Tag: Buddy Hield

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

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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.

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

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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.

 

Kings down the Knicks 113-92 in the Garden

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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.

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.

 

 

 

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.

 

Fast And Furious: Kings run past the Jazz 128-115 in Salt Lake City

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photo from sacbee.com: Kings guard Buddy Hield (24) attempts to steal the ball from Utah Jazz guard Emmanuel Mudiay, left, in the first half of a preseason game Monday in Salt Lake City.

By Morris Phillips

The Sacramento Kings have won just 21 regular season games in Salt Lake City… in 34 seasons.

Not good, but an impressive 128-115 exhibition win Monday at Vivint Smart Arena has the Kings feeling less apprehensive about their second regular season road game October 26 at Utah.

Buddy Hield led the Kings with 23 points, Marvin Bagley contributed 22 in 30 minutes of floor time. De’Aaron Fox departed early with a lower back injury.

The Kings played their fourth exhibition contest and both teams used the occasion to play their normal starters and top reserves. The Kings’ 78-point, first half came against defensive stalwarts Rudy Gobert and Mike Conley. The Kings played their trademark, fast pace and backed that with 14 made 3-pointers.

Sacramento’s defense was far more effective than it was in India, where the Kings dropped a pair of exhibitions allowing 130 points each time last week  Against the Jazz, the Kings allowed 48 percent shooting from the field.

But they benefitted from 20 turnovers and Utah’s poor shooting from the distance where they missed 26 of 35 attempts. The Kings battled the Jazz to a standstill on the glass (55 rebounds each) and put six players in double figures in scoring.

The Kings played without Corey Joseph, Trevor Ariza and Harry Giles.

The Kings conclude pre-season on Wednesday against Melbourne United at the Golden 1 Center.

More breakfast basketball on Saturday from India, but same results for the Kings

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Mumbai game 2a
Fox and Hield on the break Photo: @SacramentoKings

By Charlie O. Mallonee @Charlieo1320

The second and final contest of the inaugural NBA India Games was played on Saturday morning  California time and the Kings came up short in that game losing to the Indiana Pacers 130-106. Frankly, game two lacked the enthusiasm and execution that was seen in game one.

Since game one required overtime to decide the winner, the players spent more time on the court than either coach planned on before the tipoff. With so many players recording big minutes in game one, that certainly alerted the playing rotation for both teams on Saturday.

The starters looked sluggish

mumbai bollywood
Mumbai Bollywood Night Photo: @SacramentoKings

The players participated in a big “Bollywood Night” that was held in their honor after the game on Friday. Couple that with the players being just about 12 hours off their regular time zones and having to deal with all the additional commitments beyond just the games — fatigue became a major factor that had to be battled in the final game on this long trip.

Sacramento had a shorter bench which meant their players had to play more minutes and their execution reflected that situation.

Bottom line, this game looked like an NBA preseason game. The second half featured many players who will be wearing the jerseys of Ft. Wayne and Stockton of the G-League later this month.

New Kings to watch

Kyle Guy — The Kings’ second-round draft pick- saw his first game action on Saturday. He played just under 20-minutes shooing 2-for-7 (one 3-pointer) while sinking 4-of-5 from the free-throw line. The rookie grabbed two rebounds and dished out three assists. Guy finished with nine points.

Caleb Swanigan came off the bench and did some banging under the boards for Sacramento. It did not take long for him to make his presence known. Swanigan scored four points, pulled down four rebounds, blocked two shots and added three assists in little over 17-minutes on the court. He did commit five fouls — which will have to be addressed — but Swanigan made a mark in the game.

Wenyen Gabriel  — another of the Kings’ two-way players — played 15-minutes scoring six points. He shot only 1-for-5 from the floor (3-pointer), but he converted 3-of-4 from the charity stripe. Gabriel also added four rebounds, two assists, one blocked shot and one steal.

SAC leaders

  • Scoring: Buddy Hield 17 points
  • Rebounding: Dewayne Dedmon 7 rebounds
  • Assists: De’Aaron Fox 6
  • Steals: Justin James 3
  • Blocked Shots: Dedmon 2/ Swanigan 2

Significant Stats

  • The Pacers attempted 94 shots in the game to the Kings 81
  • IND shot 52.1% overall; SAC shot 38.3% for the game
  • The Kings went to the free-throw line 41 times to just 18 trips for the Pacers
  • The Kings were outrebounded 51-35
  • Assists: IND 35 SAC 24
  • Turnovers: Pacers 20 (22 SAC points) Kings 19 (20 IND points)
  • The Biggie – Points in the Paint: Pacers 60 Kings 28 (oh my)

Air Drake

Approximately two hours after the game ended, the Kings boarded “Air Drake” (their charter belongs to the rapper Drake — check it out online). They will take about 48 hours to readjust to being in California, and then, they will get ready for their third preseason game of the year. That game will be with the Phoenix Suns at the Golden 1 Center on Thursday night.

NBA Basketball in Mumbai: Pacers beat Kings 132-132 in OT

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Mumbai final
Photo/Graphic: NBC Sports California

The NBA goes to Bollywood!

By Charlie O @Charlieo1320

The first-ever NBA game was played in Mumbai, India on Friday night between the Indiana Pacers and the Sacramento Kings. Well, it was Friday night if you were in Mumbai. If you were in Sacramento, the game tipped off at 6:30 AM, so it was bagels and basketball.

The Game

Much to the chagrin of the coaches and to the delight of the crowd, the game required overtime. The Pacers prevailed in OT 132-131. The Kings’ Buddy Hield put up a long 3-point shot that had a realistic chance of going in, but bounced high off the rim and was put back in by Marvin Bagley for two points at the buzzer. Sacramento fell one point short of causing double overtime.

To say that the players were “gassed” would be a gross understatement. All five of the Indiana starters and three of the Sacramento starting five played 30-minutes or more. Rest assured that neither Nate McMillan nor Luke Walton planned to play any of their players for that long in the first preseason game.

Key Numbers

T.J. Warren — who was traded the Pacers by the Suns in the off-season — was the game’s leading scorer with 30 points. He hit 11-of-18 from the floor and was 5-of-6 from behind the 3-point line.

Domantas Sabonis recorded a double-double with 21 points and 12 rebounds. He made six rebounds on offense and six on defense.

Point Guard Malcolm Brogdon also had a double-double game with 15 points and 14 assists.

Buddy Hield led the Kings’ scoring attack with 28 points. He shot 11-for-20 from the field and converted 4-of-10 from downtown.

Harrison Barnes — fresh off his time with Team USA — put 21 points in the book. Barnes went a perfect 11-for-11 from the free-throw line.

De’Aaron Fox added 15 points and dished out eight assists.

Numbers for concern

Luke Walton cannot be happy that his team was outrebounded 47-30. The Pacers scored 21 second chance points to the Kings’ seven. That is not a winning formula in the NBA.

Nate McMillan will be talking to his team about turnovers. The Pacers turned the ball over 25 times in the contest, which resulted in 25 Sacramento points.

Why India?

The NBA really sees itself as being a worldwide game and marketing force. The league’s goal is to literally market itself around the globe. With a population of over 1.3 billion people, India is a market that cannot be ignored.

Here are a few other facts:

  • More than 3 million fans in India follow the NBA on Facebook.
  • Over 300 live NBA games are available to viewers in India each season. In fact, fans in Sacramento often welcome Indian viewers just before tipoff.
  • The NBA opened an office in Mumbai in 2012 — one of 12 NBA offices outside the USA.
  • The NBA Academy India was opened in 2017 in Delhi to help develop top male and female basketball prospects.

The other reason India is a key target for the association is Kings majority owner Vivek Ranadive is originally from Mumbai. It has been his dream to bring the game to his country of origin.

“This is a historic day, but for me it’s a dream come true. I left Bombay (Mumbai) when I was 17 years old and literally I had $50 in my pocket, so to come back here with my NBA team and also bring my friend Herb Simon with his team and to play an actual NBA game is beyond my wildest, wildest imagination,” explained Ranadive.

Ranadive has a vision for the future, “What I see happening is that within the next 10 years, this game, it’ll never surpass cricket as the national pastime, but it’ll be right up there. And hopefully, Commissioner, we can launch a league right here in India. I hope in the next 10 years that we’ll have at least one player that comes out of the system that plays in the NBA. We already see players. And I fully expect that there will be arenas that spring up across the country where we can play these games.”

More from Mumbai tomorrow

The Kings and Pacers will play one more preseason game on Saturday night in Mumbai. The tipoff time in Indiana is 8:30 AM and in Sacramento it is 6:30 AM. If you call yourself a real NBA fan, it is breakfast and basketball tomorrow morning.

Kings never trail in their 117-104 win over the Cavaliers on Thursday night

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Cle-4
Buddy Hield shoots a 3-point basket Photo: Charlie O. Mallonee

By Charlie O. Mallonee

SACRAMENTO — The Sacramento Kings won their 39th game of the 2018-19 season on Thursday night as they defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 117-104. It was not an easy win. The Kings had to earn this victory. The Cavs are not a great team, but they are professional basketball players who belong on an NBA court.

The Cavs may have never held the lead in the game, but they did cut the Kings’ lead to just one point with 4:40 to go in the third quarter. Sacramento was able to make a surge in order to take a nine-point lead into the final period.

The Cavs reduced the Kings lead to just six points at the 8:03 mark in the fourth quarter, but Sacramento with the help of Marvin Bagley III and Bogdan Bogdanovic opened up a lead that would never put them in danger of losing the game again.

With the win, the Kings sweep the season series from the Cavaliers who drop to 19-60 for the campaign.

SAC is one game away from winning 40

Some fans have asked — is winning 40 a big deal? Yes, it is. The Kings won 27 games last season. Most analysts projected them win between  30-35 games this season (this reporter projected them to win 32). To improve their win-loss record by 13 wins and climb into the 40-wins stratosphere is psychologically a big deal for a young team.

As a Western Conference team, the Kings will have to win 45-47 games next season just to make it into the playoffs. If they can win 40 games, they will know what it takes to get where they need to be in order to reach the next level.

This team has already has recorded the best win total for a Kings deal team since the 2005-06 season. Winning game number 40 would make them the first Sacramento team to win at least 40 games since that 2005-06 team won 44 games.

Dave Joerger postgame thoughts

  • Thought it was a good win
  • Getting to 40 wins is a big deal
  • Tonight, it didn’t feel like we made a lot of shots; they did make a lot of shots
  • Out defensive activity was good — steals, deflections forced 22 turnovers
  • We took care of the ball — seven turnovers that resulted in just eight points
  • We scored points in the paint which was huge for us (SAC 62 CLE 54)
  • When we moved the ball and we got in the paint, we were more successful

Top Performances

Cle-2
Fox takes it to the hoop Photo: Charlie O. Mallonee

Kings

  • Buddy Hield was the game’s leading scorer with 23 points shooting 9-for-16 from the field. He hit 5-of-11 from downtown. Hield needs just six 3-point baskets to beat Damian Lillard’s record of 599 three-pointers in the first three seasons of a players career.
  • Bogdan Bogdanovic had a strong game coming off the bench to score 18 points in just over 27 minutes of playing time. “Bogi” shot 7-for-13 from the floor including four 3-point baskets. He also dished out five assists. Bogdanovic seemed to play with more energy than he has in some time.
  • De’Aaron Fox bounced back nicely after having a disappointing game versus the Rockets. Fox recorded a double-double scoring 16 points and distributing 10 dimes.
  • Marvin Bagley III played only 20 minutes, but he made the most of his time on the floor. MB35 put up 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds. His play was very important to the Kings opening up their lead in the fourth quarter.
  • Odd facts: the Kings were outrebounded by the Cavs 50-36 in this game. The Kings made 12 steals while the Cavaliers managed only three steals. Sacramento only turned the ball over seven times while Cleveland turned over 22 times.

Cleveland

Cle-1
Larry Nance, Jr, jams home Photo: Charlie O. Mallonee
  • Jordan Clarkson was the Cavs leading scorer with 22 points. Clarkson came off the bench to play just over 31 minutes and shoot 9-for-13 from the field.
  • Point guard Colin Sexton was very impressive in almost 38 minutes on the floor. For a player who is not supposed to shoot well, he was very impressive as a shooter. Sexton hit 8-of-14 shots overall and 3-of-5 from 3-point land.
  • Second-year player Cedi Osman recorded 17 points and three assists. He was key to the Cavs first half performance.
  • Cleveland shot 54.3-percent (44/81) for the game and hit 11-of-25 (44%) 3-point attempts.

Up Next

The Kings left immediately after the game for Salt Lake City where they will play the Jazz on Friday night.

The Cavaliers boarded their buses and headed for the Bay Area where they will face the Golden State Warriors tomorrow night.

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

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
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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

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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)

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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.