Category: Sacramento Kings

Headline Sports podcast Pt. 2 with Barbara Mason: Warriors just a bad club or a rebuilding year?; Kings put together two wins in a row; plus more

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Photo credit sfgate.com: San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle (85) is tackled short of the goal line by Arizona Cardinals safety Deionte Thompson (35) during the first half of an NFL football game, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2019, in Glendale, Ariz. 

On the Headline Sports podcast with Barbara Mason:

#1 Are the Warriors 2-5 just down on their luck or are they just outright a bad ball club since their offseason mass exodus?

#2 How much would would you allude to the Sacramento Kings’ struggle and their recent two straight wins? Were the wins looked at as encouraging for the Kings?

#3 The Cal Bears opened up their men’s basketball season against Pepperdine tonight at Haas Pavillion. The Bears are looking to have a much better season than they did last year.

#4 The San Francisco 49ers might be facing their toughest challenge this season yet when they host the Seattle Seahawks for Monday Night Football on Nov. 11th at Levis Stadium.

#5 The Oakland Raiders just got by the Detroit Lions with a 31-24 win on a Hunter Renfrow fourth quarter touchdown that help put the Lions away at the Oakland Coliseum.

Headline Sports with Barbara Mason is heard each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O: Kings win two straight, will the Raptors have anything to be scared about on Wednesday?

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Photo credit: forbes.com

On the Kings podcast with Charlie O:

#1 Charlie, the Kings have been battling like crazy to get that second win in a row at Madison Square Garden with a win over the New York Knicks on Sunday.

#2 The Knicks are a struggling team. Was this a game that Kings head coach Luke Walton had a clear plan for?

#3 The Kings held the Knicks to 92 points, a good way to get some defense to start the road trip.

#4 The Kings’ De’Aaron Fox scored 24 points, Buddy Hield got 22, the offense got some good rhythm and being on the road was a good time to do it.

#5 It’s on to Toronto and the World Champion Raptors at Scotiabank Arena. Toronto is 4-2. Can the Kings make a game out of this?

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

Kings down the Knicks 113-92 in the Garden

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
NYC Fox
Fox to the bucket Photo: @SacramentoKings

By Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings took the opportunity to build off their first win on Friday night to put victory number two in the book by crushing the New York Knicks 113-92 on Sunday night in the Garden. Teams traveling to the East Coast from the West can sometimes suffer from fatigue and time disorientation in their first game of a road trip. That did not happen on Sunday night.

Fast start in Manhattan
The lead changed hands three times in the first quarter of the game. The third lead change came with 7:51 to go in the period. The Kings took a 10-9 lead off a Harrison Barnes finger-roll layup. Sacramento would never trail again in the game.

The Kings shot 52.2% from the floor in the first quarter and put in 5 of 12 attempts from behind the 3-point arc. When the buzzer sounded after the first 12-minutes were over, Sacramento held a 32-23 lead over the home team.

No let-up in the 2nd quarter
The Kings kept the pressure on the Knicks in the second period by continuing to shoot well and by playing tenacious defense. Sacramento made good on 11 of their 19 Field Goal Attempts (57.9%), hit 3 of 6 (50.0%) from downtown and went a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line.

The Kings defense held the Knicks to just 28.6% (6-for-21) shooting and limited New York to just 2 of 10 from 3-point range.

The Kings held a 61-41 lead at the half.

What would happen in the third quarter?
The Kings had not outscored an opponent in the third quarter of any of their previous six games. That had led to their demise in every contest except on Friday night versus Utah.

That all changed on Sunday night in NYC. The Kings outscored the Knicks 29-23 and broke the third quarter curse that seemed like it would never go away.

Again, it was a combination of good shooting and a strong defense that did the in the job for the Kings. One example of the defense is the fact New York went 0-for-7 from “downtown” in the period. Sacramento was up 90-64 after 36 minutes of play.

The Knicks didn’t roll over and play dead
Every player in the NBA is a proud professional. They all want to win and every one of them hates to lose. The Knicks tried to make the game competitive in the last period.

Kings head coach Luke Walton had to leave his starters in for over half the quarter because the pesky Knicks would not go away. It was a tremendous “chase-down” block that ended the New York comeback run.

The Kings won their second game of the season 113-92. Sacramento is 2-5 while New York drops to 1-6 on the young campaign.

Postgame thoughts
Kings head coach Luke Walton had a number of thoughts after the win:

  • Walton said he told his team this game would set the tone for the road trip.
  • He said the key to the victory was the reduced number of turnovers and competition for rebounds. The Kings turned the ball over just 13 times and outrebounded New York 49-39.
  • Walton was happy that his team won the 3rd quarter but emphasized the team did not talk about the problem during halftime of the last two games – both victories.
  • He also mentioned a sitdown that he and De’Aaron Fox had on the plane just to review video clips and plays. Fox scored a team-high 24 points and dished out six assists in the win. That was some productive coach-player time.
  • When asked by a New York reporter about the playoffs, Walton replied that he’s not worried about the playoffs. He said he is interested in getting better every day.

Top performances

  • All of the Kings starting five scored in double figures.
  • Richaun Holmes had another double-double game scoring 14 points and grabbing 10 rebounds (four off the offensive glass).
  • Buddy Hield found the bucket again. He put 22 points in the book shooting 8-for-16 overall and hitting 5 of 11 from long range.
  • Harrison Barnes enjoyed his night in the Garden putting up 19 points.
  • Nemanja Bjelica recorded 10 points, made eight rebounds and distributed six assists in his 24-minutes on the floor.
  • The Knicks were led by Marcus Morris Sr. with a game-high 28 points and rookie RJ Barrett who added 22 points in 40-plus minutes of playing time.

Up next
The Kings head up “North” to face the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night. The Raptors will be much tougher competition, but the Kings have won in Exposition City before.

The Knicks will also return to action on Wednesday night when they travel to Detroit.

Kings squeak out a 102-101 win over the Jazz

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Photo credit: @SacramentoKings

By Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO — Unfortunately for Kings fans, the Kings are the laughing stock of the NBA once again. With that said, the season is still young. However, the Kings need to turn things around quickly to salvage what has been a dismal season so far. Coming into Friday’s contest against the Utah Jazz, the Kings were 0-5 to start the 2019 season. The Kings looked to flip the script at 7 PM at Golden 1 Center.

In the first quarter, the Kings came out of the gate looking energized. They were moving the ball on offense and appeared to be in more of a rhythm than they had shown before. Halfway through the quarter, De’Aaron Fox had 7 points leading the Kings. At that point, the Kings started to put together some good offensive possessions to take the lead 21-11 with 3:58 remaining in the opening quarter. The last few minutes didn’t go as well for the Kings, but it wasn’t a meltdown. The Kings and Jazz finished the first quarter with the Kings leading 18-28.

In the second quarter, the Kings were able to keep pace. That was the most encouraging part of the half. The Kings didn’t hit shots as they did in the first but they did manage to hold the lead. The Jazz, on the other hand, started hitting some of the shots they missed in the first. Bojan Bogdanovic scored 14 in the first half, and the Jazz had a trio of players with 6 in the half. Leading the Kings through the first half was De’Aaron Fox with 15 points, Buddy Hield and Nemanja Bjelica with 8 points, and Harrison Barnes with 7 points. Going into halftime, the Kings looked to hold onto their 48-51 lead.

The third quarter has been the Kings’ nemesis this season. They needed to turn that tide in order to get their first win of the year. The question remained could they do it. The Kings showed much better effort in the third than they had this season. However, some sloppy turnovers and missed opportunities prevented the Kings from building a lead. The third ended with the Kings taking a 81-80 point lead into the final quarter. This third quarter might not have been the greatest by most standards but it was leaps and bounds better than what the Kings had shown in the previous five contests.

As the Kings headed into the final minutes, the home crowd desperately wanted to erupt in a victory celebration. The Kings didn’t disappoint to start off the last quarter. Halfway through, the Kings had 95-88 lead. The only thing left for the Kings was to put the game away. The game would go back and forth in the final minutes with each team trading baskets. The game would ultimately come down to the last 17 seconds after the Kings were leading 100-99. The Jazz hit a layup and the Kings took the ball down the court after a loose ball foul for a putback of their own. The Jazz took their final time out with 2.9 seconds left and needed to hit a game-winner or else Sacramento would win. The Jazz inbounded to Donovan Mitchell and he was immediately shut down and missed with an airball. The Kings won 102-101.

The Kings managed to get their first win of the season on an all-around good performance. The Kings will look to carry that momentum into the next game and “Keep winning” according to Harrison Barnes’ postgame quotes.

The Kings head to New York City to take on the New York Knicks on Sunday, November 3 at 3:00 pm PST.

Kings fall to the Hornets 118-111

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Photo credit: @hornets

By London Marq

The house may be up for sale for the Sacramento Kings, who have stalled to start the season. After opening the campaign with consecutive losses to the Suns, Blazers and Jazz, the Kings looked to add a 1 to the win column. Playing a young Charlotte Hornets team, Sacramento would try to jumpstart their season.

Richaun Holmes, who had 24 points and 13 boards in the last game, continued his hot streak. Holmes was 5-of-5 and didn’t miss a shot until well into the second. Along with Harrison Barnes and Nemanja Bjelica, he helped keep the Kings gain 14-point advantage in the in the second quarter. Barnes and Bjelica finished with 22 and 11 points for the game, respectively.

Bjelica, who was on also 5-of-5 to start the game, only played 7 minutes in the second half. Unfortunately, the Kings had trouble filling the void as their lead quickly evaporated in the third.

The Kings were outscored 32-18 in the third period and trailed by 9 going into the final frame. Having a terrible third quarter has been an unwelcome trend for the Kings through the first 5 games of the season. They lack chemistry and aggressiveness. This could be a by-product of the absence of Harry Giles and Marvin Bagley due to injury, but if they don’t figure it out soon, this season is going to slip away earlier than anyone in Sacramento could’ve imagined.

Charlotte had six players in double digits and were led by PJ Washington with 23 points and 8 boards. Charlotte was able to play a more aggressive and in sync style of play that the Kings could not compete with in the second half. Charlotte was able to out rebound the Kings 46-30 and also shot 50% from three compared to the Kings’ 30%.

Sacramento would make a push in the fourth quarter, but it was too little, too late. The game would end with the Hornets beating the Kings by 7 as the Kings look to go back to the drawing board.

Final: Charlotte defeated Sacramento 118-111.

Up Next: Kings host the Utah Jazz on Friday, November 1 at 7:00 pm.

Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O: Home floor no help for Sac, Nuggets hand Kings third loss, 101-94

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Photo credit: denverstiffs.com

On the Kings podcast with Charlie O:

#1 Kings take a tough loss, their third straight, to remain 0-4. They did have a chance against Denver, but just couldn’t seal the deal.

#2 For the Nuggets, their top three scorers — Jamal Murray 18, Gary Harris 17 and Will Barton 13 — led the way for Denver.

#3 Close game in the first half, but the Kings struggled in the second half to seal the deal. Was the second half a matter of shutting off Denver’s offense or the Kings couldn’t quite get past Denver going down the stretch?

#4 Four guys in double figures for the Kings. Richaun Holmes 24, De’Aaron Fox 20, Harrison Barnes and Nemanja Bjelica — both with 12 points — good numbers. How did the Kings come up short?

#5 Michael Jordan and the Charlotte Hornets (1-3) come calling at Golden 1 Center on Wednesday as the Kings (0-4) look to get their first win of the season.

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

0-4: Kings off to their worst season start in a decade after 101-94 loss to the Nuggets

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By Morris Phillips

SACRAMENTO — A better effort? Yes. But after a second half Monday littered with missed shots, the Kings are still in search of their first win of the season.

The Kings missed 18 of their 21 3-point attempts after halftime and fell to the Denver Nuggets 101-94. The Nuggets overcame Nikola Jokic’s foul trouble and a brief, second quarter, nine-point deficit to remain undefeated at 3-0.

The Kings were more accountable than they were in road losses to the Suns and Jazz, but were doomed by a substandard third quarter in which they were outscored 30-17 and missed 16 of their 21 shots from the floor. The missed shots proliferated as the Nuggets increased their defensive effort in the second half. Buddy Hield and Bogdan Bogdanovic were the biggest offenders, shooting a combined 4 for 25, 2 of 13 from three.

Even with Richaun Holmes (24 points, 13 rebounds) the Kings weren’t equipped to overcome an off shooting night from Bogdanovic and Hield.

The Kings fell to 0-4, one of three NBA teams (Pelicans, Pacers) still looking for their first win of the season.

The Kings played without Harry Giles and Marvin Bagley III, but got a break when De’Aaron Fox was cleared after his leg injury against Utah. Fox displayed his usual quickness leading the Kings to a 53-47 lead at the break. Fox finished with 20 points, nine assists.

The Kings couldn’t take full advantage of the Nuggets’ poor shooting before the half. Denver shot 32 percent in the first half, but they were still in position to take control defensively after the break.

“We didn’t change our game plan. We just changed how hard and how physical we were playing,” Denver coach Mike Malone said. “This was another night our offense struggled, but some guys stepped up and made big plays down the stretch.”

The Kings have struggled in all four third quarters so far, getting outscored by at least 10 points each time. Ironically, defense in the third was a bigger issue on Monday than offense, where the team had a gaping hole in the post without Bagley.

“We have to come in and just lock in, lock in to what we’re doing and lock in fast,” Holmes said.

The Kings continue their homestand Wednesday against the Hornets, who dropped games against the Lakers and Clippers Sunday and Monday.

 

 

 

Winless Kings are blown out in Utah 113-81

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Jazz kings final
Graphic: @NBCBA

by Charlie O. Mallonee

“That was embarassing,” said Kings Head Coach Luke Walton after his team was blown out by the Utah Jazz 113-81 on Saturday night. Walton was not blaming just his players. He was blaming himself and his coaching staff as well. The poor performance the team has shown in its 0-3 start to the season has the entire organization on edge.

To say that no one saw this coming is a total understatement. The Kings were projected to be one of the teams fighting for the eighth playoff slot in the NBA Western Division. Right now, fans are asking when will the Kings win their first game of the season.

This game was over by halftime

The Kings trailed the Jazz 35-25 after the first 12 minutes were in the book. Then came the disastrous second period. Utah outscored Sacramento 31-16.

The Kings put in just 5 of 15 field goal attempts (33.3%) in the second quarter while the Jazz was shooting at 57.1% clip. Sacramento had no Fast Break Points in the first half. It was just ugly.

The teams went to the locker rooms with the Jazz leading the Kings 66-41.

Hey, it was the back end of a back-to-back

Yes, the Kings were playing the second game of a back-to-back set on the road which means the odds were not in their favor. However, the Jazz (2-1) lost to the Lakers on the road on Friday night 95-86, so they were on the second game of a back-to-back as well.

Back-to-back games on the road are tough to win, but that is no excuse for the poor performance the Kings showed on Saturday night.

All Sacramento starters report to the bench

With 8:39 to go in the third quarter, Luke Walton pulled his starters off the floor. It was a coach waving the white flag. He took the opportunity to put in his reserves and get them some valuable playing time.

Utah top performers

  • Bojan Bogdanovic scored a game-high 26 points in just over 24 minutes on the floor. He hit 10 of 18 shots from the floor including five 3-pointers.
  • Donovan Mitchell added 15 points. He went a perfect 3-for-3 from behind the 3-point line.
  • Mike Conley and Georges Niang scored 12 points each.
  • As a team, the Jazz shot 56.4 % from the floor and 48.6% from downtown. They outrebounded the Kings 43-31.

Kings in the spotlight

  • Dewayne Dedmon led the Kings in scoring with 11 points. He also added six rebounds.
  • Bogdan Bogdanovic put up 10 points and dished out two assists.
  • De’Aaron Fox scored nine points and distributed five dimes.
  • The Kings shot just 37% from the field.

Up next

The Kings will have Sunday off and will return to play on Monday night when they will host the 2-0 Denver Nuggets at the Golden 1 Center.

The Jazz will travel to Phoenix to take on the Suns on Monday evening.

 

 

 

 

Kings fall to the Trail Blazers in home opener, 122-112

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Photo credit: @Oregonian

By Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO — After an unimpressive showing from the Kings on Opening Night in Phoenix, they turned to the home opener to try and get their first win. The Kings had been blown out by the Suns on Wednesday and faced a tough opponent in the Portland Trail Blazers. It is well-documented what the Blazers were able to do last season making a run in the playoffs. So, the Kings starring an 0-1 start in the face looked to turn things around in Sacramento at 7:00 PM PST.

In the first quarter, the Kings offense showed out. Unfortunately for the Kings, so did the Blazers. It was an expectedly back and forth first quarter. The Kings De’Aaron Fox and the Blazers’ Damian Lillard matched each other with 8 points apiece to lead their respective squads. Fresh off his new contract, Buddy Hield added 5 points for the Kings. The Blazers got a 6-point contribution from veteran forward Rodney Hood. At the end of the first quarter, it was 27-25 Kings on top.

In the second quarter, it was more of the same from both sides. The Trail Blazers and Kings continued to trade baskets. The Blazers got a great performance in the second quarter from Anfernee Simons, who put up 10 points. Damian Lillard continued to play well scoring another 7 points. However, the Kings and Bogdan Bogdanovic didn’t allow Portland to pull away. Bogdanovic put up 14 points on 4-6 shooting to lead the Kings to a tie going into the second half. De’Aaron Fox finished the half with 14 points and Buddy Hield had 12. The Kings and Blazers went into halftime all knotted up at 57 apiece.

In the third quarter, the Kings started to implode. Bad defense, missed shots, and turnovers led to an ugly quarter for the Kings. Portland outscored the Kings 37-27 as Hassan Whiteside dropped 16 points on the beleaguered Kings defense. De’Aaron Fox added 8 points to his game total to give him 22 through the third. Headed to the final 12 minutes, the Kings were down by 10.

In the fourth quarter, the Kings were able to keep the Blazers at bay. However, the deficit they built in the third quarter proved insurmountable. The Kings and Blazers both scored 28 points in the fourth which led to a 122-112 loss in the 2019 home opener. The Kings’ top scorer was De’Aaron Fox, who scored 28 points on 34 minutes of play. Hield scored 21 points on 31 minutes of play and Bogdan Bogdanovic dropped 16 on 28 minutes of floor time.

After the game, the overall mood was somber. The Kings came into this season with tons of optimism. Kings fans came into this season with tons of optimism. After all, the Kings had added some key role players in what they knew was an already strong core. They also changed leadership at the helm with new head coach Luke Walton, whose hoping to push the Kings over the next level. So far, that hasn’t happened. It’s still early, but the Kings need to course correct in a hurry to stay relevant this season.

The Kings travel to Utah for a back-to-back against the Jazz on Saturday evening at 6:00 PM PST.

The Kings get burned by the Suns 124-95 in their NBA season opener

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PHX Kingx team
Graphic: @Kings.com

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The hopes and dreams of the Sacramento Kings hit a brick wall at 100 mph when they were blown out in their 2019-20 season opener in Phoenix by the Suns 124-95 on Wednesday night. The Suns did make upgrades to their team personnel in the offseason, but no one has them even coming close to making the playoffs. The Kings are considered to be a potential playoff team.

The first half was a back and forth affair

The teams played evenly in the first half. The Kings won the first quarter 29-25. Buddy Hield put 11 points in the book sinking 4 of 7 shots (two 3-pointers) to go along with seven points from Harrison Barnes.

Hield led the charge for Sacramento in the second period as he put in 11 of the Kings 30 points scored in the quarter. De’Arron Fox added five points and three assists.

The Suns scored 29 points in the second quarter. Kelly Oubre Jr. led the scoring attack with eight points and Ricky Rubio added five.

At the half, the Kings were up 59-54 over the Suns.

Third-quarter turnaround

The Suns came out of halftime on fire. They hit 14 of 25 (56%) of their shots from the floor and went 3-for-6 from 3-point range.

The Kings shot just 29.4% for the quarter while turning the ball over 10 times which resulted in 19 points for Phoenix.

When the quarter ended, the Suns held an 86-76 lead over Sacramento and they would never look back.

Two major problems for the Kings

Turnovers were a major problem for Sacramento in their season opener. The Kings committed 27 turnovers that resulted in 35 points for the Suns. Last season, the Kings highest turnover total was 26 which ironically came in a game on the road in Phoenix.

The Kings were dominated in the paint. The Suns outscored Sacramento 68-34 in the paint on Wednesday night.

Both of those problems were seen in India when the Kings played the Pacers, but both issues had appeared to go away in the preseason games played in the States.

Players of the Game

PHX

Deandre Ayton recorded a double-double scoring 18 and grabbing 11 rebounds. He also blocked four shots and had one steal. Ayton went 9-for-14 shooting for a 64.3 Field Goal Percentage. For fantasy players, Ayton’s score was 46.2.

SAC

Buddy Hield scored 28 points, hauled in five rebounds and added two assists. He hit 10 of 19 shots (52.6%) from the floor and went 6-for-12 from 3-point land. His fantasy score was 32.0.

Honorable mention

Kings

  • Marvin Bagley III recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds
  • Harrison Barnes scored 12 points and added six rebounds
  • Corey Joseph put up 10 points and dished out four assists
  • De’Aaron Fox added eight points and five assists while missing most of the third quarter with foul trouble

Suns

  • Devin Booker scored 22 points and added 10 assists
  • Ricky Rubio recorded a double-double with 11 points and 11 assists
  • Kelly Oubre Jr. put up 21 points plus nine rebounds

Up next

The Kings will return to action on Friday night when they will host the Portland Trail Blazers in their home opener at the Golden 1 Center.