Category: Sacramento Kings

Kings shock fans and the Heat with 105-97 win

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photo from sacbee.com: The Sacramento Kings’ Bogdan Bogdanovic (8) takes a jump shot against the Miami Heat’s Kendrick Nunn (25) at Golden One Center in Sacramento on Friday night

By Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO–The Sacramento Kings faced a tough challenge on the first night of a back to back against the Miami Heat. The Heat are a surprisingly upstart team with playoff aspirations. The Kings are a struggling middling team that has been playing better of late and they did with a 105-97 victory at Golden One Center over the Heat on Friday night. The Kings looked to win their first game since the trade deadline after acquiring Alex Len and Jabari Parker. The tip-off was set for 7 PM PST.

In the first half, The Kings played really well on their home court. They managed to put up 30 in the first and 22 in the second. That was compared to the Heat scoring 28 in the first and 22 in the second. The Kings held a 52-50 lead going into the half.

The Kings shot 52.5% from the field in the first half. The Heat only managed a 45% clip from the field while only shooting 27% from three-point range. Leading the way in the first half for the Kings was Bogdan Bogdanovic with 17 points. Trailing him was Buddy Hield who had nine points. For the Heat, Bam Adebayo led the way with 13 first-half points.

In the second half, it was more of the same for the Kings. Good shooting and solid defense led to the 20th win of the year for the Kings. The Kings added 53 second-half points compared to the Heats 47 to go home happy. Granted, the Heat were down all-star Jimmy Butler.

However, this was a good win for the Kings to build on. Leading the way for the Kings in victory were Bogdan Bogdanovic and Buddy Hield with 23 and 21 respectively. The Heat received a great performance from All-Star Bam Adebayo who finished with 26 points. It was a great way for the Kings to start the first of a back to back.

The Kings will take on the San Antonio Spurs next on Saturday at 7 PM PST.

Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O: Kings hold their own with 113-109 win over Minnesota

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photo from sacbee.com: Sacramento Kings guard Bogdan Bogdanovic (8) yells at official during game at Golden 1 Center on Thursday, Jan 2, 2020 in Sacramento.

On the Kings podcast with Charlie O:

#1 The Sacramento Kings (18-31) held their own on their home floor against the Minnesota Timberwolves (15-34) in a 113-109 victory at Golden One Center.

#2 The Kings won four of their last six games still a lot of work ahead of them

#3 Altough the Timberwolves outscored the Kings 34-28 in the fourth quarter the Kings won the game

#4 De’Aaron Fox for the Kings continues to drain the basket with 31 points to lead the Kings on Monday night

#5 The Kings host the Miami Heat (33-15) on Friday night Kings have lost four of their last six games can they beat the Heat on their home floor.

Charlie O does the Kings podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

 

Kings outwork the Wolves, then survive the fourth quarter in 113-109 win

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SACRAMENTO–The NBA trade deadline can hatch some absurd scenarios and head-scratching juxtapositions, a couple of which found their way into Golden 1 Center on Monday night.

The lottery-bound Kings and Timberwolves are unlikely to stand still come Thursday afternoon, but you have to wonder what it is either club will come up with to swing a deal, let alone significantly affect their futures.

As an aside, the Kings enjoyed a rare winner on the hardwood, lapping Minnesota early only to hold on late in a 113-109 win, sending the visitors to a telling, 12th consecutive loss. Minnesota’s centerpiece big man, Karl Anthony-Towns picked this depth of losing before the game to express his displeasure with All-Star voters who bypassed Towns in the game’s final vote tallies, prompting him to say, “It’s unfortunate this year’s All-Star Game won’t have the 24 best players in the NBA.”

“It’s about being in the NBA finals, being in the playoffs, winning games,” Towns said in trying to rationalize his thought process at this particular moment. “That’s how you build a legacy. All-Star is cool and stuff for the fans, but I’m here for the people in this locker room.”

Towns who has drawn interest from the Warriors and Celtics as a finishing piece to their title aspirations might not be sending championship signals with his play. Minnesota is 0-16 in the last 16 games Towns has been available, and the team’s defensive rating plummets with the big man on the floor.

Regardless, the Wolves would prefer to hold on to their biggest asset which is how forward Robert Covington’s name is heard most frequently in trade talks. But reportedly, the Wolves are demanding two first rounders in exchange for their 6’8″ defensive whiz.

And how’s that discourse going? Well, on Monday, Covington looked distracted, missing seven of his first eight shots, including three air balls as Minnesota fell behind by 18 points before the half.

For the Kings, Dewayne Dedmon returned from two days away from the team with an illness to turn in his most inspired performance as King: 12 rebounds, five blocks (including a big one on Andrew Wiggins with 20 seconds remaining and the Kings nursing a five-point lead) four assists, four points. Dedmon’s previous trade demands have relented, and now with Marvin Bagley Jr. and Richaun Holmes still unavailable, the journeyman center seems to have a place in the Sacramento rotation.

“He did a lot for us today, altering shots, saving possessions,” said De’Aaron Fox of Dedmon.

Fox led the Kings with 31 points, 5 assists. The Kings shot 51 percent from the floor for the game, including 14 of 27 from three. Towns led Minnesota with 22 points.

“We just got to keep pounding the rock,” said coach Ryan Saunders, who hasn’t endured any speculation about his job status despite 26 losses in the Wolves’ last 31 games. “Eventually it breaks. You just keep pounding the rock and that’s not an empty line because if you just keep staying with it, keep being diligent in your preparation and do things the right way, eventually good things will come.”

Bogdan Bogdanovich contributed a super efficient game for the Kings with 23 points on just seven shot attempts along with three assists and just one turnover in 31 minutes. Could he be the missing piece in Laker land? Maybe, but why would the Kings deal one of their prized assets at the moment he’s establishing himself as a starting NBA combo guard, or be so helpful to the rival Lakers even if a trade yields Kyle Kuzma?

The Kings have won four of six, after a six-game losing skid, and have three days of preparation–and two days of trade deadline anticipation–before hosting the Miami Heat on Friday.

 

 

Kings bow to King James and the Lakers 129-113; L.A.’s Davis finishes on top with 21

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The Los Angeles Lakers LeBron James (23) drives on the Sacramento Kings Harold Barnes (40) at Golden One Center in Sacramento Saturday night photo from bleacherreport.com

By Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO–The Kings were coming off a great win against the other LA team the Los Angeles Clippers. The Kings played a great game and managed to record 21 three point makes. That was a franchise record. So, the Kings were looking to continue the trend against one of the best teams in basketball the Los Angeles Lakers.

In the first half, the Lakers looked like a team on a mission. The Lakers scored an incredible 29 field goals on 26 assists for a total of 81 points in the first half. It was a display you rarely see in basketball, and unfortunately it was against the Kings.

The Lakers hit 14 three pointers in the first half that put the Kings in a tough spot in the second half. The Kings did manage to score 64 points on 44% percent shooting. Ultimately, the Lakers just played a dominant form of basketball that the Kings and their defense couldn’t keep up with in the first half. Leading the way for the Lakers was surprisingly Avery Bradley with 16 points.

Right behind him was Anthony Davis and LeBron James with 13 and 13 respectively. For the Kings, Harry Giles led the way with 12 points followed by Buddy Hied with 11 in the first half.

In the second half, it was more of the same. The Kings managed to do a better job holding the Lakers down in the second half but it was ultimately to no avail. The Lakers 81 point first proved too much for the Kings to handle as the fell 129-113.

The Lakers played one of the best games of the year as the offensive output put the game out of reach from the first quarter on. Anthony Davis led the way for the Lakers with 21 points followed but the surprise performance of Avery Bradley who had 19. De’Aaron Fox led the game in scoring with 24 points as LeBron James led the game in assists and rebounds with 11 and 10 respectively.

Up Next: The Kings stay home to face the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night.

 

Kings defy the odds and beat the Clippers in LA 124-103

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
FoxClippers
@NBCBayArea

By Charlie O. Mallonee

After being blown out by the Oklahoma City Thunder on their homecourt in Sacramento on Wednesday night, the Sacramento Kings traveled to Los Angeles to take on the Clippers in the back end of a back-to-back on Thursday night. The Kings chances of winning were just 37.3 percent.

Sacramento has not been a team that has found their homecourt to be a huge advantage this season. In fact, they seem to be very comfortable in big games on the road. That was the case again on Thursday night.

No Kawhi

The Kings did draw the good luck card because Kawhi Leonard was held out of the game due to lower back tightness. That may have really translated to the “load management” card because the Kings have not been playing great basketball lately. If the Clippers took that chance, they played the right percentages.

The Clippers started strong

The Clippers came out of the gate strong scoring 33 points in the opening 12 minutes. They held the Kings to 28 points.

‘Sacramento held the Clippers to just 14 points in the second period. LA shot just 6-for-24 overall in the quarter and did not go to the free throw line once.

The Kings hit 13 of 22 attempts from the field and nine of those baskets were 3-pointers.

The Second Half

The Kings outscored the Clippers 60-56 in final 24 minutes.

Top scorers

  • De’Aaron Fox was the leading scorer in the game with 34 points to go with eight assists and three rebounds.
  • Lou Williams led the Clippers scoring attack with 22 points and he added six assists.

The Glass cleaners

  • Dewayne Dedmon was the top rebounder with 11 grabs. He made it a double-double game by scoring 11 points.
  • Ivica Zubac hauled in 10 rebounds to lead the Clippers.

Dropping dimes

  • De’Aaron Fox dropped a game-high eight dimes in the contest.
  • Lou Williams dished out six assists to lead the Clippers.

Up next

The Kings will host the Lakers on Saturday night.

The Clippers will welcome the Timberwolves on Saturday afternoon.

Kings come back to earth on return to Sacramento in 120-100 loss to the Thunder

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By Morris Phillips

SACRAMENTO–Two segments of basketball–one exhilarating, one dreadful–separated only by the Kings’ successful, five-minute overtime on Monday in Minneapolis, go along way to explaining the lost 2019-2020 season for Sacramento.

In the final 5:42 of regulation on Monday, the Kings scored 33 points, making shots from everywhere, in belief they could overcome an insurmountable deficit against the Timberwolves. They did, tying the game in regulation, and winning it in overtime, 133-129.

The comeback would mark the first time in the previous 24 seasons that a team had overcome a 17-point deficit with less than three minutes remaining in regulation or overtime and won. Simply, on Monday the Kings accomplished what 8,000 plus teams over a quarter century could not: the comeback of comebacks.

Then on Wednesday back at Golden 1 Center–and after a stirring tribute to Kobe Bryant before the opening tip–the Kings reverted, scoring just 16 points in the first quarter on the way to a 20-point loss to the Thunder. The Kings were in it, tied at 14 with 3:58 remaining, then finished the quarter with only two more points, on their way to trailing for the game’s final 40 minutes in a sleepy loss tied closely to a substandard defensive effort that saw the Thunder guards feast on their Sacramento counterparts.

“They were more physical than us, they hit us, they outrebounded us, got the shots they wanted, and that can’t be acceptable for how we’re going to play the game of basketball.”

In Monday’s finish, the Kings hit seven 3-pointers, and got stops–a bunch of them. On Wednesday, the Kings were 1 of 9 from three in the first quarter and watched the visitors–especially from the guard’s standpoint–operate as if they were a basketball ballet troop.

Chris Paul, a close friend of Kobe Bryant, returned to action after missing the Thunder’s previous game to decompress and grieve. The break brought to light what a great season the veteran guard is having in Oklahoma City after his unceremonious dismissal from Houston. Paul’s absence was his first time he hasn’t played and started for the Thunder, a streak of 47 games. On Wednesday, with a heavy heart, it was back to work and the veteran was on top of his game, dissecting the Kings like a surgeon.

“He never really got into a flow from the standpoint of his own, personal offense, but he really managed to manipulate that game in the third quarter. He was finding guys, he was making the right decisions. He got guys open shots,” coach Billy Donovan said of Paul.

All four Thunder guards that saw significant minutes put up good numbers facing a Sacramento defense that didn’t fight through screens and wasn’t the least bit disruptive. Paul finished with nine points, 10 assists and seven rebounds. Luguentz Dort, the undrafted rookie playing in place of the injured Terrance Ferguson, put up a career-best 23 points with five 3-pointers. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the key, off-season acquisition with Russell Westbrook and Paul George departing, had 17 points, seven assists and seven rebounds. Dennis Schroeder came off the bench to add 24 points and nine assists.

Worried about the viability of the Kings’ core of Buddy Hield, Bogdan Bogdanovich and De’Aaron Fox going forward with all three likely to earn big deals to stay in Sacramento?

You should be. Defensively, the trio is nowhere near where they need to be. Picture a youthful Steve Nash getting beat at the point of attack and multiply by three. Not pretty especially with the Kings getting a look at Bogdanovich starting along Fox with Hield’s demotion. Again, all three put up decent offensive numbers on Wednesday, but their double-digit minus, plus/minus numbers said it all.

The Kings get a rough, back-to-back with the Clippers up next Thursday night at Staples Center, the first game at Staples Center since Bryant’s death.

 

 

 

Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O: Kings-Wolves go back and forth in overtime

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The Minnesota Timberwolves Jarrett Culver (23) drives on the Sacramento Kings DeWayne Dedmon (13) on Monday night at Target Center in Minneapolis

On the Kings podcast with Charlie O:

#1 It went into overtime and the Kings (17-29)  pushed the envelope at the Target Center home of the Minnesota Timberwolves (15-32) and got over the hump in overtime victory 133-129.

#2 The Kings never gave up and broke away from two ties to get the victory from the Timberwolves.

#3 The Kings Buddy Hield has been a machine of late and last night in Minnesota Hield scored 42 points and everyone them counted to win this game.

#4 In a game like this Kings head coach Luke Walton might have had to change strategy several times but it seem in the overtime stanza he had it working

#5 Thunder and Kings on Thursday Charlie O sets up this contest at Golden One Center in Sacramento

Hield, Kings shock the Wolves with fourth quarter, overtime blitz

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By Morris Phillips

Buddy Hield coming off the bench? Yeah, that’s working quite nicely.

After shooting poorly over an extended period dating back to December which in part prompted coach Luke Walton to take his leading scorer out of the starting lineup, Hield put on a good face and took his demotion in stride.

But being a team player didn’t immediately perk up his game. That transformation came on Monday night in Minneapolis… in the fourth quarter with the Kings in a seemingly helpless place trailing by 19 points after a sleepy, defensive effort through three quarters.

Hield scored 20 points in the fourth quarter, part of his career-best 42-point night, as the Kings wiped out a 22-point deficit in the final 5:42 and shocked the Timberwolves in overtime, 133-129. The Kings’ comeback was so improbable, it hadn’t been accomplished previously in the next generation statistics era beginning in 1997. Over the final 2:49, the Kings wiped out a 17-point deficit to send the game into overtime, where they prevailed. Over the previous 24 seasons, and in well over 8,000 occasions, teams had trailed by 17 points with less than three minutes remaining in regulation or overtime, and lost each time.

Then the Kings came up with the comeback of comebacks on Monday.

“We should be able to play with a 15-point lead with a couple of minutes left. They made shots. We didn’t execute our defensive game plan. We didn’t get rebounds when we needed to. We didn’t make the needed plays,” said Wolves coach Ryan Saunders.

Over the final 5:42 of regulation, the Kings scored 33 points, in itself a once-in-a-generation accomplishment for offense in such a short period. Hield came up with four of the seven Kings’ 3-pointers in the final stretch, including a 29-foot bomb with 30 seconds remaining. Only one more three, from Nemanja Bjelica, came in overtime, as the Kings shot 18 of 40 from distance for the game.

But that was small bits compared to the Wolves, who made a franchise-record 23 (in 46 attempts) but still came up short. Minnesota lost for the 10th consecutive outing, which led to a locker room filled with disbelief after the game. Shabazz Napier, who missed a pair of critical free throws with 34 seconds remaining even invoked the memory of Kobe Bryant in relaying his disappointment in his and his team’s performance.

“The competitor he is, he would be upset with us, truly upset with us,” Napier said. “Today we did a dishonor to him , to the Minnesota Timberwolves organization, to the fans.”

 

The Kings play defense and beat the Bulls 98-81 on Friday in Chicago

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

By Charlie O. Mallonee @Charlieo1320

The long national nightmare is over for “Sacramento Proud” as their team’s six-game losing streak has come to an end in Chicago. The Kings (16-29) downed the Bulls 98-81 on Friday night at the United Center.

The last time the Kings won a basketball game was on January 7th in Phoenix. Those 16 days between wins seemed like an eternity for Sacramento fans.

A major change to the starting lineup

Sometimes a coach must shake things up to in order to get his team’s attention. In this case, Kings head coach – Luke Walton – made a change to his starting lineup. Guard Buddy Hield has been in a shooting slump, so Walton took Hield out of the starting rotation and replaced him with Bogdan Bogdanovic who has been the Kings sixth man all season.

Moving a starter to the bench is always dangerous because a coach never knows how the player will react. In this case, the lineup moves worked.

Hield took the change in stride

In reality, Hield did more than take things in stride – he thrived. Hield led the Kings in scoring by putting up 21 points in the game. He shot 7-for-12 overall and hit 5 of 9 from behind the 3-point line. Hield also grabbed eight rebounds.

After the game, Kings head coach Luke Walton was full of praise for Hield for his play and his reaction to his change in the rotation.

The key to the win was defense

This was the second game this season that the Kings held their opponent to under 90 points. The Kings are 2-0 in those games.

Sacramento held Chicago to just 39.2% (31-for-79) shooting overall and the Bulls hit only 8 of 37 (21.6%) from 3-point range.

The Kings caused the Bulls (17-30) to turn the ball over 21 times which resulted in 16 Sacramento points.

The Bulls largest lead of the game was three points.

Top performers

Leading scorers

  • Buddy Hield was the Kings leading scorer with 21 points
  • Zach LaVine led the Bulls scoring attack with 21 points

The Glass cleaners

  • Cristiano Felicio of the Bulls was the game’s leading rebounder with nine
  • Buddy Hield led the Kings with eight rebounds

Dropping dimes

  • De’Aaron Fox was the game’s assist leader with seven dimes
  • Kris Dunn led the Bulls with six assists

Up next

The Kings travel to the Twin Cities where they will play the Timberwolves on Monday night.

The Bulls will play in Cleveland on Saturday night.

 

 

 

Royalty Flushed: Kings drop sixth straight in Detroit,127-106

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By Morris Phillips

Losing streaks are hard enough to digest, and the individual moments within those streaks even more so.

For the Kings, losing at the middling Pistons, the ninth-ranked team in the Eastern Conference, for their sixth straight loss while allowing Detroit 19 points more than their season average may rank as the nadir for fading Sacramento.

It certainly felt like it in the third quarter when the Pistons turned a 57-50 advantage at the half into a rout.

“Basketball is a simple game: Defend without fouling, make the right play and knock down shots early,” coach Bill Walton said. “I feel like we didn’t do any of those things.”

The Kings certainly didn’t defend. The Pistons were without Andre Drummond and Blake Griffin, along with taking the occassion to send a message regarding punctuality to rookie Sekou Doumbouya, who didn’t start for the first time in 10 games. Despite the absences, the Pistons got way too comfortable shooting the basketball at 53 percent for the game, and at an even higher clip than that in their 36-point, third quarter that put the game away.

Meanwhile, the Kings certainly didn’t have a coherent plan to match the high-scoring Pistons. Missing 25 of their 35 3-point shot attempts kept Sacramento’s offense disjointed and unable to make up the deficit, which grew and grew.

“There are times where we are out there playing good basketball and there are times when we’re not,” De’Aaron Fox said. “I said it before, you just try to play the best basketball you can for the most amount of time. I don’t think we’re doing that right now.”

With the recent trade of Trevor Ariza to Portland, and the Pistons’ lineup changes, the game became a battle of new faces. One stood out: Reggie Jackson, playing in his first game after missing 42 due to a back injury, led the Pistons with 22 points and four assists.

“When you alternate (Jackson with Derrick Rose, who also scored 22 points), you have stability at the point guard position, and that’s what this league is all about, guys that can create and run the floor,” coach Dwayne Casey said of his team’s offense.

Rose, the NBA’s renaissance man, and the guy most frequently mentioned to upgrade a playoff contender’s outlook down the stretch of this season, scored better than 20 points for the 10th straight game, matching his career-best stretch from his MVP season in 2011.

Christian Wood added 23 points to give Detroit three scorers with 20 or more, and Svi Mykhailiuk added 13. The Pistons poured it on in a 70-point, second half that far too much resembled a basketball clinic for the Kings’ liking.

“It’s about where we’re going and I’m a very patient person,” Walton said. “I believe in our group, but we need to do a lot of things including starting games with a much more competitive, engaged mindset. So, I still have all the belief in the world in our team. It’s still surreal to be coaching this team, but there are some things that we need to improve on and improve on quickly because it’s too late in the season to be having these same types of mistakes so frequently.”

The Kings continue their road swing on Friday in Chicago. The Kings and Bulls will be meeting for the second time this season after the Chicago held on for a 113-106 win at Golden 1 Center on December 2.