The Sacramento Kings goal of winning back-to-back games from the Los Angeles Lakers went up in smoke in the final minutes of the contest on Sunday night when the Lakers went on a 12-0 run. The Lakers, even without LeBron, went on to defeat the Kings 121-114 in the final game of 2018 for Sacramento.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope recorded a season-high 26 points, while Josh Hart added 22 points. Brandon Ingram joined the party by putting in 21 points, including seven points in the final run that decided the game.
The Kings lost for the first time this season when they held the lead going into the fourth quarter.
This was a very entertaining game
Bogdanovic to the hoop @SacramentoKings
This was the kind of game the NBA would like to have every night:
There were 18 lead changes
The game was tied 13 times
The Kings outscored the Lakers 58-52 in the paint — it was a battle
The Lakers won the war of second chance points 20-9
The Kings put up 27 fastbreak points to 12 for the Lakers
The biggest lead of the game: Kings 11, Lakers 9
The Kings were led by their backcourt in the game
De’Aaron Fox tied for high-scorer in the game with 26 points and he dished out seven assists. Fox grabbed four rebounds and made three steals.
Buddy Hield scored 21 points in the game, shooting 7-for-17 in the contest. He hit 4-of-11 from behind the arc.
Bogdan Bogdanovic also put up 21 points by shooting 9-for-18 from the floor (3-for-6 from 3-point land).
Other Kings contributors
Willie Cauley-Stein recorded a double-double, scoring 11 points and hauling in 12 rebounds
Iman Shumpert scored eight points, but did not have a great shooting night
Yogi Ferrell also put up eight points in just over eight minutes of playing time
Team Stats
Kings
The team shot 48.4-percent (46-for-95) from the field
They went 13-for-34 (38.2%) from 3-point land
They were outrebounded 50-45
Sacramento made 14 turnovers that resulted in 16 Laker points
Lakers
LAL shot 46-for-95 from the floor (48.0-percent)
The Lakers hit 15-of-44 3-point shots (34.1%)
LA recorded 30 assists versus the Kings
Caldwell-Pope’s 26 points were a career-high
Up Next
The Kings (19-17) will host the Portland on New Year’s Day at the Golden 1 Center.
The Lakers (21-16) will welcome the Thunder to the Staples Center on January 2nd.
Harry Giles III tips the ball back into the basket Photo: Charlie O. Mallonee
By Charlie O. Mallonee
The Sacramento Kings won their second consecutive come from behind in the fourth quarter game on Sunday night as they defeated Anthony “the Brow” Davis and the New Orleans Pelicans 122-117. The Kings trailed the Pelicans by as many as 19 points in the contest, and frankly, it did not appear that the home team would have enough momentum to overcome the New Orleans lead.
The Kings had trouble putting the ball in the basket right from the beginning of the game. At one point in the first quarter, Sacramento was shooting just 25-percent from the field while New Orleans was hitting more than 50-percent of their shots. The Pels dominated the paint and were converting high percentage shots. The Kings were not taking bad shots, but their shots were not dropping.
The Kings shooting improved in the second quarter (48.1-percent) and they were able to match the Pelicans point for point. Each team scored 33 points in the second period. Buddy Hield led the scoring attack for SAC with nine points. New Orleans was paced by Jrue Holiday who hit 7-of-9 shots for 14 points.
At the half, New Orleans held a 69-58 lead over Sacramento.
The third quarter was dominated by a former Wildcat and Sooner. New Orleans center Anthony Davis scored 13 points and grabbed six rebounds for his team as they scored 27 points in the period. Buddy Hield led the charge for Sacramento scoring 11 points in the third. He went for 4-for-4 shooting (3-for-3 from 3-point land). The Kings won the quarter 28-27. At the end of 36 minutes, the Pelicans held a 96-86 lead over the Kings.
Koufos and Miller jump ball in 4th quarter Photo: Charlie O. Mallonee
The Kings went on a comeback run that saw them outscore the Pelicans 36-21 in the final quarter. Sacramento was paced by De’Aaron Fox and Bogdan Bogdanovic who each scored nine points in the period. Buddy Hield stayed hot as he recorded eight points. Willie Cauley-Stein hauled in nine of his career-high 17 rebounds in the final 12-minutes. The Kings went on a mission in the final quarter and they were not going to be denied. When the final buzzer sounded, the Kings (18-15) had defeated the Pelicans (15-19) 122-117.
Willie Cauley-Stein had a monster game
The Kings center played just over 35-minutes in his team’s victory. He scored 22 points and made it a double-double as he pulled down a career-high 17 (four offensive) rebounds. WCS shot 10-for-19 from the floor and went 2-for-4 from behind the 3-point line. The big man also made three steals in the game.
The Kings versatile point guard made it a double-double game in the win over the Pelicans on Sunday night. He scored 19 points and dished out 11 assists. Fox also added two steals. He did all of this while still nursing a sore shoulder injured in the game on Friday with Memphis.
Buddy Hield was the leading scorer in the game on Sunday. He put 28 points in the book in 36-plus minutes of playing time. Hield shot 11-for-16 from the field and hit 6-of-11 from behind the 3-point arc. He also pulled in six rebounds.
Buddy Hield lets it fly from 3-point land Photo: Charlie O. Mallonee
Bogi comes up Big
Bogdan Bogdanovic is finding his legs and really getting into the flow of the game. On Sunday afternoon, he scored 24 points shooting 7-for-16 from the floor. Bogdanovic hit 2-of-5 from long range and converted 8-of-9 from the charity stripe. He also dished out seven dimes.
Bogi sinks one from the free throw line Photo: Charlie O. Mallonee
Coach Joerger summarizes the game
Joerger wrapped up his remarks by mentioning he hoped people would see what an exciting team and organization the #SacramentoKings are now. How Vlade Divac & the front office are doing a great job. He talked about the next 5 years being very bright! #SacramentoKings#NBApic.twitter.com/j6Kt5EeiK9
Joerger continued in the postgame discussing being 3-games over .500 at Xmas, the energy of the team & fans and the ability of the #SacramentoKings to comeback in the 4th qtr of games. Joerger said he doesn’t want late runs from behind to become a habit. #SacramentoProud#NBApic.twitter.com/fQUGVn6jzW
Leading scorer Jrue Holiday with 27 points, seven rebounds, and six assists
Anthony Davis scored 26 points pulled down 17 rebounds (double-double) plus four assists and four blocked shots
Julius Randle put up 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds
The Pelicans were extremely frustrated after the loss to the Kings. Giving up a 19 point lead and losing by five points will make you walk the aisle of the plane all the way back to the “Big Easy” out of frustration.
Up next
The Kings next game will be on Wednesday, December 26 at the Staples Center versus the Los Angeles Clippers. The Kings lost to the Clippers at the Golden 1 Center on November 29, 133-121.
The Pelicans next game will be in Dallas on December 26. New Orleans beat the Mavs on December 5th, 132-105.
The Sacramento Kings held the lead over the Memphis Grizzlies just twice in their game on Friday night at the Golden 1 Center. SAC took the first lead of the game 2-0 and would not lead again until there was just 1:17 remaining to play in the game when they would retake the lead over the Grizzlies 98-97.
The Kings (17-15) would hold on to win the game 103-99 to hand the Grizzlies (16-16) their fifth consecutive loss. The victory snapped a two-game losing streak by Sacramento.
Memphis brought their “Grind House D” to SAC
Photo@SacramentoKings
The Grizzlies love to slow the game down and get physical with their opponents under the bucket. The “new” Kings want to get out and run the floor in order to drive the opposition into exhaustion.
On Friday night, the Grizzlies controlled the pace. Memphis set the pace and forced the Kings to play the Grizzlies style of basketball until the fourth quarter. In the final 12-minutes, Sacramento changed the dynamic.
Memphis held the Kings to a field goal percentage of just 37.5% (33/88). It is incredibly rare for an NBA to walk away with a victory when they shoot under 40% in a game.
Sacramento turned in a respectable performance from behind the 3-point line. They hit 15-of-41 attempts from downtown (36.6%). The Kings also had a decent night at the charity stripe, converting 21-of-29 free throw attempts (72.4%).
The Grizzlies outscored the Kings in the paint 34-32. Sacramento won the battle of second chance points 10-8. To no one’s surprise, the Kings won the battle for fastbreak points 21-13.
Memphis outrebounded the Kings 44-42.
Key stats that tell a big story
Flying Fox @SacramentoKings
The Kings committed just 10 turnovers in the contest and those miscues resulted in 16 points for the Grizzlies.
Memphis recorded 18 turnovers that resulted in 27 points for Sacramento. The Griz will look at the turnovers and cringe for some time to come because they may well have cost them the game.
The Kings also won the battle of steals. SAC made 10 thefts in the game while MEM was able to steal the ball just seven times.
Key Performers
Photo@SacramentoKings
Kings
Buddy Hield was the game’s leading scorer posting 28 points for the game. He shot just 9-for-24 from the field, but hit 6-of-13 from 3-point land. Hield also added eight rebounds.
De’Aaron Fox recorded 14 points and eight assists for Sacramento in the victory. Fox also made five steals in the game. His defense in the final period was a real difference maker.
Bogdan Bogdanovic also scored 14 points in the contest but shot just 3-for-9 from the floor. However, all three of his baskets were 3-point buckets. Bogdanovic also went 5-for-8 from the free throw line.
Willie Cauley-Stein recorded a double-double in Kings victory. He scored 12 points and grabbed 13 rebounds versus the Grizzlies. He also dished out four assists.
Iman Shumpert and Nemanja Bjelica each scored 11 points in the game.
Grizzlies
Mike Conley was the Grizzlies leading scorer with 23 points. Conley hit a career-high seven 3-point baskets in the game.
Former King Garrett Temple added 17 points for Memphis.
Marc Gasol put 12 points and eight rebounds in the book.
All five of the Memphis starters scored in double figures.
Up Next
The Kings will wrap up their 3-game homestand on Sunday afternoon when they will host Anthony Davis and the New Orleans Pelicans.
The Grizzlies travel to Los Angeles and will face the Lakers on Sunday.
The road can be a harsh mistress in the National Basketball Association. Road teams — even strong, veteran squads — suffer humiliating upsets as the visitors in NBA arenas every season.
Sacramento experienced a heartbreaking loss on Friday night as the Golden State Warriors went on a late 17-2 run to defeat the Kings 130-125 on their home court. The Sactown team would have no time to pout about the loss as they had to head out on the road for a tough back-to-back set in Dallas and Minnesota.
First meeting with Dallas of the season
Graphic @DallasMavs
The game on Sunday was the first of three games between the Mavs and Kings in 2018-19. The next game will be played March 21 in Sacramento and the final game will take place on March 26 in the DFW Metroplex.
It was the first time the Kings would face the rookie they passed on to draft Marvin Bagley III — Luka Doncic. Early on, draft experts were convinced that Doncic was going to a King because of his European pedigree. They were wrong.
Even now, NBA reporters are criticizing the Kings for not selecting Doncic. The fact that he is averaging 17.8 points per game along with 6.8 rpg and 4.5 apg may have something to do with that criticism. His 13 20-plus point games may also contribute to that chatter.
The Kings had to play shorthanded
Marvin Bagley III was injured in the Warriors game on Friday night. The Kings rookie star suffered a deep bruise on his left knee and is out for an indefinite period of time. The last word on his condition has him being re-evaluated in 10-14 days.
Iman Shumpert injured his hip in that same game on Friday night and his availability versus the Mavericks was considered a game-time decision. The decision was Shumpert would not be available to play in Dallas.
The first half was a draw
Photo@SacramentoKings
As the teams hit the locker rooms at halftime, the Kings held a 61-58 lead over the Mavericks. The half featured seven lead changes and the game was tied six times. The Kings biggest was nine points while the Mavs’ largest lead was seven points.
Dallas won the battle in the paint 30-28. Sacramento outscored the Mavericks 19-9 on Fast Break Points.
The Kings shot 46.9% (23/49) in the half while Dallas hit 22-of-52 (42.3%) of their shots. Each team connected on four 3-point baskets in first 24-minutes.
Buddy Hield paced the Kings scoring with 17 points while De’Aaron Fox added 14 on his own.
The Mavericks scoring attack was led by Luka Doncic who put up 13 points. Dirk Nowitzki added three points. The significance of those points is they came in his first appearance before the fans in Dallas this season.
SAC increases its lead in the third period
The Kings outscored the Mavericks 32-25 in the third quarter. Sacramento shot 13-for-24 (54.2%) from the field in the third while Dallas hit 8-of-22 (36.4%) from the floor. Buddy Hield was the Kings leading scorer with nine points while Luka Doncic led the Mavs with six points.
With 36 minutes in the book, Sacramento held a 93-83 lead over the team from DFW.
The Mavs kept it close in the fourth
Doncic scored nine points and Jalen Brunson added eight as the Mavericks outscored the Kings 30-27 in the final period. De’Aaron Fox scored eight points for the Kings who added 27 to their total in the last quarter.
When the final the buzzer sounded, the Kings had won the game 120-113.
The Sactown backcourt duo combined for 56 points
Photo@SacramentoKings
Kings guards Buddy Hield and De’Aaron Fox each scored 28 points in the game (season-high for Hield). Hield shot 12-for-23 for the game while going 3-for-9 from long distance. He also grabbed four rebounds and added two assists.
Fox went hit 11-of-19 attempts while going 0-for-3 from behind the 3-point line. He hit 6-for-6 from the free throw line. Fox dished out five assists and made three steals.
Bogdan Bogdanovic and Nemanja Bjelica each posted 15 points for the Kings. “Byelly” made it “double-double” by hauling in 10 rebounds.
Mavs scoring
Luka Doncic (remember that name) was the Mavericks leading scorer with 28 points. He also had nine assists. Former Warrior Harrison Barnes recorded 15 points.
The “Monster of the Boards” DeAndre Jordan hauled in 23 rebounds (10 on offense) and scored eight points. The 23 rebounds is a season-high for Jordan.
The standings
The Kings (16-13) are now tied for sixth place in the Western Conference with Memphis and Portland.
Dallas (15-13) is in sole possession of ninth place in the West.
Up next
The Kings will be back in action on Monday night in Minnesota versus a team that just lost four games in a row on the road. The T-Wolves are going to be hungry to get back into the win column so they will be a very dangerous opponent for Sacramento.
The Mavericks will head out on the road and will face the Nuggets in Denver on Tuesday night.
It’s not the simplicity of fantasy sports, but the Kings’ real-life, off-season roster moves turned out like those of a random dude seizing control of his fantasy basketball league solely based on a brilliant draft pick.
GM Vlade Divac and the Kings wanted the Bulls’ Zach LaVine, and convinced the super athletic, shooting guard with a significant injury in his recent past to sign an offer sheet worth $78 million over four years.
The Bulls, who traded Jimmy Butler to Minnesota for a trio of younger players, highlighted by LaVine, weren’t ready to live without the former Slam Dunk champion after seeing him in a Chicago uniform for only 24 games following his return from surgery to repair his ACL. So 48 hours after the Kings offered, the Bulls matched, keeping LaVine in Chicago.
And the Kings were forced–or satisfied–to turn back to Buddy Hield, their key acquisition in the DeMarcus Cousins deal, a credible shooting guard without the eye-popping athleticism or size of LaVine.
Fast foward to a cold, blustery Monday night in the Windy City, and the Kings couldn’t be happier with Hield, while not yearning for LaVine.
The Kings slept walked through the first half, trailing 53-45 at the break only to outscore the woeful Bulls by 30 in the second half of their 108-89 victory. A microcosm of both teams seasons in a ballgame, the Bulls soared early, then self-destructed while the Kings stayed patient until their moment to seize control materialized, and they pounced on the Eastern Conference’s worst team.
“I thought their energy went up and our energy went down as the game went on,” said new Bulls coach Jim Boylen. “That’s something we talked in there as a team, and that’s something we need to fix.”
Of course, the ebbs and flows of the ballgame closely mirrored the contributions of LaVine and Hield, as the Bulls struck first, behind LaVine’s 19 points, including a crowd-pleasing dunk in the first quarter. But LaVine’s night in the scoring column would end with 5:45 remaining in the third when his 3-pointer put Chicago up, 66-57.
That’s when Hield, De’Aaron Fox and the Kings took over.
Sacramento would end the third quarter on a 24-8 run that would give them the lead, and of their 51 points in the game’s final 18 minutes, Fox would contribute 22, and Hield 11.
“After those two steals, the whole momentum of the game just changed,” Fox said of his momentum-changing plays that came 90 seconds apart in the third. “After that, we never looked back.”
LaVine has proven his worth by averaging 23.8 points per game on 45 percent shooting over 35 minutes of floor time per game. But Hield has averaged 18.6 points on 47 percent shooting across 31 minutes a game. The biggest difference between the two? Hield is clearly a better shooter from distance converting 42 percent of his attempts while LaVine has struggled, shooting 31 percent.
And of course, the Kings have a future in their present, sitting ninth in the Western Conference, currently a game behind eight-place Portland. The Bulls won’t arrive anytime prior to 2019-2020 after losing 22 of 28.
The Kings (13-11) finished 3-1 on their four-game road trip to Phoenix, Cleveland, Indianapolis and Chicago. They open a stretch of 13 of 18 at home with the Timberwolves on Wednesday at Golden 1 Center.
The Sacramento Kings knew going into Indianapolis they faced an uphill battle with the Indiana Pacers. The upstart Kings handed the Pacers a 111-110 loss in Sacramento last Saturday night and the Indiana team was ready to revenge that loss.
The Pacers are one of the best defensive teams in the NBA and they win by controlling the pace of the game. Indiana had no intention of allowing the Kings to run and gun like they did in Cleveland on Friday night.
Indiana did slow the Kings down and the Pacers won the game 107-97.
Back-to-backs This was the second game of a back-to-back set on the road for the Kings. Some statisticians place the chances of the visiting team winning the second game of a back-to-back schedule on the road at under 33 percent. That means the Kings were at a great disadvantage before the opening tipoff of the game in Indiana on Saturday night.
Battle of the Tiers
This was a battle of two teams that are in different NBA tiers. The Pacers are a solid Tier Two team (a consistent playoff team) that may be ready to jump into to the lower end of Tier One in the Eastern Conference. The Kings are a Tier Three team (Draft Lottery participants) who are trying to become a lower Tier Two team that battles for the eighth and final playoff spot in the West.
The fact that the Kings split the season series (1-1) with an accomplished team like the Pacers shows the kind of improvement they are experiencing this season.
The Pacers “D” suppressed the Kings’ offense
After posting big team numbers versus the Cavaliers, the Kings team stats dropped dramatically against the defensive-minded Pacers:
Field Goal Shooting: 38-for-90 (42.2%)
3P Field Goal Shooting: 28.1% (9-for-32)
Points in the Paint: IND 56 SAC 46
Second Chance Points: SAC 24 IND 19
Fast Break Points: SAC 22 IND 18
The Pacers outrebounded the Kings 52-43
A Check of the Book
Photo: @SacramentoKings
The Kings played the game without Iman Shumpert who was inactive due to an injury that was categorized as “load management”. Joel Embiid has been kept out games for the same reason a number of times.
Buddy Hield was the Kings top scorer with 20 points shooting 8-for-20 from the field
De’Aaron Fox started slow but stepped up in the second half to put 18 points in the scorebook along with six assists
Willie-Cauley Stein put up 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds
Bogdan Bogdanovic and Justin Jackson each scored 11 points in the game
Nemanja Bjelica scored six points and hauled in 12 rebounds for SAC
The Pacers were still without their star guard Victor Oladipo (sore right knee). Indiana still has no definite date for his return to active status.
Photo: @Pacers
Thaddeus Young led the Pacers scoring attack with 20 points
Bojan Bogdanovic added 18 points converting 7-of-7 from the free throw line
Former King Darren Collison scored 14 points and dished out six assists
Miles Turner put nine points in the book and grabbed 13 rebounds
With the loss, the Kings record drops to 13-12 for the season and they fall to ninth in the Western Conference. The Pacers improve to 16-10 on the year and are now in sole possession of fourth place in the Eastern Conference.
Up Next The Kings will wrap up this four-game road trip on Tuesday night in Chicago versus the Bulls. A win would give Sacramento a record of 3-1 on the trip which they would be very happy to finish with for a December road tour of the East.
The Sacramento Kings won their third game in a row and the second game of this four-game road trip on Friday night as they took down the hapless Cleveland Cavaliers 129-110 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. It was the Cavs’ second loss in three days to a Northern California team as they were beaten by the Warriors at the “Q” on Wednesday night.
Sacramento was coming off a convincing win over the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night and knew they had a chance to add to their win total on this road trip if they just focused on playing their type of basketball.
On Friday night, the Kings taught the Cavs what Sactown basketball is all about.
SAC ran CLE into the ground
The Kings outscored the Cavaliers 72-42 in the paint
SAC had a 57.1 FG% (56/98) and was 13-for-29 (44.9%) from 3-point land
The Kings recorded 19 second chance points to the Cavs’ 8
Sacramento had 35 rebounds — 10 were offensive rebounds
Cleveland also booked 35 rebounds, but only 7 were on offense
The Kings outscored the Cavs on the Fast Break 12-5
SAC had 30 assists and just nine turnovers (12 CLE points)
CLE dished out 20 assists, but turned the ball over 18 times (31 SAC points)
Outstanding individual efforts by Kings players
Photo: @NBCSKings
De’Aaron Fox was the game’s high scorer with 30 points and he made it a double-double by dishing out 12 assists (some of which were Top 10 worthy)
Buddy Hield recorded 25 points, sinking 9-of-17 shots (5-of-8 3-pointers)
Marvin Bagley III returned to action after missing two games and put up 17 points in just over 25 minutes on the floor
Jordan Clarkson was the leading scorer for the Cavs with 26 points
Guard Colin Sexton put up 23
The just added Alec Burks put 22 points and 7 rebounds in the book
It has to be said
The Kings record now stands at 13-11 for the season which gives them sole possession of eighth place in the Western Conference. Yes, that means if the season ended today the Kings would be in the playoffs. That cannot be ignored.
Dwelling in the cellar
The Cavs record is now 5-20 after the loss to the Kings. They are now tied for 14th or last-place in the NBA Eastern Conference with the Atlanta Hawks.
The Cavaliers made big news before the game
Photo:@Cavaliers
Cleveland took part on Friday in a three-team, five-player trade that involved the Cavs, Bucks, and Wizards. Some well-traveled veterans went to new teams while others went home to places where they have played before.
The Cavaliers sent veteran guard (and former King) George Hill to the Milwaukee Bucks along with forward Jason Smith.
The Cavs received Matthew Dellavedova — who was a very popular player in Cleveland before leaving in free agency — and center John Henson from Milwaukee.
The Wizards get Sam Dekker from Cleveland via Milwaukee along with draft picks.
The Cavs end up with the 2021 first and second-round draft picks from the Bucks. They also get a 2022 second-round pick from the Wizards.
Milwaukee winds up with a 2021 second-round selection from Washington.
Finally, the Wizards get a 2021 draft pick from the Cavs.
All of these draft picks have conditions tied to them. If you want the complete details, go to NBA.com transactions.
Up Next
The Kings will be back in action on Saturday night in Indianapolis when they will take on the Indiana Pacers. The Kings beat the Pacers 111-110 last Saturday night in Sacramento and Indiana will have revenge on their minds.
The Cavs will host the Washington Wizards on Saturday night.
On Headline Sports with Tony Renteria filling in for London Marq:
#1 For the Sacramento Kings’ Buddy Hield 20 points, five rebounds and one assist to lead the Kings to their second straight win in a row beating the Phoenix Suns 122-105.
#2 Tony has seen the Kings over the course of this season and points out what the Kings have done to win games.
#3 The San Jose Sharks are coming off a long road trip of losing four of their last five games. They got a win in their final game on the road in Montreal but losing still hurts.
#4 The San Francisco Giants have been getting plenty of inquiries regarding pitcher Madison Bumgarner. Tony talks about Bumgarner if he’s untouchable or is he on the table too?
#5 Looking at the Oakland Raiders last loss to the Kansas City Chiefs at the Oakland Coliseum, was this more of a game that was half full? The Raiders played some close ball with the Chiefs, but in the end lost 40-33.
The Sacramento Kings faced a major uphill battle on Sunday night at the Golden 1 Center. They had played their butts off in Oakland on Saturday night only to lose to the Golden State Warriors 117-116 with less than one second remaining in the game.
The team then had to travel home and get ready for a 5 PM game on Sunday against the Utah Jazz. Let’s change that to the very angry Utah Jazz.
Sacramento had played the Jazz in Salt Lake City last Wednesday and embarrassed the Utah squad in front of their home fans by handing them a 119-110 loss. You must remember that the Jazz were a playoff team last season and to be beaten at home by a bunch of upstarts like the Kings is something that is not supposed to happen in the NBA.
The Jazz entered the contest with revenge on their minds.
Back-to-back games NBA teams hate back-to-back games because they often spell disaster for them. The games on Saturday and Sunday were the Kings fifth back-to-back set of the season. They were 4-5 in those games coming in the contest with the Jazz. They had swept one series, split two series and been swept once.
The Kings needed to win on Sunday night to prevent being swept in a back-to-back series for the second time this season. They lost to the Jazz 133-112 and have now been swept twice in a back-to-back series.
Kings could not take advantage of a break The Kings (10-10) knew before the start of the game that Utah’s star guard Donovan Mitchell would not be in uniform on Sunday. Mitchell who averages 20.6 points per game is usually the “heart and soul” of the Jazz offense. His absence did not guarantee the Kings a win, but it should have given them an advantage to exploit. They were unable to do so.
Coach Dave Joerger even warned the media before the game that Utah had a deep bench that was very capable of making up for Mitchell not being in the lineup. He was correct.
Things started well for SAC The Kings jumped out to a 7-0 lead but things went downhill from there. Coach Dave Joerger did not mince words about what he saw from his team.
Marvin Bagley III scored 18 points and grabbed 6 rebounds
Harry Giles III put up 10 points, hauled in 8 rebounds and added 6 assists in just under 20 minutes of playing time
Utah Jazz leaders
Ricky Rubio was the Jazz unlikely leading scorer. The point guard hardly ever shoots yet on Sunday he shot 11-for-16 from the floor and went 2-for-3 from behind the 3-point arc. He scored 27 points while distributing 5 assists and adding 7 rebounds.
Rudy Gobert posted a double-double with 18 points and 15 rebounds. This was his 18th double-double of the season
Joe Ingles was quiet for much of the game and then suddenly had 18 points
Up next
The Jazz (9-11) will be back in action on Monday night when they host the Pacers in Salt Lake City
The Kings are off until Thursday night when they will welcome Clippers to the Golden 1 Center
The Jazz and Kings will meet one more time this season in SLC on April 5, 2019
Last season–if this reporter were to tell you that the Sacramento Kings had a chance to beat the Golden State Warriors on the road with 0.03 seconds to go in the game–you would call that reporter a delusional liar. Yet, on Saturday night in Oakland, that was exactly the situation that existed for the Kings.
Buddy Hield drove to the bucket and attempted a layup that did not drop. Marvin Bagley III attempted to tip the ball back into the basket but it wedged between the hoop and the backboard setting up a jump ball scenario.
The Kings controlled the jump ball and immediately called a timeout with 0.03 remaining on the clock. Sacramento inbounded the ball but it was tipped by a Warriors defender and the game ended with the ball loose on the floor. The Warriors won the game 117-116.
The critics will be quick to point out that Steph Curry was not available to play for the Warriors, and that is true. But in seasons past, Curry, Durant, and Thompson could have been on the bench and the Kings would have had no chance to win the game.
On Saturday night, the Warriors were missing Curry but had all of their other stars and the Kings gave the NBA Champs a run for their money. The outcome of this contest was still unknown with just 0.03 seconds to go in the game.
Hield was the man for SAC on Saturday night
Buddy Hield was the star of the game for the Kings versus the Kings on Saturday night. Hield led the Kings in scoring with 28 points. He shot 12-for-21 from the field and 4-for-6 from behind the arc. Hield also grabbed seven rebounds, posted three assists and had a blocked shot in the game.
MBIII Double-Double Marvin Bagley III came off the bench to score 20 points and pull down 17 rebounds in just under 34-minutes of playing time. MBIII hit 7-of-15 shots from the field. He also converted 6-of-8 opportunities from the charity stripe. Bagley also had two assists in the contest.
Swipa the Fox De’Aaron Fox struggled in this game and yet contributed at the same time. Fox played almost 34-minutes but scored just nine points. Fox also had nine assists in the game.
Fox shot just 3-for-14 in the game. He did not sink a 3-point shot in the game.
The Kings cannot win with Fox having just nine points and nine rebounds in a game.
Bogi struggled as well
Bogdan Bogdanovic put up 10 points and added two rebounds versus the top team in the NBA, “Bogi” saw his toughest minutes on the floor since coming off the disabled list to start the season.
Two important bench performances Justin Jackson came off the bench to have a very productive game for the Kings. Jackson scored 12 points in just 20 minutes on the floor. He went 4-for-8 from the field and hit 3-of-3 from the charity stripe in his time in the game.
Harry Giles III posted 10 points in just 11 minutes of playing time. He hit 4-of-5 shots from the field. GIII also went 2-for-3 from free throw line. GSW broadcasters Bob Fitzgerald and Jim Barnett were very impressed by Giles performance.
Up Next The Kings will be back in action on Sunday afternoon as they will host the Utah Jazz. The Kings beat the Jazz in Salt Lake City last Wednesday night 119-110. The Jazz lost to the Lakers on Friday night 90-83.
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