Tag: Buddy Hield

Kings run out of air at a mile high as Denver wins 130-104 on Sunday

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
SAC vs DEN featured image
photo @SacramentoKings

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings kicked off a short two-game, three-day road trip on Sunday afternoon 5280-feet in the air versus the Denver Nuggets. The loud crash that you heard was the Kings hitting the proverbial brick wall at 120 mph as they were blown out by the Nuggets 130-104.

Denver entered the contest fighting for their playoff lives in ninth-place in the Western Conference, one-half game out of eight-place and being in the NBA playoffs. With the battle for the playoff berths in the West so close, every game is critical for the Nuggets.

Their victory on Sunday moved Denver into a three-way tie for the eighth and final playoff spot with the Clippers and Jazz. The Nuggets are just one-half game behind seventh-place San Antonio.

The final 15-game stretch of the regular season in the Western Conference is going to be a real “dog fight” as 10 teams battle for eight playoff positions.

SAC was a statistical mess

The Kings just suffered in almost every area of the game on Sunday:

  • They shot 42.9-percent from the field while allowing Denver to shoot 56.2-percent for the game.
  •  The Kings went 6-for-31 (19.4-percent) from “3-point land” while the Nuggets hit 15-of-37 (40.5-percent) from long-range. If you are not hitting 3-pointers, a team cannot afford to have their 3-point defense breakdown and hope to win the game.
  • SAC was out-rebounded 51-38 in the game. The Nuggets owned the defensive glass pulling down 43 rebounds on defense to the Kings 31. A team like Sacramento needs those second-chance point opportunities.
  • The Kings had only three steals. Dave Joerger will not be happy with that number because he is all about making deflections on defense.
  • Sacramento recorded only one blocked shot in the game.

Positive numbers:

  • SAC went to the free throw line 26 times in the game which is they type of numbers the coaching staff would like to see on a consistent basis. The Kings converted 20 of those 26 free throw attempts.
  • The Kings protected the ball very well in the contest as they turned it over just three times which resulted in just five points for the Nuggets.

Individual numbers

Kings (21-46)

SAC vs DEN starting 5
 The Starting Five Photo @SacramentoKings
  • Kosta Koufos started at the five spot again. Koufos posted 14 points and he made it a double-double game with 10 rebounds.
  • De’Aaron Fox was back in the starting lineup and played just over 30-minutes. “Swipa” scored 12 points, distributed nine dimes and had three rebounds.
  • Buddy Hield came off the bench to lead the team in scoring with 18 points. “Buddy Buckets” had a much better shooting night hitting 8-of-15 field goal attempts. He did struggle a bit from behind the arc as hit converted 2-of-6 from long-range.
  • There was more good news for SAC as Willie Cauley-Stein returned after being out with back trouble. WCS scored 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds in just over 30 minutes of playing time.

Nuggets (37-30)

Denver’s starting five was very productive as four of the five scored in double figures and three of the five scored at least 20 points.

  • Nikola Jokic was the man for the Nuggets as he posted a triple-double scoring 20 points, pulling down 11 rebounds and distributing 10 assists. He also had a blocked shot.
  • Gary Harris was the leading scorer for the Nuggets with 21 points.
  • Jamal Murray was the other starter who scored 20 points for Denver shooting 8-for-16 for the game.
  • Trey Lyles had big game coming off the bench scoring 14 points in just over 18 minutes of playing time for his team.

Up next

Kings

SAC wraps up this mini two-game road trip in Oklahoma City on Monday night. The Kings are 4-9 on the second night of back-to-back games this season. The Thunder are 39-29 so far this season and are currently tied for fourth-place in the Western Conference.

Nuggets

Denver has Monday off and then returns to action on the road in Los Angeles versus the Lakers on Tuesday night.

Kings Press Row Podcast: The All-Star Break Edition

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press row podcast

hosts Charlie O and Jordan “Chape” Chapin

  • Kings dominate the “Rising Stars Game”

  • Bogi grabs the MVP honors in the game

  • A look at the Kings revamped roster

  • A review of the remaining schedule

  • Total wins projection for the season

  • The role of Iman Shumpert

  • The return of Frank Mason III and Skal Labissiere

Kings play tough in Minnesota but come up just short losing 111-106

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Kings vs Twolves final

by Charlie O. Mallonee

Style points are usually reserved for events in the Olympics. Well, the Winter Olympics are in full swing and the Kings are in full “player development mode”, so we have to judge them on more than just wins and losses.

For their efforts in Minnesota on Sunday night, the young Kings get a 10 for effort, a 10 for hustle and eight for style. Sacramento lost the game to the T-Wolves 111-106, but they did what no one really expected them to do in this first game of a three-game road trip. The Kings made it a very competitive game.

The Kings did two major things right on Sunday night:

  1. They came out of the gate an played hard from the opening jump ball. De’Aaron Fox led the way scoring 14 points in first period as the Kings outscored the Timberwolves 29-23 in the first quarter. Sacramento also played some tough defense as they gave up only 23 points.
  2. The second thing the Kings did well on Sunday night is they avoided the dreaded third quarter letdown. Sacramento has established a habit of playing very ineffective basketball in the third stanza and then having to try to come back in dramatic fashion in the fourth quarter to make up for bad third quarters. The Kings won the third quarter on Sunday night 26-19

The Timberwolves superior firepower took its toll in the fourth quarter as they outscored the Kings 36-26 to win the game 111-106. The game was competitive right up until the final seven-seconds of the contest.

The victory was the Timberwolves 13th consecutive win on their homecourt. That is truly an incredible run.

Star Performances

Kings

Kings vs Twolves 5

  • Rookie De’Aaron Fox played an outstanding game in his almost 35-minutes on the floor. Beyond his 14 points in the first quarter, Fox finished the game with a team-high 23 points. He shot 8-for-16 from the floor and went 6-for-8 from the free throw line. Fox added three steals and two assists to his stats for the game.
  • Buddy Hield had another productive game coming off the bench. Hield played just under 19-minutes but manged to post 16 points in that time on the floor. Hield shot 6-for-13 including going 2-for-5 from 3-point land. Buddy also recorded four rebounds, two steals, one assist and one blocked shot.
  • Rookie (well NBA rookie) Bogdan Bogdanovic put 13 points in the book in 30-plus minutes on the floor. He shot 5-for-12 from the field and hit 2-of-5 from behind the 3-point arc. Bogie also dished out eight assists in the game.

T-Wolves

Kings vs Twolves extra

  • To no one’s surprise, the big KAT was the man for Minnesota on Sunday night. Karl-Anthony Towns scored a game-high 29 points shooting 10-for-17 from the floor. Towns went a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line. He grabbed eight rebounds, dished out six assists and blocked three shots in the game.
  • Veteran Jimmy Butler added 18 points hitting 5-of-9 shots from the floor. Butler went to the free throw line nine times and converted seven of those opportunities. Butler also added three assists.
  • Andrew Wiggins was another key part of the T-Wolves win on Sunday. He scored 16 points, grabbed eight rebounds and distributed three assists. Wiggins hit 7-of-13 of his shots in the game.

Prime Numbers

Sacramento (17-38)

  • The Kings shot 47.7-percent (42-for-88) for the game and hit 10-of-25 (40-percent) from 3-point range.
  • Sacramento hit 12-of-17 from the charity stripe. The team needs to go to the free throw line at least 20 times per game, but hitting 70.6-percent of their opportunities is acceptable.
  • The Kings pulled down 43 rebounds – 15 of those rebounds were offensive grabs. Those 15 offensive rebounds turned into 22 points for SAC.
  • Sacramento committed 19 turnovers that became 22 Minnesota points. The Kings totaled only 17 assists which gave them a negative assists to turnover ratio.

Minnesota (35-24)

  • The T-Wolves shot 50-percent (37-for-74) from the floor for the game on Sunday night. They hit 9-of-24 chances from long-range.
  • Minnesota went to the free throw line 32 times. They sank 28 of those free throw shots (87.5-percent).
  • The Timberwolves dished out 29 assists while committing 17 turnovers which is close to the 2-to-1 desired ratio goal.
  • The T-Wolves biggest lead in the game was five points while the Kings largest lead was 10 points. There were 10 lead changes and the game was tied 15 times.

Up Next

Kings

Sacramento will play the second game of their three-game road trip on Tuesday night in Dallas versus the Mavericks.

Timberwolves

Minnesota will stay at home and host the Houston Rockets on Tuesday night.

 

 

Sacramento Kings Friday game wrap: Warriors come to Sacramento hand Kings a 119-104 loss

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

gswsacscore

by Jordan Chapin

Sacramento – Friday night at the Golden 1 center, the Sacramento Kings returned home from their longest road trip of the year and were welcomed back by the the World Champion Golden State Warriors. Even with the return of Willie Cauley-Stein, Golden State handed the Kings their 35th loss of the year in a 119-104 Warriors victory. After winning three of their last four games, Sacramento came into the contest with a little momentum, but it was raining three balls in the Golden 1 Center, and not in favor of the Kings.

Sacramento came out of the gate hot, and started the game on a 20-7 run  led by Justin Jackson’s eight points in the first quarter. It didn’t take long for Golden State to close that gap with the help of Kevin Durant’s 17 point first half. The Warriors led 58-52 going into the locker room at halftime.

During the third quarter, Sacramento trailed as much as 14 points, but they continued to keep their heads above water as the Splash Brothers combined for 17 points in the period. Trailing 87-79 with 9:47 left to go, Sacramento’s Buddy Hield rattled off seven straight points, including back-to-back steals and cut the lead to just one, but that’s as close as the Kings would get to retaking the lead. KD put the team on his back scoring 13 points in the last 10 minutes of play, finishing his night with 33 points while shooting 12-for-17 from the field.

Even though the Kings forced 25 turnovers, it was not enough to overcome a stellar shooting night from the Warriors. The season series is now tied at one game a piece, and the Kings will not see the Warriors again until March 16th at Oracle Arena. The Kings have an opportunity to bounce back quickly as they will face the Dallas Mavericks Saturday on the second night of a back-to-back.

Sacramento Kings

Star of the Night: Justin Jackson

Jackson finished his night shooting 7-for-13 from the field for 17 points. He totalled 33 minutes for the game, but in those minutes he looked very aggressive, knocking down a couple three balls, and hitting his floaters from inside the paint. De’Aaron Fox on what he has seen from Justin Jackson, “Lately, he’s been great, his confidence has been up, he’s playing a lot, he’s making shots, something we know he can do.” Jackson was two points away from tying his career high.

Key Stats:

  • Forced 25 turnovers(19 points)
  • Shot 44.2% from the field and 40% from 3-point range
  • Led the game by as much as 13 points, but trailed as much as 17
  • Had six players in double figures, including all five of their starters
  • Six lead changes

Golden State Warriors

gswsacdurant

Star of the Night: Kevin Durant

Durant continued his all-star campaign with 33 points, 6 assists, and 4 rebounds. KD hit shots when they mattered, scoring 17 in the first half, and 13 in the fourth quarter to seal the game for the Warriors. Durant killed the Kings from behind the arc shooting 6-for-7 from downtown and finished hitting 12-for-17 from the field overall.

Key Stats:

  • Shot 17-for-33 from 3-point land
  • Had nine turnovers in the second quarter, which is a season high in TO’s for a quarter
  • Zaza Pachulia grabbed a game high 13 rebounds
  • Splash Brothers combined for 43 points
  • Out rebounded the Kings 51-33

Kings love Florida sunshine: SAC beats MIA 89-88 for second consecutive win

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Kings-HEAT

by Charlie O. Mallonee

With 4.3-seconds left to play on Thursday night and the Kings in possession of the ball, Sacramento trailed the Heat 88-87 on the road in Miami. This is the kind of situation that Kings have faced and failed in as they try to find success as a team in the rebuilding process. It was a different ending last night.

Bogdan Bogdanovic took a 20-foot step back jump shot that missed and bounced above the rim. De’Aaron Fox ran in from the left angle and slammed the rebound home to give the Kings an 89-88 lead. The clock stopped with 3.3-seconds remaining to allow Olynyk to enter the game for Miami and Temple to come on the floor the Kings.

Miami’s Josh Richardson missed a 21-foot jump shot with less than a second left on the clock and the Kings won their second consecutive game 89-88. Both of the wins have come in the “Sunshine State” of Florida.

The key to the win for the Kings was their ability to keep the game close. They did allow the Heat to open up a 12-point lead at one time but for the most part, it was a seesaw battle. There were 19 lead changes and the game was tied seven times in what turned out to be an exciting 48-minutes if you are a Kings fan.

Sacramento also broke a destructive pattern that has plagued them this season of falling behind in the third quarter and then having to make a major effort just catch up in the final period. On Thursday, Kings trailed by just one point heading into the fourth quarter.

The Kings dressed 10 players versus the Heat and head coach Dave Joerger used all 10 players in the game. Sacramento held out Vince Carter (who started in Orlando), George Hill and Georgios Papgiannis. Rumors are circulating that Hill may have a toe problem and is not being held out because of a possible trade.

Top Performances

Kings

FoxtoHoop

  • De’Aaron Fox gets the Star of the Game billing for the Kings. Not only did he score the game-winning basket but he added 14 points, four assists and three rebounds in his 29-plus minutes on the floor.
  • Buddy Hield really battled Fox for top billing on Thursday night. Hield receives Co-Star designation for scoring a game-high 24 points. He hit 10-of-15 field goal attempts and went 4-for-7 from 3-point range. Hield scored 13 of his points in the second quarter.
  • Veteran Zach Randolph is also going to receive a best supporting player award for recording a double-double against the Heat. Z-Bo scored 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in 28-minutes of playing time.

Heat

Miami in the Vice jersies

  • Goran Dragic was the Star of the Game for Miami. He was the top scorer for the Heat with 23 points shooting 8-for-14 overall for the game. Dragic hit 3-of-5 from long-range and was a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line.
  • Co-Star status goes to guard Wayne Ellington who put up 20 points against the Kings. He converted 7-of-16 field goal attempts and six of those conversions were 3-point baskets.

By the Numbers

Sacramento (15-33)

  • The Kings shot 46.9-percent (38-for-81) from the floor versus the Heat. They only attempted 12 three-point shots but they hit five of them.
  • SAC was out-rebounded 46-38 but managed to outscore Miami on second-chance scoring opportunities 8-7.
  • The Kings dished out 21 assists and turned the ball over 13 times which is below the desired 2-to-1 ratio. They gave up 13 points to the Heat off those 13 TOV’s.
  • Sacramento recorded six blocked shots in the game. Five Kings players posted a block and Cauley-Stein had two blocks.

Miami (27-21)

  • The Heat shot just 37.8-percent (31-for-82) for the game. If a team shoots under 40-percent in the NBA, there is not much of chance that they will come away with a win.
  • Miami decided to attack the Kings by taking as many shots from beyond the 3-point line as possible. They attempted 34 long-range field goals but hit just 12 for a 35.3 shooting percentage.
  • The posted 19 assists and made 17 turnovers for a very unacceptable 1-to-1 ratio. The Kings scored 20 points off those 17 miscues.

Up Next

SAC

Unless the Kings request to have the game on Sunday moved to any city in Florida, they will face the Spurs in San Antonio on Sunday at 4:00 pm PST.  The team is hoping to take advantage of the good “mojo” they have enjoyed in Florida by staying in Miami on Friday and waiting to travel to Texas until Saturday.

MIA

The Heat will host the Hornets on Saturday night in Miami.

 

New Year’s Eve Nightmare as Kings lose to the Grizzlies 114-96

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
DSC00860
Skal Labissiere takes it to the hoop against the Grizzlies Photo: Jordan Chapin SportsRadioService.com

by Charlie O. Mallonee with Jordan Chapin

On New Year’s Eve at the Golden 1 Center, something happened that has not really been heard in the new building. In the third quarter, fans began booing their hometown Kings. They were frustrated with their play and the fact that the Kings were trailing the Grizzlies 90-63.

When the third quarter ended, a large number of fans headed for their cars in order to beat crowds coming into downtown and to get to their New Year’s parties early. Those who left had no hope that their Kings would mount a comeback in the final period. They were right.

Sacramento held the lead only twice in the contest. They took the first lead of the game on a Bogdan Bogdanovic 26-foot three-point basket for the first score of the game. After the Grizzlies tied the game on a Tyreke Evans 3-pointer – the Kings took a 5-3 lead when George Hill scored on a fast break. That would be the last time the home team would hold the lead in the game.

The Grizzlies lead was 14-points at the end of the first quarter and 18 at the half. Memphis built their lead to as many as 32-points in the third period and to a game-high 33-points in the fourth quarter.

After losing to the Warriors 141-128 on Saturday night, the Grizzlies should have been tired and ripe for the pickings in the second game of a back-to-back set on the road. Instead, they seemed pumped up by their performance and used that energy against the Kings for the entire 48-minutes on Sunday afternoon.

Kings Head Coach Dave Joerger Postgame Comment

Top Performers

Grizzlies

DSC00848
Tyreke Evans scored a game-high 26 points versus the Kings Photo: Jordan Chapin SportsRadioService.com
  • Star of the Game: Former King Tyreke Evans came back to Sacramento and showed off his skills in front of the fans who once cheered for him when he wore purple and white. Evans – who has stepped up to really help a team that has been beset by injury and the loss of free agents – scored a game-high 26 points. He hit 10-of-16 shots from the field and 5-of-7 from beyond the 3-point line. Evans also grabbed seven rebounds and five assists. His +/- rating was an impressive plus-23.
  • Co-Star: Jarell Martin -third-year player out of LSU. The 6-10 forward put up 11-points in 24-minutes off the bench. He went 5-for-8 from the field and 1-for-1 from 3-point land.
  • Co-Star: Deyonta Davis came off the bench to score 10-points and pull down nine rebounds in just over 23-minutes of playing time. The Grizzlies bench scored 64-points in the game.
  • Supporting Player Kings fans know: Ben McLemore is now a member of the Grizzlies and he played the entire fourth quarter. Ben Mac scored eight-points making two 3-point baskets and sinking two free throws.

Kings

DSC00859
Willie Cauley-Stein was the Kings leading scorer with 21-points Photo: Jordan Chapin SportsRadioService.com
  • Star of the Game: Willie Cauley-Stein takes the honors for the Kings on Sunday night. He posted 21-points shooting 8-for-14 from the floor and going 5-for-9 from the free throw line. Cauley-Stein also grabbed eight rebounds and made to two steals in his almost 29-minutes on the court.
  • Co-Star: Buddy Hield worked hard in his 30-minutes of playing time off the bench. Hield scored 15-points shooting 5-for-14 for the game and hit 3-of-7 from downtown. He also dished out two assists as well.

Team Stats

Memphis (12-25)

  • The Grizzlies shot an impressive 53.9-percent (41-for-76) for the game. They hit 14-of-30 (46.7-percent) tries from behind the 3-point line.
  • Memphis took advantage of the free throw line converting 18-of-24 opportunities (75-percent).
  • The Grizzlies recorded 11 steals in the contest – five more than the Kings
  • Blocked shots: Memphis posted eight in the game. Veteran Marc Gasol had four of those blocks in the first quarter of the game.

Sacramento (12-24)

  • The Kings shot 43-percent for the game but only because the shot almost 58-percent in “garbage time” in the fourth quarter when the outcome of the game had already been decided.
  • Sacramento did not help themselves at the free throw line. The Kings went to the line 25 times but hit only 13 of those shots (52-percent). They are called free throws for a reason. A team must take advantage of those opportunities.
  • The Kings did do a better job working the boards on Sunday. They grabbed 42 rebounds while Memphis recorded 44 rebounds. That was a real improvement over the Phoenix game.

Up Next

Kings

The Kings first game of the new year will be versus the Charlotte Hornets at the Golden 1 Center on Tuesday, January 2. The Hornets are coming in off a 106-98 New Year’s Eve loss to the Clippers. This will be the first meeting of the season between the two teams.

Grizzlies

The Grizzlies will wrap up their West Coast swing with a game in Los Angeles versus the Clippers on Tuesday at Staples Center.

 

Too much Aldridge, Gasol and Ginobili ends the Kings two-game win streak: Spurs win 108-99 on Saturday night

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
More Hield SAS
Buddy Hield drives to the hoop for two of his 24 points Photo: USA Today Sports

by Charlie O. Mallonee

Sacramento – The Kings stayed with the Spurs stride for stride in the opening quarter and played them to a 33-33 tie at the end of 12-minutes. The energy was high in the Golden 1 Center. Kawahi Leonard was declared unavailable due to injury management, so Sacramento fans felt their team was on a more even playing field talent wise.

They were wrong.

The Spurs outscored the Kings 29-16 in the second quarter as they shot 50-percent (11-for-22) from the field, hit 3-of-5 three-point attempts and converted 4-of-5 free throw attempts. San Antonio began a scoring drive at the 10:10 mark of the quarter and built up a 13 point lead by the time the horn sounded for halftime.

The Spurs went to the locker room at the half with a 62-49 lead over the Kings.

Sacramento came out in the third quarter knowing they had to make a run at the Spurs immediately. The Kings kept chipping away at the San Antonio lead and cut it to six-points twice. When the third period ended, SAC trailed by just eight points, 84-76.

Buddy Hield scored 10-points shooting 4-for-6 (including two 3-pointers) to lead the Kings 27-point scoring attack. Willie Cauley-Stein added eight-points.

The Kings needed to put together a run and cut the Spurs lead to five-points or less with two-minutes to go in the game to have a chance to win. That did not happen.

Former King Rudy Gay – who had previously not scored in the game – sank two jump shots and 25-foot 3-pointer in the opening 2:18 of the final quarter to help the Spurs rebuild a 14-point lead. The San Antonio lead would reach 15-points twice in the period which was too much for the Kings to overcome.

San Antonio won the game 108-99.

Top Performers

Spurs (22-11)

Gasol SAS
Pau Gasol recorded a triple-double versus the Kings on Saturday night Photo: USA Today Sports
  • Star of the Game: Paul Gasol – the Spurs 37-year old, 17-year NBA veteran – recorded a triple-double on Saturday night. Gasol scored 14-points, grabbed 11 rebounds and dished out 10 assists in just over 30-minutes on the floor. After the game Gasol said, “I have to give credit to my teammates. Without them, I wouldn’t be able to get the assists, so it’s a team accomplishment. Just happy it turned out that way tonight. It’s been a couple of years since my last triple-double.” (February 27, 2016 as a member of the Chicago Bulls)
  • Co-star: LaMarcus Aldridge only gets a co-star billing for the game because he recorded just a double-double putting up a game-high 29-points and pulling down 10 rebounds. He also played a game-high 38-minutes and 33-seconds.

  • Ginobili to hoop
    The ageless Ginobili goes to the rack versus the Kings Photo: USA Today Sports
  • Co-star: The final co-star for the Spurs is man who should probably be playing “wheelchair basketball” if you listen to “the experts” who say he should retire at the end of every season he plays. 40-year old Manu Ginobili evidently does not know he is too old to play in the NBA. On Saturday night, he scored 15-points in just over 21-minutes of playing time coming off the bench.

Kings (11-21)

  • Star of the Game: Buddy Hield was the Kings leading scorer with 24 points versus the Spurs on Saturday night. He played almost 32-minutes shooting 9-for-17 overall and 4-for-7 from behind the 3-point arc. Hield also hauled in eight rebounds in the contest. In what was also a major improvement, he committed no turnovers.

  • WCS vs SAS
    Willie Cauley-Stein posted a double-double on Saturday night Photo: USA Today Sports
  • Co-star: Willie Cauley-Stein posted his fifth double-double of the season as he scored 22 points and recorded 11 rebounds. Cauley-Stein shot 10-for-18 for the game and added three assists.
  • Co-star: Bogdan Bogdanovic had a perfect shooting night as he was 6-for-6 overall and 3-for-3 from 3-point land. Bogdanovic played 28-plus minutes against the Spurs.

Key Team Stats

San Antonio

  • Field Goal Shooting: 44-for-88 (50-percent) It’s tough to beat a team that is sinking half of its shots
  • 3-point Shooting: the Spurs made 11-of-23 (47.8-percent) 3-point attempts. Six different players made 3-point baskets
  • Free throw shooting: the Spurs went to the line only 11 times but the made nine free throws (81.8-percent) which helped them to win this game
  • The Spurs also had a fantastic assists to turnover ratio. They dished out 29 assists and turned the ball over just eight times. That is very close to a 4 to 1 ratio with a 2 to 1 ratio being the goal

Sacramento

  • Field Goal Shooting: 46.5-percent (49-for-86) which is respectable until you look and see your opponent shot 50-percent from the field
  • 3-point Shooting: The Kings actually out-shot the Spurs from behind the 3-point line. They hit 12-of-22 3-point attempts (54.5-percent). Four Kings did all of their 3-point scoring – Randolph, Temple, Hield and Bogdanovic.
  • Free throw shooting: the Kings went to the line just 11 times and converted just seven of those shots. They still need to get more attempts per game
  • Assists to turnover ratio – The Kings finished with 20 assists and 10 turnovers or the magic 2 to 1 formula. It just was not enough in this case.

Up Next

Sacramento

The Kings are done until after Christmas. Sacramento will return to action on Tuesday, December 26 when the team will travel to Los Angeles to face the Clippers at the Staples Center.

San Antonio

The Spurs headed home after the game and will have Christmas Day off. San Antonio will host the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday night.

 

Kings beat the Sixers 101-95 in Philly Tuesday night to sweep the season series

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
Z=bo vs sixers
Zach Randolph was a leader in the Kings victory over the Sixers Photo USA Today Sports

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings picked up their first win on their four-game road trip Tuesday night when they downed the Philadelphia 76ers 101-95 in Philadelphia. The victory gave the Kings the series sweep over the Sixers who they defeated in Sacramento on November 9th 109-108.

That is a bit ironic after the Kings just finished being swept by the Toronto Raptors on Sunday.

The Kings found themselves down 78-71 as they headed into the fourth quarter. They would need a 10-point effort from Buddy Hield and nine-points from Garrett Temple to lead a 30-point scoring barrage that would help them to victory. Willie Cauley-Stein added six-points in the final period as the Kings outscored the Sixers 30-17 in the fourth quarter.

Sacramento used 12-of-13 players on their bench in the contest. Only Georgios Papagiannis did not play. George Hill was not available due to illness.

The Sixers held a 57-48 lead at halftime due to some solid play from Robert Covington, Ben Simmons, T.J. McConnell and JJ Redick. Philly outscored the Kings 30-18 in the second quarter and it looked like the Sacramento squad might be in for a long night.

Sacramento kept things close in the third period which allowed them to have opportunity to take control in the fourth quarter.

Kings star of the game

Frank Mason to hoo[
Frank Mason had another strong game off the bench for the Kings Photo USA Today Sports
Rookie reserve point guard Frank Mason gets the star of the game nod for the win over the Sixers on Tuesday night. Mason scored 16-points in just over 22-minutes of playing time on the floor. The four-year Kansas alum shot 7-for-9 from the floor and went 2-for-2 from behind the 3-point line. He also recorded two blocked shots in the game. Mason has demonstrated a maturity and confidence coming off the bench that has served the Kings very well this season.

Kings co-stars of the game

  • Zach Randolph made a good argument that he should have been the star of the game. The veteran power forward put up 27-points and grabbed five rebounds in just over 28-minutes on the court. The man who was brought in as a “role model” has become “a game changer” for the Kings.
  • Buddy Hield did not have his best night from 3-point land but he shot 9-for-19 for the game. He recorded 24-points, grabbed five rebounds, dished out two assists and made three steals in just over 28-minutes of playing time.

Sixers star of the game

Ben Simmons has to get the star as he came within one assist of recording a triple-double. Simmons scored 13-points, hauled in 12 rebounds and distributed nine assists in his 32-plus minutes on the floor.

Sixers co-stars of the game

  • Forward Robert Covington recorded 17-points despite having a very tough shooting night. Covington shot 5-for-19 overall and just 2-for-13 from 3-point range. He did go a perfect 5-for-5 from the free throw line.
  • Jerryd Bayless scored 15 points for the second-unit coming off the bench and seeing just over 26-minutes of action in the contest. Bayless shot 5-for-12 overall and hit 4-of-8 opportunities from downtown.

Key Team stats of the game

Sacramento

  • The Kings shot 41-for-91 (45.1-percent) in the game and hit 7-of-27 (25.9-percent) from behind the 3-point line.
  • Sacramento went 12-for-23 from the free throw line ( the percentage was poor but the number of attempts was excellent and was a real improvement)
  • The Kings committed just 12 turnovers which became 15 Philly points

Philadelphia

  • The Sixers shot 34-for-81 for the game. That was 10 less attempts and seven less conversions than the Kings.
  • Philly hit 10-of-35 3-point attempts. That was three more conversions than the Kings.
  • They went 17-for-24 from the free throw line. The Sixers hit five more free throws than the Kings.
  • Philly out-rebounded the Kings 53-39

Up next

Kings (10-20)

Sacramento wraps up their four-game road on Wednesday night when they will face the Brooklyn Nets in Brooklyn. The Nets are 11-18 on the season. FiveThirtyEight.com gives the Kings a 27-percent chance of winning the game and makes them a six point underdog.

Sixers (14-16)

Philly will host the Toronto Raptors on Thursday night. FiveThirtyEight.com makes the Sixers a 0.5 underdog and gives them only a 48-percent chance to win.

 

Kings Press Row Podcast for 12-13-17: A split at home and back on the road again

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
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De’Aaron Fox was not afraid to go up against the veteran DeRozan (Photo Jordan Chapin SportsRadioService.com)

Host: Charlie O

  • A look back at the home games with Toronto and Phoenix

  • A look ahead at a very tough four-game road trip to Minnesota, Toronto, Philly and Brooklyn

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Buddy Hield directs the offense against the Raptors (Photo Jordan Chapin SportsRadioService.com)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another slow start sinks the Kings: Raptors win sixth straight 102-87

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

 

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JaKarr Sampson drives to the hoop versus the Raptors (Photo Jordan Chapin SportsRadioService.com)

by Charlie O. Mallonee with Jordan Chapin

Sacramento – On Sunday afternoon, I had to keep slapping myself in the face and saying we’re not in Milwaukee anymore Toto. Still it felt like we were in Wisconsin eight nights ago when the Bucks opened the game with a 14-0 run on the Kings because the Toronto Raptors opened the game on Sunday in Sacramento with 13-0 run on Kings.

Just like they did last week in Milwaukee, the Kings made a game out of it thanks to some outstanding play by their second-unit led by the scoring of Buddy Hield and the hustle of “Two-way” signee JaKarr Sampson. Zach Randolph also continued to be the grind it out, being the blue collar leader the Kings hoped he would be by producing another double-double game.

At the end of 48-minutes of basketball, the results in Sacramento were the same as they were in Milwaukee. The Kings had to hang another “L” on their schedule board as they lost the game 102-87. The Kings record now stands at 8-18 for the season

With the victory, the Raptors improve to 17-7 for the season. They have won six consecutive games including the first two games of this four-game road trip. Toronto plays the Clippers in LA on Monday night and then face the Suns in Phoenix on Wednesday before heading back across the border.

Sacramento

Kings star of the game

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Z-Bo settles his team during a timeout late in the game (Photo Jordan Chapin SportsRadioService.com)

Co-writer Jordan Chapin and I had a split decision on who should be the Kings star of the game.

Chapin went with Zach Randolph which is a very difficult choice to argue with in this case. The 36-year old veteran led the Kings in scoring with 19 points and in rebounds with 11. It is his fourth double-double performance of the season. Randolph also led the team in time on the floor playing almost 34-minutes.

I selected Bogdan Bogdanovic who tallied 15 points in the game shooing 5-for-10 from the floor and hitting 4-of-8 3-point attempts. He made the start in place of George Hill who was not with the team for personal reasons. Bogdanovic played almost 30-minutes and scored seven points in the first-half and eight in the second-half. The Kings “oldest rookie” also always impresses with his hustle on defense

Kings co-stars

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Buddy Hield directs the offense against the Raptors (Photo Jordan Chapin SportsRadioService.com)

Buddy Hield was given strong consideration for star of the game. “Buddy Buckets” posted 17-points connecting on 7-of-13 field goal attempts and converting 3-of-5 tries from “downtown”. He grabbed three rebounds, had two assists and added one steal. The one downside to his game was six turnovers.

JaKarr Sampson played hard in his 19-minutes on the court. Sampson went a perfect 5-for-5 shooting including one 3-pointer. He also made four rebounds and blocked three shots. Before you get to excited about Sampson, Dave Joerger indicated in the postgame press conference that JaKarr would be headed back to Reno as soon as Willie Cauley-Stein is game-ready again. Sampson is a victim of too many players and too few playing minutes.

Also seen in limited supporting roles for the Kings

Skal Labissiere rejoined the Kings after playing one game with the Reno Bighorns. Labissiere actually made the start playing just over 14-minutes. He scored six points and pulled down six rebounds.

Justin Jackson also returned from his stint in Reno. He played just over 33-minutes scoring three-points, hauled in five rebounds and dished out three assists.

Toronto

Raptors star of the game

DeMar DeRozan made it easy to choose him as the Raptors star of the game by scoring 25-points while shooting 9-for-15 from the field. The talented guard also converted 7-of-11 attempts from the free throw line. DeRozan also handed out nine assists in his almost 35-minutes on the court.

Raptors co-starts

Serge Ibaka was a 20-point man for Toronto in the game. He shot 8-for-13 overall and sank 4-of-7 from behind the arc. Ibaka also grabbed four rebounds.

The other member of the Raptors dynamic backcourt duo Kyle Lowrie has to be given credit as well. He scored 15 points and recorded a double-double by adding 12 rebounds. He did all of that while working through a 4-for-17 shooting night. That is what you call hanging in there.

Team numbers

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De’Aaron Fox was not afraid to go up against the veteran DeRozan (Photo Jordan Chapin SportsRadioService.com)

Sacramento

  • Turnovers 21 which resulted in 27 Raptors points. They had just 15 assists – that ratio will never be acceptable at any level of basketball
  • 42 rebounds including 7 offensive rebounds
  • Shooting: 47.9-percent overall (35-73) – 10-for-23 (43.5-percent) for 3-point field goals
  • Free throws 7-for-14: percentage is too low. The number of attempts is too low.
  • Kings biggest lead of the game: 1

Toronto

  • Shooting 39-for-87 (44.8-percent) from the floor. The Kings had a better shooting percentage but the Raptors made 14 more attempts and while making 3 additional two-pointers, 1 more three-pointer and they converted six additional free throws for the 14 points they outscored the Kings by in the game.
  • 44 rebounds – 12 on offense.
  • Raptors largest lead 15 points

Up next for the Kings

The Phoenix Suns will visit the Golden 1 Center to take on the Kings on Tuesday night. Sacramento will then head out on a four-game road trip and will not return home until December 23.