports Radio Service | Free Listening on SoundCloud

Sacramento Kings game wrap: Kings lose eighth straight bow to Nets 127-118

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The Sacramento Kings Buddy Hield (24) takes a shot over the Brooklyn Nets defense on Tue Feb 23, 2021 at the Barclay Center in Brooklyn (photo from ca.sports.yahoo.com)

By Jeremiah Salmonson

Tuesday night in Brooklyn: The Sacramento Kings were back in action on Tuesday night! The Kings, who are coming off a seven game losing streak were looking to break the tide and get a win. The opponent was the mighty Brooklyn Nets. The Nets appear to be poised to make a run at a title, and the Kings ran into them at an inopportune time. The Nets dominated in scoring and offense and handed the Kings their eighth straight loss 127-118.

Sunday night flashback: Before we dive into Tuesday night’s game, let’s take a look at Sunday’s game. On Sunday, the Kings lost to the Milwaukee Bucks. The Bucks handled the Kings first easily as they beat them 128-115. The Kings struggled on defense which has been the theme of late, and needed to pick it up to stop the streak on Tuesday night. The Kings were set to take on the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday at 4:30 PM PST in New York.

Tuesday night game wrap: In the first half, it was an embarrassing sight for the Kings. The Nets hammered the Kings 42-28 in the first quarter as the Kings didn’t play any defense. The Nets ran all over the Kings in the early minutes as the Kings looked to bounce back in the second quarter.

The Kings did play better in the second. The Kings outscored the Nets 38-30 in the second quarter to get back into the game. The Kings entered halftime down 72-66. It was a much better position than what it looked like it was going to be early in the game.

In the second half, the Kings started out strong. The Kings managed to outscore the Nets 30-26 in the third quarter to cut the second once massive Nets lead to two points. In the fourth, the Kings weren’t able to complete the comeback.

The fourth quarter led to the Kings being outscored by the Nets 29-22 as the Nets beat the Kings 127-118. For a game that started out so ugly for the Kings they ended the game well.

The Kings battled in the middle quarters to get back within two points. The Nets may be the best team in basketball so it was good to see the Kings battle. Nonetheless, the Kings losing streak now stands at eight games and the Kings playoff hopes are fading away.

The Kings were led in defeat by De’Aaron Fox who had 27 points as Bruce Brown led the Nets with 29 points. The Kings will look to snap their losing streak against the team across town, the New York Knicks.

Up Next: The Kings will take on the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Thursday at 4:30 PM PST.

 

 

Sacramento Kings game wrap: Kings Drop Sixth In a Row to the Bulls 122-114

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Photo credit: @chicagobulls

Kings Drop Six In a Row to the Bulls 122-114

By Barbara Mason

The Sacramento Kings are struggling mightily after suffering their fifth straight loss last Thursday against the Heat 118-110. They had a good first half in that game, but stumbled in the second half.

Nemanja Bjelica had 25 points in the game and they will be depending heavily on him in tonight’s game against the Chicago Bulls. Bagley also turned in 19 points in that game while De’Aaron Fox had 11 points in another disappointing game for him.

The Kings are considered one of the worst defenses in the league, however, performing better than expected with a record of 12-16. The Kings won their last game against the Bulls in early January. In that game, the Kings’ Tyrese Haliburton had some great play late in the game.

The Bulls had a 28-21 lead to end the first quarter of play. They outscored the Kings in the second quarter leading by the score of 68-58 at halftime. The Bulls stayed on top of the Kings in the third quarter 95-83 and Sacramento had some work to do in final quarter of play.

The Kings made some bids in the second half, but just couldn’t put up enough defense to pull out a win. Every time they pulled close, the Bulls turned them away. The final score was 122-114 with the Bulls handing the Kings their sixth loss in a row.

Again, Bagley was the top shooter with 26 points. De’Aaron Fox had 20 points coming on in the second half. Buddy Hield had 23 points and off the bench Tyrese Haliburton had 16 points. Zach Lavine had 38 points for the Bulls. He had support from teammates Coby White with 19, Garrett Temple with 14 and Patrick Williams with 11.

Things will not be getting much easier for the Kings. They will be facing the Bucks tomorrow evening followed by a Tuesday night game against the Nets.

Sacramento Kings podcast with Jeremiah Salmonson: Kings frustrating loss to Heat Thursday; In Chicago to face Bulls Sat nite

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Sacramento Kings guard Marvin Bagley III (30) defends Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler (right) in the first half of Thu Feb 18, 2021 game at Golden One Center in Sacramento (AP News photo)

On the Sacramento Kings podcast with Jeremiah:

#1 The Kings took a tough loss at home at Golden One Center against the Miami Heat on Thursday night 118-110. The Kings just couldn’t keep up.

#2 Jeremiah, talk about the offensive efforts of De’Aaron Fox and he’s been able to lead on offense but he’s been doing a lot of heavy lifting.

#3 The Kings played some close quarters but the Heat were able to stay ahead. How frustrating does that have to be for Kings head coach Luke Walton.

#4 The Heat’s Jimmy Butler scored 13 points, 13 assists, and had 10 rebounds. It was Butler’s third straight triple double game.

#5 Jeremiah, the Kings are in Chicago Saturday night against the Bulls. The Bulls 12-15 and 6 1/2 games back in the Western Conference. The Kings are 12-16 and 11 1/2 game back. How do you see these two teams for Saturday night at the United Center?

Join Jeremiah for the Kings podcasts each Friday morning at http://www.sportsradioservice.com