Category: Sacramento Kings

Headline Sports podcast with Tony Renteria: Lechler to go into Hall as Raiders punter for 13 seasons; Raiders sign Grant at wide receiver; plus more

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @TDenFamilia

On the Headline Sports podcast with Tony Renteria:

#1 Former Oakland Raider Shane Lechler can look forward to be inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame after the five year wait . He played in 206 games for the Raiders and missed only two games in 13 seasons. In those 13 seasons, Lechler called Oakland his home. A seven-time Pro Bowler, he was one of the best punters in NFL history.

#2 Wide receiver Ryan Grant has signed with the Oakland Raiders. Grant formerly with the Indianapolis Colts signed with Oakland on Wednesday Grant’s deal is worth one year, $2.5 million.

#3 You can’t win them all the A’s, who won the first two games against the visiting Boston Red Sox on great pitching, and delivered two shutouts, but they dropped game three of the four-game series to the Red Sox. However, the A’s have been delivering excitement each night.

#4 The Giants had some troubles on this road trip, but still, they have gone 2-5 thus far. They have concluded their road series with the Dodgers with a 5-3 loss. They have their home opener on Friday, can they get back on track with some home cooking?

#5 The Sacramento Kings might be making changes again and knowing how much Kings owner Vivek Ranadive and general manager Vlade Divak like Los Angeles Lakers head coach Luke Walton. Do you see Walton getting fired by the Lakers as rumored and going to the Kings, which means Kings head coach Dave Joerger will get the boot at season’s end?

Headline Sports with Tony R is heard each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Headline Sports podcast with London Marq: Ice meltdown in Vancouver–Sharks can’t answer Canucks’ 3 goals in third period; Quakes’ best game in 0-0 draw against Colorado so far; plus more

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @NBCSSharks

On the Headline Sports podcast with London:

#1 In one that you can call just a big meltdown, the San Jose Sharks started a two-game road trip in Vancouver Tuesday night, had a 2-1 lead and looked like they might actually win this one against the Canucks, but all for not as the Canucks scored three unanswered goals to hand San Jose its ninth loss in 10 games 4-2.

#2 The San Jose Earthquakes are a team that is all shook up. They have not won one a game yet this season and have played six games and their best game was against Colorado in a 0-0 draw. London tells us from he has seen of the Quakes what the problem is?

#3 The San Francisco Giants have shown some improvement on the current road trip taking the first game against the Dodgers on Monday night 4-2, thanks to Brandon Belt’s home run to help pace the win. On Tuesday night, the Giants lost by a run, but it’s been something to look forward to after they struggled in San Diego losing three out four.

#4 The Oakland A’s are getting plenty of pitching they got a 7-0 shutout over the World Champion Red Sox on Monday and then on Tuesday they got a 1-0 shutout with great A’s starting pitcher Mike Fiers and A’s reliever Blake Treinen.

#5 The Sacramento Kings just couldn’t do anything with James Harden and the Houston Rockets on Tuesday night in Golden One Center. Harden put away 36 points and he was again a scoring machine in a 130-105 win.

London Marq does the Headline Sports podcast for http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O: Kings get plastered in 25-point loss to Rockets on Tuesday night

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @DreamShakeSBN

On the Kings podcast with Charlie O:

#1 The Kings (38-40) lost badly on their home floor to the Houston Rockets (50-28) 130-105. Fear the beard James Harden couldn’t be contained on Tuesday night with 36 points.

#2 The Kings were dominated by the Rockets in every quarter except for the third quarter when the Kings outscored the Rockets 31-29.

#3 How badly did Kings defense let down in this one?

#4 Harden also had help from scorers Clint Capela with 13 and Chris Paul with 12.

#5 Next up are the Cleveland Cavaliers (19-59). The Cavs are on a six-game losing streak and the Kings have lost four of their last six games as this one sets up for a 7 pm tip on Thursday night.

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

Rockets make it “rain” 3-pointers, crush the Kings 130-105 on Tuesday night

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
402-4
Barnes tries to contain Harden Photo: Charlie O. Mallonee

By Charlie O. Mallonee

SACRAMENTO — The Sacramento Kings goal of finishing the season with a 41-41 record took a serious hit on Tuesday night when the Houston Rockets beat them 130-105 at the Golden 1 Center. The young, upstart Kings never held a lead in the game. The win gave Houston a four-game season-series sweep over Sacramento.

In his postgame comments, Kings head coach Dave Joerger noted that the Rockets have beat his team by over 20 points on average in all four games this season. He later would point out that the Rockets as a team are staffed with great players.

Why Did the Kings Lose?

Sacramento lost the game because they could not shut down the dynamic 3-point shooting of the Rockets. Houston literally made it “rain” 3-pointers at they attempted 61 shots from behind the arc and hit 26 of them. The 26 made 3-point shots tied the Rockets NBA record for most 3-point shots made in a game that they set against the Wizards back on December 19, 2018, at home in Houston.

The Rockets made 46 of their 94 field goal attempts (48.9%) in the contest. They converted 26 of their 61 3-point field goal attempts (42.6%). Yes, you are reading that correctly. The majority of the Rockets’ field goals made and attempts were from long range. Houston was very happy to trade 3-point baskets for Kings 2-point baskets all night long.

The Kings shot 44.2-percent overall (42/95) and went 7-for-23 (30.4%) from downtown.

Dave Joerger was not happy after the game

“We did not come with the mental or physical attitude of playing with some force and (weren’t) mentally locked in enough. We can’t play that way. We’re better than that. That’s disappointing if we had a hangover from a long trip – a bunch of games – young guys – but we cannot let go of the rope and we’re not going to.”

Top Performers

402-3
Bagley and Capela prepare to battle for the rebound Photo: Charlie O. Mallonee

Kings (38-40)

  • Buddy Hield was the Kings leading scorer with 20 points. He shot 8-for-16 and four of his field goals were 3-pointers. Hield also grabbed seven rebounds and added five assists.
  • Marvin Bagley III put 19 points up on the board to go with eight rebounds.
  • Nemanja Bjelica scored 12 points and went 6-for-7 from the floor.
  • Sacramento outrebounded Houston 51-43.

Rockets (50-28)

402-1
Harden gets ready to score three of his 36 points Photo: Charlie O. Mallonee
  • James Harden was the leading scorer in the game with 36 points, and he made it a double-double by dishing out 10 assists. He went 12-for-19 shooting and seven of those buckets were 3-pointers.
  • Eric Gordon and Danuel House, Jr. each scored 19 points for the visiting Rockets.
  • Chris Paul scored seven points and distributed 12 dimes.
  • Kenneth Faried posted a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Up Next

The Kings return to action on Thursday night when they will host the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Rockets play the second game of a back-to-back on the road in Los Angeles versus the Clippers on Wednesday night.

Kings beat Spurs on the road for the first time since 2012–113-106

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @NBA

By: Jeremiah Salmonson

Sunday’s matchup featured the Sacramento Kings and the San Antonio Spurs at the AT&T Center. The Spurs have guaranteed themselves a playoff spot, and the Kings were recently eliminated from contention. Sunday’s game for the Kings was the last stop on a five-game road swing taking them through Los Angeles, Dallas, New Orleans, Houston, and San Antonio. The tip-off was set for 4:00 PM PST.

In the first quarter, the Kings showed what appeared to be a lack of energy, which is understandable considering this game was the second night of a back-to-back. With seven minutes having already passed in the first, the Kings were down by 10 with the score being 21-11. At this point, the game was looking close to getting out of hand. LaMarcus Aldridge led all scorers in the first with a terrorizing 18 points. However, the Kings weren’t gonna go away quietly in the first. They battled back to make it a two-point game after the first quarter 30-28.

In the second quarter, the Kings and Spurs traded baskets. It’d prove to be one of the more entertaining quarters this year. Buddy Hield led the Kings in scoring in the first half dropping 11 points with Fox behind him with nine points. For the Spurs, LaMarcus Aldridge had 20 points with Rudy Gay behind him with 12. Going into halftime, the Kings managed to take a slim lead 58-57 into the locker room.

The third quarter was filled with excitement and back and forth between the Kings and Spurs. The Kings scored 31 points compared to the Spurs’ 30. This gave the Kings a two-point 89-87 lead going into the last 12 minutes. In the third, the fiery Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich was ejected after an out-of-bounds call going against the Spurs. Popovich was immediately T’d up following the play then proceeded to go onto the court and was dealt the ejection. It was a entertaining turn of events as the teams continued to put on a show. Leading the way through three quarters for the Kings were Buddy Hield with 24 points, Harrison Barnes with 11 points, and Willie Cauley-Stein with 10 points.

Going into the fourth quarter, the Kings seemed confident and that was exactly what the Kings played with. The Kings started the fourth by scoring the first nine points to take a 98-87 lead. From there, the Spurs made a run to tie the game, and it was a back-and-forth affair until the final minute of the game. The Kings managed to get a few key defensive stops paired with some makes to beat the Spurs 113-106. It was a great game for a young Kings team that was eliminated from playoff contention just the night before.

NOTES: Kings swept the season series for the first time ever against the Spurs. The Kings beat the Spurs at home for the first time since 2012.

UP NEXT: The Kings head home to host the Houston Rockets Tuesday at 7:00 PM PST.

Rockets knock Kings out of playoffs with 119-108 win

Published on by jeremy2878Leave a comment

Photo credit: @TSN_Sports

By Jeremy Harness

The Sacramento Kings saw their slim playoff hopes officially dashed on Saturday, as they were downed by the Houston Rockets, 119-108, inside of Houston’s Toyota Center.

The team has been feisty all season and held on to their postseason chances as long as they could, even on Saturday. Sacramento entered the fourth quarter with the lead, but they were outscored 28-15 in the final stanza as their fate was sealed.

The Rockets, meanwhile, are still fighting for one of the top spots in the Western Conference postseason picture to get home-court advantage for at least the first round. Houston is currently in the third spot with a 49-28 mark, three games behind Golden State and Denver, who are tied for the top spot in the West.

James Harden recorded a triple-double in spearheading the win, scoring 50 points while making 13 of his 31 shots in the process, to go along with 11 rebounds and 10 assists.

Clint Capela put up 24 points while going 10-of-13 from the field and also pulled down 15 rebounds, while Chris Paul had 22 points and five assists.

The Kings had a couple of guys get a double-double in the loss. Marvin Bagley III had 20 points and 12 rebounds – seven of those coming on the offensive end – while making 10 of his 20 field-goal attempts. Meanwhile, De’Aaron Fox scored 18 points and handed out 10 assists, while making four of his seven 3-point attempts.

Bogdan Bogdanovic just missed a triple-double while coming off the bench, leading the Kings with 24 points while pulling down nine rebounds with eight assists.

The Kings next play the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday at 4:00 pm PT.

Kings fall hard in the “Big Easy” as Pels pull out a last-second 121-118 win

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
NO starting 5
Kings starting five in New Orleans Photo @SacramentoKings

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings are now on the verge of mathematical elimination from playoff contention after losing to the Pelicans in New Orleans 121-118 on Thursday night. The Kings chances of making the playoffs were remote, but now, they are non-existent.

The Kings are just 14-23 on the road after the loss in New Orleans. That really is not surprising for a young team like Sacramento. Learning to win on the road in the NBA is one of the most difficult lessons to learn for a young team.

The biggest lead in this game was nine points by the Pelicans. The game was tied 13 times and the lead changed between the teams 15 times. This was the very essence of what is defined as a “close game”.

Julius Randle put a driving layup through the basket for the Pelicans with 8.7-seconds to go in the game to give New Orleans a 121-118 lead.

Buddy Hield took a potential game-tying 3-point shot from 28 feet away from the basket with 4.0-seconds remaining on the clock. Unfortunately for the Kings, the shot was not good and the Kings would lose by three points.

The loss dropped the Kings record to 37-38 on the year with seven games to play on the schedule. The Pelicans are now 32-45 for the season.

Key Performers in the Game

NO Kosta
Koufos drives on Randle Photo @NBCS

Kings

  • Buddy Hield – the Pels former first-round draft pick – was Sacramento’s leading scorer with 27 points. He shot 11-for-21 from the floor but went just 1-for-8 from 3-point range.
  • De’Aaron Fox recorded a double-double by scoring 25 points and dishing out 12 assists. Fox hit 11-of-22 his shots from the field. He also grabbed five rebounds, made three steals, and had one blocked shot.
  • Willie Cauley-Stein also put a double-double in the book by scoring 18 points and hauling in 12 rebounds. WCS who has struggled at the charity stripe went 4-for-4 at the free throw line on Thursday night.
  • Bogdon Bogdanovic scored 14 points in just over 18 minutes of playing time.
  • Marvin Bagley III and Harrison Barnes each scored 10 points.
  • The Kings were outscored in the paint 74-64.
  • The Pelicans won the battle of 2nd chance points 14-9.

New Orleans

  • Julius Randle was the leading scorer in the contest with 34 points. He hit 12-of-24 shots from the floor and went a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line. Randle made it a double-double game by pulling down 10 rebounds.
  • Christian Wood came off the bench and scored 25 points in just over 27 minutes on the floor. He sank 11 of his 16 shots.
  • Elfrid Payton put 16 points up on the board shooting 50-percent from the floor (7/14). He also recorded nine rebounds.
  • Anthony Davis did not play due to “lower back spasms”.

Up Next

The Kings traveled to Houston after the game and will take on the Rockets on Saturday night.

The Pelicans will host the “hapless” LA Lakers on Sunday.

Kings sweep season series with Mavericks with a 125-121 win on Tuesday night

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

Mavs starters

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings trailed the Mavericks by eight points with 4:48 to in the game on Tuesday night in Dallas. The Kings then tied the game at 116-all with 1:33 remaining in the contest. Sacramento then took the lead on a Buddy Hield 25-foot 3-point jump shot, and the Kings never looked back. They won the game 125-121.

The victory evened the Kings record at 37-37 for the season. That is a 10 win improvement over the 2017-18 season with eight games to go on the schedule. That means the Kings could win 40 games which would be an incredible 13-game improvement over the previous year.

No reporter or expert would have predicted that the Sacramento Kings would be in a position to win 40 games prior to the beginning of the season. This season has been nothing short of incredible.

Mavs Fox
Fox was the Kings leading scorer Photo: @SacramentoKings

Why did the Kings win the game?

  1. They shot 50.6-percent (44/87) overall for the game. The Kings hit five more field goals than the Mavericks.
  2. Sacramento hit 10-of-23 (43.5%) 3-point attempts.
  3. The Kings were spectacular from the free throw line. They converted 27-of-32 (84.4%) shots from the charity stripe. The number of opportunities and percentage of conversions represents one of their best performances of the season.
  4. SAC took great care of the ball. They turned it over just seven times which resulted in just 11 Dallas points.

Top Performances

Mavs Hield
Hield helped the Kings late in the game Photo: @SacramentoKings

Kings

  • De’Aaron Fox was the Kings leading scorer with 23 points. His key contribution came at the free throw line where he hit 11-of-12 shots. Fox also dished out eight dimes.
  • Harrison Barnes made his first trip back to Dallas since being traded. The Mavs honored him with a tribute video during the second quarter. Barnes put up 18 points shooting 7-for-16 from the field and hitting 3-of-5 from 3-point land.
  • Buddy Hield saved his best until late in the game. Hield scored 17 points. He went a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe. Hield also grabbed five rebounds.
  • Willie Cauley-Stein put 16 points in the book. He went 7-for-8 from the floor in the contest. He also hauled in seven rebounds.
  • Marvin Bagley III and Bogdan Bogdanovic each scored 14 points versus the Mavs.

Dallas

  • Luka Doncic was the high-scorer in the game with 28 points. He went just 9-for-20 from the floor but hit 10-of-11 from the free throw line. Doncic made it a double-double by recording 12 rebounds.
  • Dwight Powell put a double-double in the book by scoring 21 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. He hit 6-of-7 shots from the field and went 9-for-11 from the charity stripe.
  • Maxi Kleber came off the bench to record 17 points. He went 6-for-10 from the field including four 3-point baskets.

Up next

The Kings travel on to New Orleans where they will play the Pelicans on Thursday night.

The Mavericks travel to Miami where they will face the Heat on Thursday.

 

Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O: No escape in trying to beat the Lakers; Kings battle Mavs for 125-121 win

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @Covers

On the Kings podcast with Charlie O:

#1  Charlie talks about the Kings’ last game in Los Angeles on Sunday in a tough loss to the Lakers 111-106.

#2 The Kings defense seemed to struggle in the early first quarter, putting up only 20 points and allowing 22.

#3 In the second quarter, the Kings struggled with their shot, but figured it out with 29 points and the Lakers got only 26.

#4 Third quarter was another tough outing for Sacramento, the Lakers scored 39 points and in the fourth quarter. The Kings launched a comeback, scoring but falling five points short of victory.

#5 The Kings battled the Dallas Mavericks and Dirk Nowitzki Tuesday night and get the win 125-121. Charlie O sets this one up.

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

Kings fall to Lakers 111-106 in LA

Published on by Sports Radio ServiceLeave a comment

Photo credit: @Lakers

By: Jeremiah Salmonson

LOS ANGELES–The Sacramento Kings came into LA coming off a 3-1 homestand. They beat the Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks, and Chicago Bulls while only dropping one game. A heartbreaker in which they were up 25 going into the fourth quarter and lost by two points. All in all, the Kings were happy with what they were able to accomplish during the homestand. They were looking forward to attempting revenge on the Lakers as they have had the Kings’ number this year. The tip-off was set for 6:30 PM PST.

In the first quarter, the Kings were off to another slow start. Remembering back to a day earlier on Saturday where the Kings were only able to score 20 in the first quarter. Sunday was not much different. The Kings continued to struggle through the early minutes of the game. They were only able to put 20 points on the board on Sunday while allowing 22. The Lakers weren’t playing great either as both teams were struggling to put the ball in the bottom of the hoop. The leading scorer in the game was Marvin Bagley, who had seven points through the first.

In the second quarter, it looked like more of the same for the Kings. They were struggling to find their shot and looked to be falling further behind. However, the Kings were able to battle and put up 29 points to outscore the Lakers. The Lakers managed to score 26 in the second. The leading scorer in the second quarter was Lance Stephenson, who put up eight points in the second. If the Kings wanted to keep pace, they had to start knocking down some shots in the third.

In the third quarter, it didn’t look pretty as the Lakers started off the quarter with a 14-0 run to start the second half. Kyle Kuzma led the Lakers’ charge with 21 points in the third. Lebron James also made an impact in the third, scoring eight points to help rack up a 39-point third for the Lakers. On the other hand, the Kings scored 28, but it wasn’t enough to keep pace. Nemanja Bjelica and Marvin Bagley led the Kings with six and five points, respectively. The third ended with the Lakers leading 87-77. The Kings needed a big late-game push to have a chance.

In the fourth quarter, the Kings kept with tradition and made things interesting. To give the credit where credit is due, the Kings battled in the final minutes; however, the deficit they created in the previous minutes proved too large to overcome. The Kings fell to the Lakers in LA 111-106.

Up Next: The Kings travel to Dallas to take on the Mavericks at 5:30 PM PST on Tuesday.