Tag: DeMarcus Cousins

DMC and Gay lead Kings to victory, 103-101, over Jazz

Published on by Michael MartinezLeave a comment

by Michael Martinez

Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Image

SACRAMENTO- Heading into Thursday night’s game the Sacramento Kings were 2 games back behind their opponent, the Utah Jazz. Sacramento, 5-12 on the road, looked to come back from a bad loss the night before against the Pelicans. The Kings found a way to hold their opponent to a low shooting percentage, at least for three quarters, with tough perimeter defense while getting the ball inside to DeMarcus Cousins who had a tremendous game. The Kings shot the ball well and were able to just hold on to pick up the win against the Jazz, 103-101, at Vivint Smart Home Arena.

As the game got underway the Kings looked like the better team all the way. The team’s defense was tremendous and Utah could not make any shots. Willie Cauley-Stein got off to a great start putting up six quick points while playing tremendous defense. Cauley-Stein’s quickness as a big man has benefitted the Kings and his hustle does not go unnoticed.

Cousins did not do a ton of scoring in the first quarter, six points, but did a good job of moving the ball around for his teammates while picking up eight early rebounds. The Kings shot the ball well, while holding the Jazz to a 16.7% shooting percentage. The Kings did a great job of continuing their run as Utah went about eight minutes without a field goal. Gordon Hayward bricked a lot of shots and found a couple buckets at the charity stripe. Sacramento held the Jazz to 12 points, the lowest of any Kings’ opponent this season, giving them a 1st quarter lead 26-12.

The Jazz looked to have a better second quarter, but the Kings held them in check again. In full, Utah went nine minutes and 19 seconds without a field goal before Trevor Booker got a put back dunk for a field goal. After struggling all season with perimeter defense, the Kings were much improved in the first half, although there were a lot of fouls, 17 in the first two quarters for the Kings. The quarter consisted of a lot of free throws, 12-18 for Sacramento, and 9-13 for the Jazz.

Boogie came out stronger in the second quarter, totaling 18 points and 13 rebounds in the half, his sixth consecutive double-double. With DMC’s scoring ability the Kings were able to hang on to the lead although the Jazz outscored them 33-30 after shooting the ball much better. Trey Lyles and Raul Neto totaled 10 points for a team high as the Kings held the lead 56-45 heading into the locker room on 54.3% shooting. Utah shot 1/16 from 3 point range, much improved for Sacramento’s perimeter defense. The Kings scored a field goal with 1.6 seconds on the clock as Rajon Rondo passed the ball all the way up court to Darren Collison who missed the lay-up but Boogie cleaned it up with a dunk as the red lights lit up the backboard.

After the half time break, Hayward finally made a field goal after going 0-9. Cousins answered right back with his tremendous scoring ability. Rondo kept showing off his vision and passing ability with a pass on a very tight window to Rudy Gay for an alley-oop. Cousins continued his scoring ability with his first three pointer in the ball game in the third quarter. And Rondo once again got Gay the ball for another alley-oop later in the quarter. Both teams shot well and both Gay and Cousins showed off their scoring abilities. Gay scored eight in the quarter while Cousins scored 10, both shooting 3-5 from the field. The Kings got to the line 10 times and converted eight free throws. Hayward had a much better quarter, scoring nine points on 3-6 shooting.

Cousins produced the game high in three quarters with 28 points and Gay had 16 for the second highest point total. The Kings shot the ball well once again with a 54% percentage through three quarters, which is something they have done well all season. Through three quarters the Kings totaled 42 points in the paint and got the ball inside to Boogie a lot. Boogie has scored 15.7 points in the paint per game in the month of January as the Kings continue to dominate their opponents close to the rim. Their dominance allowed them to hang on to the lead although Hayward hit a buzzer beater heading into the fourth. Sacramento led the Jazz 82-71 with 12 minutes remaining.

To open up the final quarter, Omri Casspi knocked down a three pointer, something he has done well all season. Down 85-71 the Jazz found a rhythm and went on a 9-0 run in a minute and 50 seconds. The run consisted of a Casspi foul and technical, which gave Utah three easy points as Trey Burke connected on the free throw. Cauley-Stein stopped the bleeding with a put back dunk, but Utah kept hanging around. Gay struggled from three but Cousins was able to hit a big 3 pointer of his own to put the Kings back up by 10. Utah maintained a way to stick around with the Kings who could not find a way to put the Jazz out.

With two minutes and 55 seconds left the Kings held a six point lead over the Jazz and Cauley-Stein helped maintain that lead with a big rejection, showing off his athletic ability. But Gay fouled Rodney Hood behind the arc, which led to three shots from the charity stripe. Hood connected on all three cutting the lead to five. The Kings started to struggle and went three minutes and 16 seconds without a make but Cousins then proceeded to score. Rondo fouled Burke, which set up a three point play as the Jazz kept scrapping.

As time wound down, Hood hit a second chance three pointer to cut the lead to five one again. With 33 seconds left, Gay got to the foul line and made one of the two free throws. In just under four seconds, Hayward took the ball down the court, got fouled and made a circus shot to get the and one. Hayward made the bucket and forced the Kings to called a timeout, up 101-98 with 29.2 seconds remaining.

Out of the time out, Rondo took the shot and missed it, as the Jazz gained possession with 8.5 seconds remaining. Utah’s Joe Ingles took the three point shot and made it to tie the game at 101. Sacramento took a 20 second time out with 4.8 seconds remaining and drew up a play for Gay who scored well all night. Gay got the ball and hit a mid-range jumped that was good with 0.6 seconds left. Utah heaved up a miracle shot that had no chance and the Kings picked up a rare victory on back to back games especially on the road. The final score, 103-101, as the Kings just barely pulled out a W.

Amongst rumors of a proposed trade for Pelican’s forward, Ryan Anderson, Gay played an awesome game. Number eight finished the night with 24 points, 9-17 from the field, adding nine rebounds and three steals while knocking down the game winner.

DMC was once again unstoppable, finished with 36 points, 10-21 shooting, and adding 14 free throws on 21 attempts. Boogie also added 17 boards. Cousins has led the NBA in points in the month of January with 32.3 points per game. Cousins showed off his scoring ability once again with his inside dominance as Utah had no big man to cover him with Derrick Favors out. And Rondo continued to dish the ball out adding 13 assists, while adding 6 points and 6 rebounds.

Overall, Sacramento got careless with the ball, 16 turnovers but still shot well. Their defense looked good for three quarters but really let up towards the end although they were much improved. The team also dominated the rebounding category, 54-38. Cauley-Stein was a great spark for the Kings who looked better tonight as they continued to chase the Jazz for the eight seed.

On Saturday, the Kings will take on the Clippers in Los Angeles and will need Cousins to continue his hot start in the new year. The whole Kings crew is going to have to come together as the team is finally healthy and looks to beat a team in their conference and division. The Kings have struggled against really good teams so Saturday night will be a big test.

Golden State uses the 3-pointer to beat the Kings 128-116

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
NBA: Golden State Warriors at Sacramento Kings
Photo Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

By Charlie O. Mallonee

The Golden State Warriors lived by the 3-point basket on Saturday night versus the Sacramento Kings and it led them to a 128-116 victory. The Warriors connected on 19 of 37 3-point attempts (51.4-percent) and broke the back of the Kings in doing so.

Kings head coach George Karl said after game that great shooting is contagious. No one who watched the game against Golden State would be able to mount a defense to counter that notion.

The other area the Warriors dominated in the was rebounding. Golden State out-rebounded the Kings 48-34 in the game. Even though the Warriors played “small ball” most of the night, their ability to rebound the ball was almost uncanny.

There were two key plays that defined the game for the Kings. The first happened in the first period with 5:43 left to play. Rajon Rondo picked up his second personal foul and had to go to the Kings bench. The loss of Rondo and his assists denied the Kings the opportunity to build a lead. He would not return until the 7:37 mark of the second quarter. Rondo was limited to just 13 minutes of playing time in the first half. Another seven to 10 minutes of time on the floor could have been a difference maker in this game.

The second incident happened with 9:44 to go in the third quarter. That is when DeMarcus Cousins was charged with his fourth personal foul. Cousins had to sit down and would not return until the final period. The Kings cannot hang with a team like the Warriors without Cousins working the paint on both ends of floor.

Would the Kings won the game if Rondo and Cousins were able to keep playing rather than sitting on the bench with foul trouble? That is really difficult to project. What can be said is the Kings would have had a better chance to compete with Golden State if Rondo and Cousins had not been lost for extended periods of time.

It was entertaining game that energized the sellout crowd that included a large contingent of Golden State fans. The crowd was loud and loving the basketball they were witnessing on the floor.

The Kings record fell to 15-22 (10-10 at home). Golden State improves to 35-2 on the season and 18-2 on the road.

Kings

DeMarcus Cousins was the Kings leading scorer with 33 points. He recorded another double-double by hauling in 10 rebounds. Cousins shot 12 of 27 from the floor.

Rudy Gay was the “blue collar” workhorse for the Kings in the game. He played 38 minutes scoring 23 points and grabbing nine rebounds. Even when shots were not falling for Gay, he continued to work hard.

Darren Collison was a star off the bench for Sacramento. Collison logged 31 minutes scoring 16 points and dishing out six assists. He went 5-for-10 shooting and was a perfect 5-for-5 from the free throw line.

Marco Belinelli had an “agony and ecstasy” game versus the Warriors. Belinelli shot 0-for-6 from the floor in the first half. He finished the game shooting 5-for-14 and went 3-for-7 from long range. Belinelli just could not find his range in the first half.

Willie Cauley-Stein returned to the Kings lineup putting up 10 points in just nine minutes off the bench.

The Kings shot 46.7-percent (43-for-92) from the floor. They hit on 8 of 23 (34.8-percent) of their 3-point attempts. Sacramento went 22-for-29 from the free throw line.

Sacramento distributed 27 assists in the contest reaching the 20-assists mark for the 33rd straight game.

The Kings took good care of the ball turning it over just 10 times.

Warriors

The reigning MVP of the association – Stephen Curry – led the Warriors in scoring with 38 points. He scored 19 in each half. Curry made it a double-double night by adding 11 assists.

Draymond Green came up big for Golden State again on Saturday night. Green scored 25 points. He shot 5-for-6 from downtown.

The other half of the “splash brothers” – Klay Thompson – had an interesting night. Thompson scored 15 points but shot just 1-for-7 from beyond the 3-point line. He shot 7-for-17 for the game.

Andre Iguodala added 13 points, Brandon Rush 11 and Harrison Barnes 10.

Golden State shot 56.3-percent (49-for-87) from the floor including the 19 3-pointers. The Warriors recorded 35 assists. Their one blemish was turnovers. The Warriors turned it over 18 times.

What they said after the game

“This video is going to be good. This film is going to be good, too many good things (happened),” said Kings head coach George Karl. “I think you can learn from playing a team like this. It doesn’t feel good, but in the 3-minute mark (left to go) we were in a basketball game. I actually think we made a couple good defensive plays, and they made better offensive plays.”

“We played them pretty well for about 38 minutes, (Then) they turned it up in the end and made some tough shots (and) moved the ball around,” explained Rudy Gay. “They make you pay on everything. So, they’re a great team. They’re a championship team and they’ve been there before. That’s probably why they execute so well.”

“We did a better job engaging in the game (after the first quarter),” said Warriors interim head coach Luke Walton. “The first quarter we were turning the ball over. Just awful turnovers – like not even forced. Just throwing it away. This team – Sacramento – is a good team and they’re fighting for a playoff spot. We’ve beaten them three times already so there’s pride they have. Nobody wants to get swept by another team. They came out and they wanted it more than us. They were playing harder than us to start the game but out guys did a great job of getting reengaged and kind of slowly,slowly taking control of the game again.”

When asked about shooting 51-percent from the 3-point line Draymond Green said, “Yeah we were able to get something going. I think we really moved the ball and got good open shots. We got the shot. Guys knocked them down so we kind of took advantage of out ball movement.”

Up next

The Kings are off until Wednesday night when they will host the New Orleans Pelicans in the final game of this home-stand.

The Warriors will host the Miami Heat in Oakland on Monday night.

Warriors Use Three-Ball To Down Kings In Season Sweep.

Published on by swhelchLeave a comment

By Shawn Whelchel

USA Today photo Warriors Stephen Curry and Kings DeMarcus meet for Saturday’s battle at Sleep Train Arena

Sacramento refused to rollover easily against the Warriors on Saturday night, but sharp shooting down the stretch from Steph Curry secured Golden State’s fourth win of the season over the Kings with a 128-116 victory at Sleep Train Arena.

Scoring 14 of his game-high 38 points in the fourth quarter, Curry’s sharpshooting skills from downtown helped to squash any notion of a late-game comeback from Sacramento, who trailed by just two at the half.

Curry-who dished out 11 assists while hauling in six rebounds to compliment his 38 points- had an impressive stroke from beyond the arc all night, putting through 8-of-14 attempts throughout the game.

But Curry wasn’t the only Warrior with the hot hand from downtown. Draymond Green earned 15 of his total 25 points from beyond the arc with a video game like line of 5-of-6 shooting from three-point range. Brandon Rush and Klay Thompson also scored in double-digits for the Warriors starting corp, putting through a combined 26 points between the two of them.

DeMarcus Cousins continues to solidify himself as one of the league’s top-big men, posting 33 points and 10 rebounds in 30-minutes of play. Rudy Gay had himself a solid showing as well, earning 23-points on 9-of-16 shooting. But the rest of Sacramento’s starters couldn’t match the pair’s offensive prowess, combining for just 19 points across the remaining starting unit.

Sacramento’s ability to score was on display tonight with an impressive 116 point total, but their defense continues to hamstring them, as the Warriors were able to shoot 56.3 percent from the field on the night, including 51.4 percent from beyond the arc for 57 of their total points.

After sweeping the season series, Golden State improved their record to 35-2, while Sacramento fell to 15-22 on the season, good for third in the Pacific Division. Next up for the Warriors is a matchup against the Miami Heat at Oracle Arena on Monday.

Kings defeat Lakers, 118-115, in Kobe’s Sacramento Farewell

Published on by Michael MartinezLeave a comment

by Michael Martinez

picture credit Google Images

SACRAMENTO- Nostalgia was in the air at Sleep Train Arena tonight. The Lakers and Kings played a game that brought everyone back to the memories of what was once the NBA’s best rivalry. Kobe Bryant was vintage, taking us back into a time machine as well in his final game in Sacramento. The crowd got loud, the Beat LA chants surfaced and the game came down to the wire. But that same nostalgia should have never been as the Kings let a 27-point lead dwindle in a matter of minutes. Luckily for the Kings their lead was just enough as the team sent off Bryant with a loss in his final game in Sacramento, 118-115, in a tale of two halves.

The Kings came out of the gate with great ball movement and shot the ball with precision while playing with great tempo. The team was able to get off to a hot start, going on a 19-4 run before the Lakers took a timeout to try and stop the bleeding. The Kings pushed the ball up court well, totaling 11 fast break points. The ball was continuously moved throughout the quarter and the Kings dropped 11 assists while turning the ball over just 2 times. The Kings biggest lead of the quarter was 21 when they went up 25-4 over Los Angeles. The Lakers tried to find some sort of offense, but the Kings looked better on defense only allowing the Lakers to shoot 40% from the field. The Kings shot 60% from the field, 15-25. DeMarcus Cousins continued his recent dominance with 12 points, 3-6 from the field, with 2 of those field goals coming from behind the arc. Cousins also grabbed 5 rebounds while going 4-4 from the charity stripe. Rajon Rondo finished the quarter with 5 dimes and Quincy Acy was a nice spark with 7 points as he started the game for the Kings. Ben McLemore did a nice job of getting to the hoop as he finished with 8 points. Great overall team play put the Kings on top of the Lakers, 38-21, after the first quarter.

The second quarter featured much of the same for Sacramento, although the Lakers played a bit better cutting the Kings lead to 14 early in the quarter. The Kings found a way to answer right back, however, as the team was able to sustain. Cousins was an efficient scorer, adding 10 more points in the second, 3-3 from the field and 4-5 from the free throw line. Cousins totaled 22 points for the game high, adding 6 boards. The Kings shot the ball 59.1% for the half while only turning the ball over 3 times in the quarter, for a total of 5 at the half. Bryant made his presence felt with 18 points in the half on 7-12 shooting. The Kings used their dominance in the paint to keep the lead after 2 quarters, 69-48.

Up by 21 heading into the 3rd, the game was the Kings to lose. The team still found a way to hold a big lead through half of the 3rd quarter, going up by 27 at one point. Rondo still found a way to dish the ball out and Acy benefitted from it.  Rondo also had a break out pass to Rudy Gay for a big hammer dunk in the quarter. But Cousins picked up a 5th with 5:48 remaining and that really hurt the Kings. The Lakers slowly cut down the Kings lead, Bryant totaled 10 points in the quarter, and finished the night with 28 points. Acy scored 11 points in the quarter and finished the 3rd with 18 points. D’Angelo Russell had a good quarter and finished with 16 points through 3. The Kings were still able to keep their shooting percentage up high at 58.6% and held the lead, 102-86.

The 4th quarter went as horrible as the Kings could possibly imagine. The young Lakers team played without Bryant for the 4th and they attacked the Kings defense. D’Angelo Russell scored 11 points and Jordan Clarkson added 12. The two young guards tore up the Kings defense while the Kings could not find a way to score. The Kings watched their lead completely disappear, as the Lakers went on a 24-3 run to take the lead, 109-108. The game soon became back and forth, with Sleep Train getting extremely loud. Gay took an alley oop from Rondo to put the Kings up late, but the Lakers came right back. The Lakers tried to foul rondo, who split a pair of free throws. Then Cousins was fouled and split a pair of free throws, the Lakers were up 115-114. . The Kings took the lead with 21.7 seconds remaining on a tear drop lay-up from Rondo. On the next passion, Cousins caused Clarkson to turn the ball over as the Kings were up by 1 and then drew a foul. Cousins made both free throws. As the Kings were up 118-115, Lou Williams took a 3 pointer in the final seconds and missed it. The crowd breathed a sigh of relief as the Kings were outscored 29-16 in the quarter, but pulled out the victory.

The Lakers shot the ball 55% for the quarter and finished shooting 54.7%. In the 4th, the Kings shot the ball at 40%. Cousins finished with 29 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists. Rondo finished with 9 points and 12 assists. Acy was a great spark for the Kings, finishing the night with 18 points. The Kings finished the game in sloppy fashion and ended the night with 15 turnovers. Their dominance in the paint did prevail, 64 points on the night. The Kings are now 10-3 when shooting over 50% with a 55.3 shooting percentage on the night. Russell scored 27 for the Lakers as he looks to be the new Kings killer and Williams added 20. The Kings barely squeaked out a win and Coach George Karl was not too pleased with his team afterwards.

After answering a few questions, Karl walked out of the media room.

After the game, Bryant reminisced on his time in Sacramento and about the applause from the fans.

“It was great. It’s a sign of respect, even though we’ve been enemies for years…” said Bryant.

Bryant also had high praise for Cousins who finished 1 point shy of 30. Cousins would have finished his fourth consecutive game with 30+ plus points had he made one more free throw or field goal.

Although the Kings won, there was little satisfaction.

Coach Karl said “Dallas was a good loss, tonight was a bad win..”

Boogie agreed.  “I feel the loss against Dallas was better than this win against the Lakers,” said Cousins.

The Kings almost gave away a huge lead and need to find a way to close out games while not playing to the level of opponents who are much worse than them. The Kings will take on the Warriors at home this Saturday and if the team hopes to stand a chance, they will need to play like they did in the first half, while closing out the second half.

Kings end losing streak by crushing the Suns 142-119

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
NBA: Phoenix Suns at Sacramento Kings
Darren Collison drives to the basket versus the Suns. Photo Credit: Godofredo Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

By Charlie O. Mallonee

Sacramento – Here are words you have not heard often this season – the Sacramento Kings waltzed their way to a win on Saturday afternoon destroying the Phoenix Suns 142-119.

The win ended a 3-game losing streak for the Kings. It was the eighth consecutive loss for the Suns (12-24) who have to play the Lakers in Los Angeles on Sunday.

The Kings (13-20) led by as many as 17 points in the first half but the Suns would not go down for the count. Phoenix outscored the Kings 35-28 in the second quarter and looked like they were ready to make a game of it.

At the half, the Kings led the Suns 59-53.

Sacramento came out in the third quarter looking like a team that was ready to put away their opponent. The Suns kept fighting and took the lead with 8:16 to go in the period. The Kings took the lead back off a Rudy Gay dunk with an assist from Casspi and they never looked back.

By the end of the third quarter, the Kings led the Suns 103-87 and every one in the building knew the fourth quarter would be a formality.

The Kings kept the hammer down in the fourth quarter outscoring the Suns 39-32. There was even a Willie Cauley-Stein sighting late in the game. Cauley-Stein played for the first time in almost a month due to a dislocated finger. The big rookie scored the first time he had the ball in his hands.

On Saturday, the Kings did what they should have done to Philadelphia on Wednesday night. They beat an inferior team and protected their home court. Sacramento is now 9-9 at home this season.

Kings

George Karl pointed to the play of Darren Collison as one of the main reasons the Kings beat the Suns. Collison came of the bench and scored 21 points hitting on 7-of-10 shooting attempts (2-for-4 3-pointers). He dished out six assists and went 5-for-6 from the free throw line in his 28 minutes of playing time.

DeMarcus Cousins had a positive outing scoring 32 points and grabbing nine rebounds. The big man shot 11-for-15 from the floor and 9-for-11 from the free throw line. Cousins spent a great deal of time in the paint and it payed off for the Kings as the Suns could not stop him.

Rajon Rondo posted another double-double game. He scored 15 points and distributed 15 assists in just 30 minutes on the floor. Rondo continues to amaze with his rebounding ability. He had six rebounds in the game with many coming at crucial moments for the Kings.

Marco Belinelli followed up his 28-point performance against the Sixers with 19 points versus the Suns. Belinelli shot 7-for-11 from the floor (2-for-5 long range) and was a perfect 3-for-3 from the foul line.

Omri Casspi had another solid game as a starter for Sacramento. He put up 13 points and hauled in seven rebounds in his 29 minutes on the floor. It is hard to see Casspi not staying in the starting lineup for the foreseeable future.

As a team, the Kings shot 60.9-percent from the field. They hit on 9-of-23 3-point attempts (39.1-percent). Sacramento outscored the Suns 60-32 in the paint.

Sacramento out-rebounded Phoenix 46-25. The Kings scored 14 second chance points to just nine for the Suns.

The Kings also took good care of the basketball. They turned the ball over 15 times while recording 30 assists for the desired 2-to-1 ratio.

Suns

No statistic of the game may be more important than the eighth consecutive loss for the Suns. If the Suns lose to the Lakers on Sunday, it is very conceivable that Jeff Hornacek will not be the Phoenix coach on Monday. The Suns have already replaced two of their assistant coaches.

Brandon Knight led the Suns scoring attack with 23 points. Rookie Devin Booker had an impressive game putting up 21 points for Phoenix.

The Suns had six players score in double figures.

Phoenix just could not match the Kings play in the paint and it cost them the game.

George Karl

Karl 1-2-16

The win over the Suns gave Kings head coach George Karl his 1115th NBA regular season victory. That ties him for fifth all-time with Phil Jackson.

When asked how it felt to tie Jackson on the all-time wins list Karl said, “Its a good, fun thing with my family. My son, my daughter, my son-in-law and my staff, we joke about it all the time. As I said to you before, he’s a great coach, he’s maybe the best. I don’t know what our record is against him, but I’m pretty sure it not very good. I know its not very good in the playoffs, but it might be decent in the regular season.”

What they said after the game

“One thing I just said after the game was we had two really good days of practice,” said Karl. “The effort in the second half, DC (Darren Collison) was incredible. It was effort. I’m not sure it was pretty. I’m not sure it was conceptually excellent. It was just effort. I’m just an old school guy that believes that effort magnifies talent.”

‘Oh it’s huge, it’s huge,” said Darren Collison on the victory. “We were embarrassed by the losses we had previously. We were able to get a win. It always feels good to get a win especially when you (have to) go on the road.”

Rajon Rondo made it clear that only the press is making his return to Dallas a big deal. He said it is just another road game.

He’s been coaching a long, long time,” said Suns head coach Jeff Hornacek about George Karl. “I played against him so he’s been there a long time. He’s always done a great job with his teams. They’ve always been high-scoring, high-flying teams and with the talent they have on the this team, they got them playing that way tonight. He’s one of those great coaches of all time with the amount of wins he’s racked up.”

Up next

The Kings will face the Thunder in Oklahoma City on Monday and the Mavericks in Dallas on Tuesday.

The Suns play the Lakers in Los Angeles on Sunday.

Kings looking for answers after loss, 110-105, to NBA’s worst team

Published on by Michael MartinezLeave a comment

by Michael Martinez

Picture credit Michael Tipton, Flickr

SACRAMENTO- The Kings have put themselves in an tough position as they find themselves on a 3 game losing streak after tonight’s loss. To add insult to injury, the Kings lost to the NBA’s worst team, the Philadelphia 76ers, who are now 3-31 on the season. The Kings played painfully careless with the ball as everyone watched them turn the ball over 22 times. The team also forgot how to box out their opponents, allowing the Sixers to grab 16 offensive boards. Marco Belinelli was the only bright spot for the Kings tonight as he started to find his stroke, but missed free throws and missed opportunities cost the team. The Sixers out hustled and out played the Kings leading to another Sacramento loss, 110-105, at Sleep Train Arena.

The Kings set the tone for the game in the 1st quarter on their first possession with a turnover, 6 in the quarter. Their defense also looked pretty poor as they started the game, but DeMarcus Cousins scored 8 points early on and 11 in the quarter, shooting 4/6 from the field. Belinelli checked in and scored 4 quick points. Marco finished the quarter with 8 points, going 4/5 from the field. His shot looked good early and the Kings were setting good off ball screens to get him open. Rajon Rondo did a good job of dropping dimes with 7 assists in the quarter. The Kings shot 60% for the quarter, but allowed the Sixers to grab 7 offensive boards. With the 1st quarter in the books, the Kings held a one point lead over Philly, 31-30.

In the 2nd quarter, the Kings showed much of the same. The Sixers looked like they wanted to be out there, while the Kings did a bad job of getting back in transition on the defensive end. The Kings continued to forget how to box out their opponent as the Sixers grabbed 4 more offensive rebounds in the 2nd. Belinelli was still the only bright spot, scoring 8 points in the 2nd on 3-5 shooting, 2-3 from behind the arc. Belinelli finished the half with 16 points. No other Kings player scored more than 5 points in the 2nd and even though they shot the ball well again, the turnovers caught up to them. The team turned the ball over 6 more times in the 2nd. Nerlens Noel had a solid quarter for the Sixers with 8 points in the quarter and 14 for the half. Although the team shot 55%, the Kings gave up 36 points in the paint and let Philly have way too many easy buckets. The Kings only totaled 22 points in the paint, where they usually thrive. With the first half finished, the Kings and Sixers were tied up at 57.

As the Kings headed out to start the 2nd half, the team needed more intensity, but there was none. The Sixers came out on an 8-2 run and Sacramento continued to turn the ball over, 7 turnovers in the 3rd. Both teams shot at 40%, but the Sixers found their 3 point shot. Philadelphia went 5-10 from downtown. The Kings were able to find a couple 3’s of their own and found some offense. The team cut the Philly lead to 75-71 with 6:30 remaining in the quarter, but the Sixers found a way to keep up their offense. The Kings had terrible shot selection and seemed to forget to get the ball down low to Cousins. Jerami Grant put up 9 points for the Sixers in the quarter, 2-2 from behind the 3 point line, 3/4 from the charity stripe. As the 3rd quarter ended, the Kings found themselves down, 85-81, to a team that has lost as many games as the Kings have played.

The 4th quarter got started with a fast break pass up court from Darren Collison to Belinelli who got fouled but could not convert the 3 point play. Luckily, the Kings only turned the ball over 3 times in the quarter, but they could not find much offense. Belinelli once again found his stroke, 4-7 from the field, adding 12 points for a total of 28. The Kings free throw shooting caught up to them again, going 8-15 from the line in the 4th. The Kings went 25/41 from the line, an atrocious 61%. The Kings smaller line up really hurt them throughout, giving up 4 more offensive rebounds in the 4th. The Kings had little ball movement and a lot of players were trying to play through themselves. Noel had an easy alley-oop as the Sixers constantly found easy shots at the basket and around the perimeter. The holes in the Kings defense hurt them all night who allowed Philly to score 110 points while their season average is 92 points per game. The frustration of the team showed and Cousins eventually fouled out on a poor call by the refs. Cousins frustrations showed all night as he got pretty banged up, but he kept his composure to an extent.

George Karl said “My feeling is we have too many offensive players and not too many defensive players.”

The team needs to start playing with more togetherness, especially on transition defense. The Kings took a bad loss, 110-105, as boos showered the arena and fans took off early.

Tonight’s loss to the Sixers is a big blow for the Kings. After the win against Indiana, the Kings looked to be in the drivers seat, only a game out of the 8th seed. While the playoff seeding is not important at this time, the idea is a boost of confidence for a team looking to please its fans. But the Kings dropped another one at home to Portland and then lost to a Golden State team who can suck the life right out of you. The Kings looked not to take the young Sixers team seriously and were completely outplayed. Coach Karl’s frustration showed and the Kings need some sort of change. Belinelli was a great spark off the bench, scoring a season high of 28, but the team needs to play more together. A lot of players are looking to play through themselves and the lack of team chemistry is alarming. With 3 straight losses, 2 at home, the Kings might need to look to switch things up. The loss of Willie Cauley-Stein is catching up to the team who plays little defense and cannot get defensive boards.

Karl preached the importance of defense again when he said “We play best when we play defense.”

The Kings are 2 game out of the 8th seed, which just goes to show how open the last couple of seeds are. But the Kings need to worry less about the playoffs and focus on winning now. The Kings (12-19)  will take on the Phoenix Suns (12-22) this Saturday at Sleep Train Arena. Ironically, the Suns also added a victory to the Sixers record. Saturday will show if this team has the heart to move past this loss and get back to winning.

Warriors improve to 29-1 behind Curry’s triple double

Published on by jhawkes51Leave a comment

By Joe Hawkes-Beamon

OAKLAND — Stephen Curry overcame a slow start, but managed to pick up the pace by finishing with 23 points helping the Golden State Warriors improve to 29-1 with a 122-103 over the visiting Sacramento Kings Monday night in front of a sellout Oracle Arena crowd.

Curry finished with a career-high 14 rebounds and 10 assists, earning his sixth career triple double to help Golden State remain undefeated at home improving to 14-0, and extending their regular season home winning streak to 33 games dating back to last season.

Curry was held scoreless for 20:44 minutes to begin the game, but got red-hot in the second quarter scoring 17 points and nailing five 3-pointers.

Klay Thompson scored 29 points and Draymond Green finished with 25 points, helping Golden State to their 11th straight win over their Northern California rival, their longest losing streak since the Cincinnati Royals dropped 13 straight to the Philadelphia Warriors in 1959-60.

Omri Casspi scored a career-high 36 points (leading all scorers for the game), and tying a Kings’ record set by Mike Bibby with nine made 3-pointers.

Center DeMarcus Cousins, who was finally healthy in three games versus Golden State, was ejected in the third quarter by referee Monty McCutchen after arguing his fifth personal foul.

Once Cousins was ejected, the Warriors went on a 15-0 run that after being up by just two points to push their lead to 79-66. Another Curry 3-pointer just before the end of the third raised Golden State’s lead to 90-75.

Rudy Gay finished with 17 points and eight rebounds, Darren Collison had 13 points and 11 assists, while Rajon Rondo scored just four points and played just 17 minutes after picking up three fouls in the first quarter.

Sacramento (12-19), who lost 98-94 at home to the Portland Trailblazers on Sunday, have lost three of their last four games.

Warriors center Festus Ezeli left the game with a sore left foot and forward Harrison Barnes missed his 13th game with an ankle sprain.

Golden State travels to Texas for a two-game road trip, visiting Dallas on Wednesday and Houston on Thursday.

The Kings host Philadelphia on Wednesday.

 

 

 

Portland hands Sacramento a 98-94 loss

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
NBA: Portland Trail Blazers at Sacramento Kings
Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

by Charlie O. Mallonee

Sacramento – The young Portland Trail Blazers outworked the Sacramento Kings on Sunday night and walked away with a 98-94 victory on the road.

The Blazers won the without their star player – Damian Lillard – who is sidelined with left plantar fasciitis.

There were two keys to the Portland (13-20) victory. The first key was the play of guard CJ McCollum who scored 35 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and recorded 9 assists for a solid double-double game.

The second key to the Trail Blazers win was the solid play of their bench. The Portland bench outscored the Kings bench 42-23. Meyers Leonard (16) and Maurice Harkless (13) provided strong play and scoring while the starters were on the bench.

The Trail Blazers demonstrated energy and effort that the Kings were unable to match. This game was the first time this season the Kings lost after leading at halftime. Sacramento was 10-0 when they took a lead to the locker room at the half until Sunday night.

Sacramento (12-18) lacked consistency versus Portland. Their offense was stagnant.

DeMarcus Cousins led the way for the Kings putting up 36 points. Cousins was 12-for-26 from the floor while going 2-for-7 from beyond the 3-point line. When your center leads the team in 3-point attempts, that spells trouble for the offense.

Rudy Gay (7 points) was 2-for-12 shooting. Starting shooting guard Ben McLemore (5) took just one shot from the floor in his 19 minutes of playing time.

The Kings shot 39.5-percent from the field (30-for-76). It is almost impossible to win a game in the NBA when your team shoots under 40-percent.

The other major problem the Kings experienced in the game was turnovers. They committed 23 turnovers in the contest. Those turnovers led to 28 Portland points. A team cannot be that careless with the ball and expect to win.

For Sacramento, it was a very disappointing loss because this was a game that they should have won on their home court. A win would have moved the Kings into the eighth spot in Western Conference by percentage points. This is the type of loss that keeps teams out of the playoffs.

Things get no easier for the Kings as they have to face the Golden State Warriors in Oakland on Monday night. Sacramento will to bring its “A-game” just to be competitive against the best team in the Association.

 

Santa comes early: Kings hold on to defeat Pacers, 108-106.

Published on by Michael MartinezLeave a comment

by Michael Martinez

picture credit Google Images

After breaking down in the 4th quarter against the Washington Wizards this past Monday, the Kings looked to go .500 on their 4 game road trip. The Kings looked solid in the first half, but a dismal 3rd quarter performance by the team pushed momentum into the Indiana Pacers favor. The 4th quarter turned out to be a doozy and the Kings were able to close out the game, proving they are slowly figuring out how to finish albeit in ugly fashion. Although the Kings were a bit careless with the ball, the Kings picked up the win over the Pacers, 108-106. The Kings passed the ball well, out rebounded the Pacers and scored in the paint at will to pick up the victory.

With the 1st quarter underway, The Kings started the scoring with Rajon Rondo getting the ball inside to DeMarcus Cousins for a nice catch and finish. The team was a bit sloppy early on and that led to the Pacers going on a 10-4 run to start the game. The Kings regained the momentum, coming out of the time out and Rondo had a terrific quarter passing the ball. Rondo totaled 8 assists in the quarter and scored 9 points on 4-6 shooting. Rondo highlighted the quarter as he through a smooth bounce pass between 3 Pacers defenders to Ben McLemore for a lay up.  There was a scary moment in the quarter when Cousins fell on top of McLemore on the defensive end after contesting a shot, but both players continued to play. Rondo also had a sweet assist to Collison on a fast break opportunity. Rondo was the high scorer for the team who went 14-25 from the field, shooting 56%. The high percentage came off of 28 points in the paint to the Pacers 6. The Pacers stayed in the game thanks to George Hill who shot 4-6 from the field, 3-4 from 3 point range and totaled 11 points for the quarter high. The Kings did outscored the Pacers, 30-27, in the first quarter with Rondo filling up the stat sheet early on.

The 2nd quarter got underway with Marco Belinelli hitting a jumper. Darren Collison followed it up with a jumper of his own and Omri Casspi nailed a 3 pointer as the Kings went up by 8 early in the quarter. The Kings started doing a much better job on the defensive end by holding the Pacers to a shooting percentage of 34.8% and Collison had a terrific quarter off the bench. The Kings guard put up 13 points on 6-7 shooting. The guard finished the half with 15 points, 7-9 from the field, adding 2 assists. The Kings continued crashing the boards hard, with 18 rebounds in the quarter and 31 in the half. Big Cous attacked the hoop hard and went 5-6 from the charity strip, 3-6 from the field and had 11 points in the 2nd, 18 for the half with 12 rebounds. Rondo also had a double-double at the half, 11 points and 10 assists. After Cousins was called for a blocking foul which appeared to be a charge, Coach George Karl was visibly frustrated. Karl did not blow his top off until he saw Rudy Gay get sandwiched between two Pacers and not get a foul call. Karl picked up a technical foul but the tech was justifiable. The officiating was poor in the quarter and for most of the game. With great passing and ball movement, 16 assists in the half, the Kings were able to score with ease on the offensive end. With the first half over, the Kings led the Pacers by 15, 64-49.

After an awesome 2nd quarter and good first half, the Kings wanted to keep their offense flowing; however the Pacers seemed to find the Kings juju. The Kings played very poorly and only scored 20 points in the quarter. The Pacers got off to a 7-0 run to start the quarter. The Kings played very sloppy, turning the ball over 7 times and the Pacers took advantage. The Pacers scored 14 points off those turnovers. The team defense was being broken down and the Pacers got plenty of good looks leading to a 16-5 run in less than 4 minutes of play. After scoring in the paint with ease, the Kings lost control of the ball and only scored 12 points in the paint. Their defense suffered from their poor offense and the 3rd was incredibly forgettable for the team, although they shot 50%. The Pacers scored 33 in the quarter on 13-22 shooting. Rudy Gay had a team high in the quarter with 7 points, 15 in all 3. Rondo added 4 assists in the quarter, 13 points and 14 assists in the first 3 quarters but also 7 turnovers. Cousins had 23 points with 14 rebounds and Collison totaled 19. Luckily for the Kings, they out rebounded the Pacers, 40-29, and that helped them hold a 2 point lead to end the quarter. Monte Ellis and Hill helped cut the score in the quarter, with 17 and 18 points respectively through the 3 quarters. After 36 minutes the Kings stayed up, 84-82, over the Pacers after leading by 15 at the half.

After letting the Pacers get back into a game that the Kings thought they could easily win, the 4th quarter would be extremely important. Seth Curry started the quarter for Rondo and he gave a great defensive spark. On one defensive possession, Curry knocked the ball loose but came up short and swiped it away the second time. The steal led to Casspi picking it up, tossing it to Collison up ahead who got it back to Casspi for an alley-oop after Casspi filled the middle lane really well. The Kings started to get a little sloppy with the ball again and their turnovers helped the Pacers keep it close. CJ Miles hit a 3 in the quarter to cut the lead to 1, but Collison answered with a 3 of his own. The Kings left a lot of Pacers players open on defensive possessions including Ellis who hit a 3 pointer to give the Pacers their first lead since the 1st quarter. The Pacers went up by 2 but Gay came down the floor to hit a jumper of his own. Cousins then got to the line to give the Kings a 2 point lead with a minute left. The game really came down to the wire, but Paul George’s struggles helped the Kings close it out. George missed a shot that gave the Kings a chance to go up by 2 possessions, however the team could not capitalize. With 8 seconds left to play, the Pacers drew up a play to get the ball in George’s hands. George got a decent look, contested by Gay, that did not fall. The Kings prevailed over the Pacers, 108-106.  Casspi had a good 4th with 9 points in the quarter and the Kings shot well once again, 55.6%, 10-18 from the field. The team continued assisting the ball and finding a way to crash the boards as well to pull out a much needed victory.

The Kings 3 point shooting was non-existent in the game, 4-23 behind the arc, but the team found a way to win in big part to their passing and attacking of the rim. The team finished with 64 points in the paint, 49 rebounds and 28 assists. Collision was a huge boost off the bench with 24 points and 5 assists as he used his explosiveness to get good looks. Cousins had a tremendous game, 25 points and 16 rebounds as he helped the Kings on the glass. Gay finished with 17 points and Casspi added a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Rondo did not score in the 4th, finishing with 13 points but totaled 16 assists. Cousins and Rondo’s double-doubles were both their 14th of the season. The Kings finished with a 51.7% shooting percentage which is pretty impressive given they missed 19 three point attempts. The team closed out a game that should not have been close but the turnovers kept the Pacers in it.

As the night concluded, Rondo was the fastest player in the Sacramento era to reach 300 assists. Cousins is looking more like his early season self as he keeps his season scoring around 24-25 points per game. Big Cous has been dominant in the paint and the Kings are doing a great job of exploiting that on other teams. The Kings have dominated the paint against their opponents all season and Rondo’s elite passing ability has made them a huge offensive threat. The Kings need to take care of the ball more and close out on defenders as they have continuously given wide open shots to their opponents. The Kings gave fans an early Christmas present with the victory, even though they also almost gave everyone a heart attack as well. The Kings are now 12-17 and will take on the 11-20 Portland Trailblazers at home. For Christmas, all Kings fans want is for the team to continue winning and find their way into a playoff spot. Happy Holidays!

 

 

Kings beat Toronto on the road 104-94

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
NBA: Sacramento Kings at Toronto Raptors
Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

by Charlie O. Mallonee

In projecting the Kings possible wins and losses on the current four-game road trip, the team at Sports Radio Service had the game versus the Raptors solidly in the loss column. It appears the Kings did not read our projections.

On Sunday night in Toronto, the Kings led wire-to-wire beating the Raptors 104-94. The victory also gave Sacramento a series sweep over Toronto (2-0) for the 2015-16 season.

The Kings used a 17-2 first quarter run to take a commanding 37-18 lead after the first quarter. For that first 12 minutes, Sacramento looked like a championship basketball team.

In the second quarter, things did not go the Kings way. The offense fell off and the Raptors came alive outscoring the Kings 30-18. Coach George Karl felt the referee’s whistles were very tough on his team in the quarter.

Sacramento took a 55-48 lead to the locker room at halftime.

The contest became more of possession game rather than a fast paced game in the second half. The Kings continued to hold their lead using strong defense when the offense was lacking.

The Kings received a big break in the third quarter when the Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry was ejected from the game. Lowry fouled DeMarcus Cousins on a defensive rebound and Lowry disputed the call. After receiving his first technical foul, Lowry continued to argue with the official. Finally, the referee had enough and he issued the second technical foul which meant Lowry was automatically ejected from contest.

The Raptors were not able to overcome the loss of Lowry and the Kings strong play on both sides of the ball. Sacramento (11-16) defeated Toronto (17-12) 104-94.

Kings

Sacramento used an eight-man rotation in defeating the Raptors. All five of the Kings starters scored in double digits.

Rajon Rondo was magic on the court again. Rondo recorded another double-double scoring 19 points and dishing out 13 assists.

Rudy Gay tied Rondo as the Kings high scorer putting up 19 points as well. He also grabbed nine rebounds and had three steals.

DeMarcus Cousins scored 15 points, pulled down nine rebounds, distributed five assists, blocked four shots and had two steals.

Omri Casspi had another strong game as a starter. Casspi scored 15 points and had 11 rebounds for a double-double game of his own. He shot 6-for-8 from the field while connecting on 3-of-4 three-point attempts.

Ben McLemore added 12 points in his 19 minutes of playing time as a starter.

Marco Belinelli (6), Kosta Kufos (7) and Darren Collison (11) had a productive night coming off the bench for the Kings.

Sacramento shot 52.6-percent (40-for-76) from the floor for the game. The hit on 9-of-21 (42.9-percent) of their 3-point shots.

The Kings recorded 26 assists and had just 15 turnovers.

Up next

The Kings will face the Washington Wizards on Monday night in Washington, D.C.