Category: Sacramento Kings

Short-handed Kings fall to the Nets 116-97

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: nba.com/nets

By Jessica Kwong

BROOKLYN — The Sacramento Kings had a “tough night” and beginning to their four-game road trip on Friday night as they played short-handed and lost 116-97 to the Brooklyn Nets.

Both teams struggled with offense to start at Barclays Center, but Garrett Temple hit a triple to give the Nets a lead—that lasted the entire game except for one tie with a few minutes remaining in the first quarter. Brooklyn lead by as many as 22 points. Sacramento was only 4-26 from the three-point line.

“Tough night for us,” Kings head coach Luke Walton said. “If you’re a 3-point shooting team and you shoot 15 percent, you’re not going to win a lot of games. Where we have to be better at are things that we can control.” The Kings could not control the number of injuries that have plagued the team. They played without Bogdan Bogdanovic due to left hamstring tightness, in addition to Marvin Bagley and De’Aaron Fox who have been out with injuries.

Buddy Hield, who tried to step up in his teammates’ absence, had similar words to Walton about their performance: “It was a tough night.”

“When we have extra guys that can make shots it’s a little easier, but missing Bogie didn’t help us for sure,” Hield said. “It’s always ‘next man up’ mentality and we had to come out here and play. They did a good job. they made some shots and made some good plays.” The Kings trailed 26-23 after the first quarter and stayed in the game in the second, trailing 56-49 at the half. Rookie Justin James scored 4 points in 13 minutes played in the first half.

“I felt good out there—I was playing my game. I had a lot of mishaps defensively that I’m not too happy about but coach called on my number and I was ready to play,” James said. “Bogie was down tonight so I tried to come up and play the best that I can.” The game ran away from them in the Kings in third. The Nets began 4-4 and a 10-2 run led Walton to call a timeout. The Kings finished the quarter down 86-70. Sacramento’s bench players came out in the fourth quarter and the Kings fell to a 6-8 record.

The Nets won on rebounds 48-33, while the Kings beat them on assists 26-22 and had 16 turnovers, two fewer than the Nets. The Nets dominated on three’s, scoring 12.

“Brooklyn executed it well tonight and for whatever reason we didn’t do a good enough job of creating looks,” Walton said. “When we did get good looks, we just didn’t knock them down.” Brooklyn was without injured stars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant.

The Kings continue their east coast road trip on Sunday facing the Washington Wizards. Tipoff is at 3 p.m.

Bogi’s Big Night: Kings creep closer to .500, beat the Suns 120-116

Published on by moepeaLeave a comment

By Morris Phillips

SACRAMENTO — The Suns have come down to earth. And the Kings–playing more deliberate while applying the D–are ascending.

Bogdan Bogdanovic scored a career-best 31 points and the Kings survived a furious, fourth quarter rally from the Suns in a 120-116 victory on Tuesday.

After an 0-5 start–including an embarrasing 29-point loss in Phoenix on opening night–the Kings have won six of eight, and their goal of ending the NBA’s longest playoff drought is back on the table.

With the Warriors, Thunder, Blazers and Spurs in various states of disrepair, Western Conference playoff spots are up for grabs.  Phoenix (last appearance: 2010) and Sacramento (2006) own the lengthiest postseason absences along with the most promise for putting an end to the droughts this season.

The Suns started the season fast with five wins and two one-point losses under the direction of new coach Monty Williams. But DeAndre Ayton’s suspension and some difficult opponents have slowed their momentum. Meanwhile, the Kings have turned it around with defense, and relying on their depth under the tutelage of Luke Walton.

Bogdanovic, getting increased playing time in place of injured point guard De’Aaron Fox, got hot in the second quarter, scoring 18 points as the Kings’ lead swelled to 26. But Phoenix finally responded in a 41-point, fourth quarter that pulled them within 116-113 with 14.2 seconds remaining.

Richaun Holmes and Yogi Ferrell both made a pair of free throws in the final seconds to keep the Kings from an embarrassing outcome.

“It felt like to me that we started to stat-hunt a little bit,” Walton said of the near collapse. “When we continued to run our plays we got wide open everything. When we got stagnant their zone stopped us.”

The Kings limited Phoenix to 26 percent shooting in the first quarter, and the possibility of them holding a fourth, consecutive opponent to less than 100 points seemed doable. They also blocked seven shots, and had seven steals, but this was an important ballgame for both clubs. The Suns’ furious rally, and offensive emergence confirmed that.

“We changed up our defenses a little bit but they hit tough shots after tough shots,” Williams said. “But I just loved the fight of our team.”

“We kind of were ‘OK, we got it,'” Bogdanovich said. “It’s the NBA. You have to be ready to lock in and finish the game.”

Holmes finished with 20 points and a career-best 15 rebounds. Bodganovich hit 7 3-pointers for the first time in his career, but missed the final minutes with a hamstring issue. Cory Joseph dished out 14 assists, also a career-high.

Phoenix’s Aaron Baynes, the journeyman center turned 3-point sensation missed the game with a hip injury. Ricky Rubio was available after missing the previous night’s game in Phoenix against Boston, but couldn’t provide much help. Rubio played just 18 minutes and missed all seven of his shots from the floor.

Devin Booker started slow, drew a technical foul, but finished fast with 30 points to lead the Suns. Kelly Oubre and Mikal Bridges had 20 points each.

Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O: Kings win 5 of 7, look to keep it going tonight against the Suns

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: skysports.com

On the Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O:

#1 The Kings have won five of their last seven games. What has been the difference for the Kings — coaching, accurate shooting, or great defense?

#2 The Kings just got by the Celtics on Sunday 100-99. How stunning was that?

#3 The Kings’ Buddy Hield responded with 35 points. He was the deal breaker in the Kings’ win on Sunday.

#4 In the first quarter, the Kings’ Buddy Hield and Nemanja Bjelica had nine and seven points and the Kings had a 30-18 lead coming out of the first quarter on Sunday on the Celtics.

#5 The Kings host the Phoenix Suns tonight night at Golden 1 Center. Charlie O sets this one up for us.

Sacramento Kings podcasts with Charlie O are heard each Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Kings stun the Celtics 100-99 at home

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @SacramentoKings

By Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO — Sunday was going to be a test for the Sacramento Kings. Their Sunday opponent was the Boston Celtics. The Celtics have started out the season 10-1 and were on a 10-game win streak. It has been well-documented how the Kings started their season. However, the Kings have played much better as of late. The Kings were 4-7 on the year and looking for an upset at home. The tip-off was set for 12:30 PM PST in Sacramento.

The Kings played one of the best quarters of the season to open up the game. Led by Buddy Hield and Nemanja Bjeilica, who had 9 and 7 points, respectively, the Kings would jump out to an early lead 30-18. Leading the way for the Celtics was Jaylen Brown, who had a Celtics-leading 6 points heading into the second quarter. The Kings played really well throughout the opening quarter. The key for the Kings has been the defensive play. When the Kings play good defense, the rest seems to fall into place.

In the second quarter, the Kings didn’t play as well but part of that has to be contributed to the Celtics hitting their shots. Leading the way for the Celtics in the second was Semi Ojeleye. Semi had 8 points in the second to help bring the Celtics closer to the Kings. Going into halftime, the Kings remained in the lead at 50-46. Buddy Hield continued his good play finishing the half at 16 points. Headed into the second half the Kings were looking to keep the game under their control and not let the Celtics flip the script.

In the second half, the Kings were looking to stay on track. It would turn out to be a fairly competitive back and forth third quarter. The Kings didn’t melt down, which has been an issue in the third this year. However, they were unable to maintain the lead. The Celtics managed to put up 29 points in the third compared to the Kings’ 21 to take a 75-71. Buddy Hield continued his torrid stretch from the field, adding 11 points to his total in the third.

Heading into the fourth quarter, the Kings had a shot to win the game against one of the best teams in the NBA. Both teams would trade baskets and keep even through the quarter. The game would come down to the final few minutes of action. With 36 seconds left in the game, the Kings’ Buddy Hield threw the ball out of bounds to make it 99-98 Celtics with the ball. The Celtics were unable to score and Marcus Smart had a foul on the Kings’ Holmes. He made both his free throws and the Celtics failed to score on the other end for a Kings win.

It was a great victory for the Kings, who snapped the Celtics’ win streak and improved to 5-7 on the year. The next game for the Kings will be Tuesday against the Suns at home. Game time set for 7:00 PM PST.

Kings come up two points short, lose to the Lakers 99-97

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
LAK 2
Graphic: @NBCS

By Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings trailed the LA Lakers 99-97 with 5.5 seconds to go in the game on Friday night at Staples Center. After designing a play during a timeout, most of the crowd expected the ball to go to Bogdan Bogdanovic in order for “Bogi” to attempt a game-winning 3-point shot. Instead, the inbounds pass went to Harrison Barnes who slipped or was tripped on his way to the bucket.

Barnes went up in the air and was met head-on by Anthony Davis who blocked his potential layup. There was a lot of body contact, but because Barnes was out of control from the slip (or trip) no foul was called. Time expired and the Kings (4-7) had lost the game by two points.

I am now going to interject an editorial opinion. If the play had been the other way around with Davis driving on the hoop, slipping and Barnes making contact, a foul would have been called and Davis would have gone to the line to shoot two free throws. That is the inequity of officiating in the NBA. If you are a superstar and playing on your home court, the calls will always go your way. It is a major flaw that needs to be fixed but don’t hold your breath. No changes are coming anytime soon.

Spotlight on the Lakers (10-2)

  • LeBron James scored a game-high 29 points and made it a double-double game by dishing out 11 assists. He also played a game-high 38 minutes and 40 seconds. Not bad for an old guy.
  • Anthony Davis added 17 points and blocked four shots. His most important blocked shot came at the end of the game.
  • Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 16 points in just over 24 minutes of playing time. He went 3-for-5 from 3-point range.
  • Kyle Kuzma came off the bench to put up 13 points and hauling in five rebounds.
  • The Lakers outscored the Kings in the paint 42-36.
  • LA also won the battle of 2nd Chance Points 15-5.

Focus on the Kings

  • Buddy Hield led the Kings scoring attack with 21 points. Hield shot 6-for-15 from the floor. All six of his baskets were 3-pointers.
  • Bogdan Bogdanovic played almost 37 minutes on Friday night. He scored 18 points shooting 7-for-13 from the floor.
  • Richaun Holmes had a big game on offense and defense. Holmes scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds against the Lakers.

Up Next

The Kings will host the Boston Celtics at the Golden 1 Center on Sunday at 12:30 PM.

The Lakers host the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday.

Kings win again, downing Portland 107-99 on Tuesday night

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

SAC 11-12

By Charlie O. Mallonee

SACRAMENTO — On Tuesday night, the Kings played their first game since learning that star point guard De’Aaron Fox was going to be unavailable to the team for an extended period of time. Fox suffered a Grade 3 ankle sprain, which usually implies ligament damage, at the end of practice on Monday. Fox is currently on crutches and will be re-evaluated in four weeks. How long Fox will be gone has yet to be determined.

NBA observers immediately predicted “doom and gloom”

The national experts who cover the NBA almost immediately declared that the injury to Fox ended any chance the Kings had of making a playoff run this season. The team had stumbled out of the starting gate losing their first five games but seemed to be putting things together after going 2-1 on their first road trip to the East Coast.

“Those in the know” felt that the team would not be able to overcome the loss of Fox who is their uptempo playmaker. Fox is also a key scorer for the team when they need a boost on the scoreboard.

Tuesday night the Kings had to face the Portland Trail Blazers in their first test without Fox on the floor. Sacramento had lost to the Blazers 122-112 at home in the second of the season.

Portland tried to take control in the first half

The Trail Blazers came out in the first quarter shooting 50% from the floor and 33% from 3-point range. The Kings really struggled as they shot just 34.6% from the field and a miserable 16.7% from downtown. What kept Sacramento in the game was their volume of shots.

Portland hit 9 of 18 shots in the opening period while the Kings put in 9 of 26 attempts from the field. The Blazers held just a 24-21 lead when the first quarter came to a close.

The Kings’ shooting and defense improved in the second quarter, and they matched the Blazers in almost every statistical category. Portland was up by only three points, 49-46, at the half.

Trail Blazers Head Coach Terry Stotts said after the game: “Sacramento didn’t shoot the ball particularly well – neither team shot the ball well in the first half. I felt like we should have had a bigger lead at halftime.”

Could the Kings overcome their Third Quarter nemesis?

The Kings have experienced difficulty in the third quarter in the majority of their games so far this season. They have had a tendency to start the period slowly and then watch their opponents put them in a position where they have to play catch up in the fourth quarter.

That did not happen on Tuesday night. Sacramento outscored Portland 35-21 in the third period. They accomplished that by shooting an outstanding 57.9% (11-for-19) overall and sinking 2 of 5 (40%) from long range. They also converted 11 of 13 opportunities from free throw line.

At the end of 36 minutes of play, Sacramento led Portland 81-70.

Portland Head Coach Terry Stotts: “They got off to a good start in the third quarter and built a lead and we really couldn’t recover from that initial burst at the start of the third quarter.”

Portland did not give up in the fourth

The Blazers outscored the Kings 29-26 in the final 12 minutes and cut the Sacramento lead down to five points with 2:51 to go in the game. Bjelica hit a 26-foot, 3-point shot to give his team an eight-point lead. The Kings would go on to win the game 107-99.

The Kings record improves to 4-6 and they have now won 4 of their last 5 games. Portland’s record drops to 4-7 on the young season.

After the game, Luke Walton wanted to talk “D”

“I want to talk about our defense. It’s been what we’ve been preaching about every day since day one of training camp and I’m the first to admit, it needs to get a lot better. But that’s why – not only tonight but I feel like slowly even if our numbers haven’t showed it, guys are starting to understand and really make steps as far as individual defense and team defense. Tonight, we started the game, we couldn’t make anything – great shooters, wide-open shots – and that’s why defense is important.”

Focus on the Kings

  • Bogdan Bogdanovic was the Kings top scorer. He came off the bench to score 25 points and dish out 10 assists. “Bogi” scored 25 of the Kings 36 bench points.
  • Buddy Hield added 20 points in 37 minutes of playing time. Hield did not have a great night shooting just 7-for-21, but he hit big shots when they were needed.
  • Nemanja Bjelica recorded a double-double scoring 19 points and grabbing 12 rebounds.

Blazers top performers

  • To no one’s surprise, Damian Lillard scored a game-high 27 points. “Dame” went 13-for-14 from the free throw line. He also played almost 38 minutes. He is truly an incredible player.
  • CJ McCollum added 24 points shooting a very nice 11-for-21 from the floor.
  • Hassan Whiteside had another nice game against the Kings as he put up 17 points and hauled in seven rebounds.

Up next

The Kings will be off until Friday night when they will face the Lakers at Staples Center in LA.

The Blazers head home for the back end of a back-to-back with the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night.

Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O: Kings going for their fourth win in five games tonight in Sacramento

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

sacbee.com file photo: The Sacramento Kings De’Aaron Fox drives on the Toronto Raptors defense on Nov 6th game at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. Fox is out with an ankle injury for unknown amount of time.

On the Kings podcast with Charlie O:

#1 The Kings have won three of their last four games, including a win over the Atlanta Hawks 121-109. Were these games a matter of surprise wins for Sacramento or just hard work starting to pay off for the Kings?

#2 The Sacramento Kings’ Buddy Hield scored 22 points and Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 20 points in the game against the Hawks.

#3 The game was on the Hawks floor, and try as they may, the Hawks could barely keep up with the Kings. The Kings have some very quick players and the Hawks lost by 12

#4 Talk about the Kings defense. They seemed to maintain the Hawks throughout the game and were able to establish winning and their defense worked in the fourth quarter.

#5 The Kings host the Portland Trail Blazers Tuesday night at Golden 1 Center in downtown Sacramento. You’ve seen them win on this road trip. Could their odds go up a little bit for Tuesday night’s game having the home floor?

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

Kings end their road trip with a 121-109 win in Atlanta

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
Hawks score
Graphic: @SacramentoKings

By Charlie O. Mallonee

There are three things you need to remember about the Kings victory over the Hawks on Friday night:

  1. Sacramento just finished a three-game road swing to the Eastern time zone and finished with a 2-1 record. That is something this team – that experienced a “stutter-start” to the 2019-20 season – can build on to turn fortunes around quickly.
  2. The Kings reached the 3 wins mark before the Golden State Warriors (2-7).
  3. Harry Giles III returned to action for the first time this season and H20 could play a key role for the Kings while they wait for Marvin Bagley III to heal.

It was a “nail-biter” in the 4th quarter

The Kings dominated the first half. They held a 63-47 lead at halftime, but no one thought that the Hawks would just roll over and play dead in the second half.

Atlanta served notice in the third period that they still thought that they could win the game by outscoring the Kings 36-28. Trae Young led the charge for the Hawks scoring 16 points and dishing out four assists. Young was on fire and the rest of his team followed his lead. Sacramento held a 91-83 lead after 36 minutes of play.

The Hawks continued their assault until they cut the Kings lead down to just one point with 9:03 left to play in the game. Bogdan Bogdanovic turned it around for SAC. “Bogi” hit a 26-foot, 3-point jump shot to give the Kings a 4-point lead and the momentum that had them build up a lead as large as 18 points down the stretch.

The Kings won the 4th quarter 30-26 with Bogdanovic scoring 11 points for Sacramento. The Kings went 7-for-9 from 3-point range and were a perfect 5-for-5 from the free throw line in the final period. That is how games are won.

Let’s hear for the SAC bench

The Sacramento starting five scored 70 points on Friday night. The Atlanta starters also scored 70 points. The difference in this game was the scoring of the players off the bench.

The Kings bench outscored the Hawks second unit 51-39. The Kings used five players off their bench:

  • Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 20 points hitting 6 of his 9 shots from the floor. Five of his field goals were 3-point baskets.
  • Trevor Ariza was also on fire from behind the arc. He went 5-for-7 from the field and four of his buckets were 3-pointers.
  • Harry Giles III played just over seven minutes, but the important thing is that he played. Giles scored four points, grabbed a rebound and had one block shot. You could see the enthusiasm on his face at being able to be on the court and in the middle of the action.

The Hawks (3-5) are young and dangerous 

The Hawks may well be where the Kings were two years ago. They are amassing talent and preparing to build a team that will be a force for five to seven seasons to come. Their current stars are:

  • Trae Young who scored a game-high 30 points and made it a double-double night by dishing out 12 “dimes”. He is the real deal.
  • Jabari Parker – who is in his first year with the Hawks – scored 25 points and added eight rebounds.
  • Kevin Huerter was the key man off the bench for Atlanta by putting up 17 points in almost 30 minutes on the floor.

Up next

The Kings have a nice break as they will be off until Tuesday night when they will host the Portland Trail Blazers.

The Hawks will hit the road and will face the Trail Blazers in Portland on Sunday night.

Kings come up just short in their battle with the Raptors on Wednesday night, 124-120

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
TOR score
Graphic: @NBCS

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings (2-6) went from having to play the worst team in the NBA East on Sunday night in the New York Knicks to having to face the defending NBA World Champion Toronto Raptors (5-2) on Wednesday night. While it is true the Raptors no longer have Kawhi, they still have a very competitive team that will go to the playoffs.

The Kings could have easily phoned this game in and saved their energy for the final game of the road trip in Atlanta. They chose not to do that. Luke Walton’s team showed up and played hard. They kept the outcome of the game in question until the final seconds of the contest. When the final buzzer sounded, the Raptors won the game 124-120, but they knew that Kings came very close to stealing this game on the road.

The Kings made it rain

Sacramento tied a franchise record by hitting 20 3-point baskets on Wednesday night. The Kings went 20-for-44 from “downtown” (45.5%). It was almost like the Raptors were daring them to shoot from behind the arc.

Buddy Hield just missed a 3-point shot with just seconds left that might have become a four-point opportunity that potentially could have tied the game. Hield went 5-for-7 from long range in the game.

Bogdan Bogdanovic led the Kings in 3-point scoring connecting on 6 of 11 attempts from behind the 3-point line.

Sluggish start

The Kings had a slow start in the game as they allowed the Raptors to outscore them 36-23 in the first quarter. Toronto shot 77.8% (14-for-18) from the floor including six 3-point buckets in the opening 12 minutes.

That slow start meant the Kings had to expel a lot of energy to get themselves back into the game in the second quarter. That was energy they would not have late in the game to help them overcome the Raptors lead.

Battle for points in the paint

While the Kings won the 3-point shooting battle, the Raptors owned the scoring down low in the paint. Toronto outscored the Sacramento 52-32 in the paint.

By being able to score in the paint, the Raptors were able to take high-percentage shots. They finished the game shooting 55.1% from the field (43-for-78) with 26 of those baskets being hit in the paint.

Pascal Siakam (23 pts), Serge Ibaka (21 pts), OG Anunoby (18 pts) and Marc Gasol (12 pts) were just too much of a force for the Kings defense to overcome. Siakam made it a double-double night by adding 13 rebounds.

Battle of the boards

Sacramento outrebounded the Toronto 43-37. Twelve of the Kings rebounds came on offense which allowed them to win the battle for 2nd chance points 13-2.

Richaun Holmes and Buddy Hield led the Kings rebounding efforts with eight each.

Focus on the Kings

Harrison Barnes scored a game-high 26 points on Tuesday night. He shot 7-for-15 in the game including four 3-point baskets and converting 8 of 10 from the free throw line.

Supporting cast

  • Bogdan Bogdanovic put 22 points in the scorebook by hitting 7 of 14 field goal attempts.
  • Buddy Hield connected on 7 of 16 shots (5 3-point baskets) for a 21 point night.
  • De’Aaron Fox had a 21 point, nine assists and seven-rebound night. He did have to battle foul trouble early in the game.

Up next

The Kings wrap up their three-game road trip on Friday night in Atlanta (3-4)

The Raptors begin what their radio crew called a “murderous” five-game road on Friday night in New Orleans.

 

Headline Sports podcast with London Marq: Can Raiders get by Chargers on Thursday Night?; 49ers distributing momentum going into Monday Night at Levi’s; plus more

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: forbes.com

On Headline Sports podcast with London:

#1 The Oakland Raiders just got by the Detroit Lions Sunday 31-24 at the Oakland Coliseum. Raiders quarterback Derek Carr threw for 289 yards and two touchdowns. One of the big throws for Carr was his pass to Hunter Renfrow that gave the Raiders a go-ahead lead and eventual win.

#2 What a Thursday Night Football it was for the San Francisco 49ers in their win over the Arizona Cardinals 28-25, a narrow win, but it kept them undefeated at 8-0. Seeing that that was a close game, could their contest coming up in Santa Clara against the Seattle Seahawks be a close one, too, on Monday Night Football?

#3 The Sacramento Kings won their second straight game on Sunday night against the New York Knicks 113-92 at Madison Square Garden. It was a much-needed win for the Kings after suffering a five-game losing streak before their first two wins.

#4 The announcement came in October about the MLS coming to Sacramento in 2022 and the partners of the Sacramento Republic are excited to bring Major League Soccer to the state capital, which could bring a new rivalry between the San Jose Earthquakes and the Republic.

#5 The San Jose Sharks star player Evander Kane is being sued by the Cosmopolitan Casino in Las Vegas for $500,000, a gambling debt that goes back to the NHL playoffs when the Sharks were in Vegas back in April. Will the publicity of the debt create a disruption for the Sharks going forward?

London Marq does Headline Sports each Wednesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com