Tag: DeMarcus Cousins

by Charlie O. Mallonee

“I wanted to win that game so badly. It would have been great for our morale,” said Kings Head Coach George Karl after his team lost to the Orlando Magic 119-114 on Friday night.

The fact that the Kings had a chance to win the game in Orlando was a miracle in itself. Sacramento allowed the Magic to score 68 points in the first half. The Kings took their first lead with 6:45 to go in the game off a Nik Stauskas 3-pointer. Sacramento’s biggest lead of the night was one point. Their defense was inconsistent at best.

Even with all of those things going against the Kings, they still had a chance to win the game with 32.7-seconds left to go. Omri Casspi was fouled in the act of shooting a 3-pointer. Casspi went to the free throw line and converted all three opportunities to give the Kings a one point lead.

After an Orlando timeout, the Magic inbounded the ball, the Kings defense broke down and Tobias Harris was left open in the right corner. Harris hit the “short” 3-point shot to give the lead back to the Magic and ultimately gave his team the win.

“That’s what the road is. The road is a hard place. It’s an unfair place.A place where you might have been the better team in the second half and you don’t get rewarded,” summarized Karl during the postgame news conference.

Defensive breakdowns and turnovers were the Kings downfall against the Magic. Coach Karl pointed out the Magic scored on almost every possession after a Kings turnover. Orlando scored 22 points off of the 14 Sacramento turnovers in the game.

The Kings defense allowed Orlando to shoot 56.5-percent (48 for 85) from the field and go 13 for 24 (54.2-percent) from beyond the 3-point arc. The Magic posted 29 assists and made just 12 turnovers.

Victor Oladipo led the Magic recording a double-double by scoring 32 points and dishing out 10 assists. Elfrid Payton put up a double-double with 10 points and 12 assists. Channing Frye also had a double-double putting up 22 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Frye hit six 3-pointers for the Magic.

The Kings were led by Rudy Gay and DeMarcus Cousins. Gay scored 39 points for Sacramento. Cousins had a double-double night with 29 points and 12 rebounds. Ray McCallum (13) and Omri Casspi (12) were the other Kings who scored in double figures.

The Sacramento bench added just 28 points in the game.

The Kings went 38 for 85 (44.7-percent) from the floor and a respectable 37.0-percent (10 for 27) from downtown. They went to the free throw line 38 times and were successful 28 times (73.7-percent). A team does not go to the charity stripe 38 times and come away the losers very often.

It took the Kings too long to get into the game on Friday night, and their defensive breakdowns sealed their fate.

The Kings (21-39) record falls to 1-2 for the road trip. Sacramento has to play the second game of a back-to-back in Miami on Saturday night.

Orlando ended a four game losing streak with the victory over the Kings. The Magic are now 20-43 for the year.

A Spirited Conversation

Much will be made of a “dust up” between Rudy Gay and DeMarcus Cousins late in the second quarter of the game. The two exchanged words on the bench and on the floor after a turnover. It was really nothing more than two competitors who are sick of losing taking it out on each other for 30-seconds. “There‘s nothing to see here. Move along now. Nothing to see here.”

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings battled the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday afternoon but lost the game 110-99. The Kings overcame deficits as large as 17 points to pull within one point of tying the game in the fourth quarter but ultimately could not overcome the size and talent of the Trail Blazers.

The Kings (20-37) were without DeMarcus Cousins and Darren Collison again on Sunday. Sacramento is now 2-12 when Cousins is not in the lineup. Portland (39-19) used their size to take advantage of the Kings having to play without their big center in the game.

The Kings trailed the Blazers 87-75 after three quarters. The Kings went on 13-2 run to erase Portland’s big lead. It was a one point Trail Blazers lead with 8:23 to play in the game. Portland fought back with strong play from Robin Lopez, Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Aldridge to maintain the lead and preserve the win.

Sacramento was led by the play of Derrick Williams and Andre Miller in the final period. Williams scored 13 points in the fourth quarter. Miller dished out five of his 10 assists in the final quarter. You will see more Williams and Miller on the floor together with the type of chemistry they demonstrated.

“I was impressed. We didn’t have much going after the first couple of quarters and even the third quarter. Andre (Miller) did a good job getting us some easy baskets. There was enthusiasm, but they are a very good team. They are a very good shooting team and execute real well, ” said Kings Head Coach George Karl.

The game was one big runs by the Trail Blazers followed by comebacks by the Kings. Portland led by as many as 17 points. The Kings could have given up, blamed their loss on not having Cousins available and limped out of town on their eight game road trip. They did not give up. The Kings showed tenacity and skill in giving the Blazers a real old fashion NBA batlle.

Rudy Gay was the Kings leading scorer with 24 points. Derrick Williams put up 18 points. Guards Ben McLemore, Ray McCallum and Andre Miller all scored 12 points each. Miller recorded a double-double with his 10 assists.

Sacramento shot 45.3-percent (39 for 86) from the field but connected on just three of 12 3-point shot attempts (25.0-percent). They shot 78.3-percent (18 for 23) from the free throw line.

The most impressive stat of the night was the Kings assist to turnover ratio of 2:1. They dished out 24 assists and turned the ball over just 12 times. That marks real improvement in both statistical areas.

The Trail Blazers were led in scoring by Damian Lillard (31) and LaMarcus Aldridge (26). Aldridge posted his 30th double-double by adding 15 rebounds to his 26 points. Wesley Matthews scored 17 points while Robin Lopez added 15.

Portland shot 49.4-percent (41 for 83) from the floor. They burned the Kings hitting on 10 of 24 3-point shots (41.7-percent). The Blazers helped themselves at the charity stripe hitting on 18 of 20 tries (90.0-percent).

The Trail Blazers outrebounded the Kings 43-33.

The victory gave Portland a 2-1 win in the season series with the Kings.

Cousins and Collison Update

DeMarcus Cousins did come out on the floor for a light shoot-around prior to the game. The Kings are cautiously optimistic about his availability versus the Knicks in New York City on Tuesday evening.

Collison will be in Philadelphia on Monday for a medical evaluation. He is expected to have surgery on his hip flexor on Tuesday.

Coming up

The Kings now embark on a brutal eight game road that begins in New York City on Tuesday night. That is a make up game for the contest that was postponed in January due to a blizzard in the New York area.

The Kings will fly to San Antonio on Tuesday night for a Wednesday game with the Spurs.

The Kings will also visit Orlando, Miami, Atlanta, Charlotte, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. on the trip.

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The San Antonio Spurs (35-23) broke out of a four game losing streak on Friday night beating the Kings (20-35) in Sacramento 107-96.

The Kings played without two of their starters – DeMarcus Cousins and Darren Collison – who were sidelined due to injuries. The Kings are now just 2-11 when Cousins does not play.

The Spurs led the Kings 80-78 after three quarters. It took three minutes and five seconds into the fourth period for either team to score. When the scoring began, the scales tipped toward the Spurs who scored 18 points off eight Kings’ turnovers. San Antonio outscored Sacramento 27-18 in the final quarter.

“The basketball IQ in the fourth quarter – I’m not saying it was bad – it wasn’t good,” explained Kings Head Coach George Karl after the game.

The Kings had no assists in the fourth quarter and were outrebounded 11-8. Sacramento committed nine personal fouls to just four personals for San Antonio.

“They’re a team that knows how to win games. They’ve been frustrated, and I think they played with an urgency. It was pretty much the class of a championship team,” summarized Karl.

Tony Parker led the Spurs scoring attack with 19 points. Kawhi Leonard scored 17 points, Manu Ginobili 16 and Tim Duncan added 12.

The Spurs shot just 39.8-percent (35 for 88) from the field and hit eight of 23 attempts (34.8-percent) from downtown. They were 29 of 32 (90.6-percent) from the free throw line. San Antonio recorded 18 assists and turned the ball over just six times.

Ben McLemore led the Kings in scoring with 21 points. He went five for eight from the floor and 10 for 12 from the charity stripe.

Ray McCallum scored 20 hitting on 10 of 17 field goal attempts. Rudy Gay added 16 points.

Jason Thompson had a strong night on defense and stepped up to score 12 points while grabbing 11 rebounds to record the double-double. Andre Miller had a 10 point game.

Sacramento shot 48.1-percent (38 for 79) from the floor. They attempted just four 3-point shots and were successful just once. The Kings were 19 for 23 (82.6-percent) from the foul line.

“In general, I thought how we played was very good. We ran better. We ran more often. The spacing and tempo of the game was pretty good. We just didn’t finish plays – didn’t make good decisions,” said Karl.

The Kings are now 1-1 on this three game homestand. The homestand comes to an end on Sunday afternoon when the Kings host the Portland Trail Blazers.

The Trail Blazers defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 115-112 on Friday night.

The Kings are hoping that center DeMarcus Cousins will be available on Sunday versus the Blazers. Cousins sat out the Spurs game due to a left ankle sprain and left hip contusion suffered in the Memphis game on Wednesday.

Darren Collison is headed to Philadelphia to be evaluated on Monday with surgery on his right hip flexor probable on Tuesday.

The Kings are now 2-2 under George Karl as head coach.

Sacramento will face the Spurs for the fourth and final time next Wednesday evening in San Antonio. The Kings play the Knicks in New York City on Tuesday.

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The misery continued on Saturday night as the Kings lost for the 11th time in their last 12 games. This time the loss came at the hands of the Utah Jazz (18-33) 102-90.

The troubles for the Kings started early as they scored just 15 points in the first quarter. Sacramento shot a miserable 26.1-percent (6 for 23) from the field and were zero for five from 3-point range. The Kings trailed by 10 after the first quarter.

The Kings did not lack energy. They just could get shots to fall.

The Kings shooting percentage improved slightly in the second quarter and they matched the Jazz scoring with 24 points. It was 49-39 at the half.

The Jazz came out strong in the third quarter going on a 15-2 run and building a 23 point lead. The Kings kept battling but the deficit was just too great for them to overcome. Sacramento (17-32) had lost their third consecutive game.

Forward Gordon Hayward led the Jazz with 30 points going 13 for 23 shooting from the floor. Derrick Favors put up 20 points to go with five assists and three blocked shots.

Utah’s Enes Kanter posted a double-double scoring 17 points and grabbing 13 rebounds.

The Jazz shot 50.0-percent (43 for 86) from the floor.They had 21 assists and turned the ball over just nine times. The Jazz outrebounded the Kings 43-40.

DeMarcus Cousins was the Kings leading scorer recording another double-double with 27 points and 10 rebounds. Rudy Gay, who tweaked his ankle early in the game, scored just four points.

Ben McLemore scored 15 points including three 3-pointers. Ramon Sessions, who started for the injured Darren Collison, put up 11 points to go with five assists.

As a team, the Kings shot just 39.0-percent (32 for 82) from the field. They were just three for 13 (23.1-percent) from beyond the 3-point arc. Sacramento, usually a good free throw shooting team, shot just 69.7-percent (23 for 33) from the stripe.

The off-court drama continues

Rumors have persisted over the past week that the Kings would replace Tyrone Corbin as head coach over the All-Star break. The rumor mill has also had the Kings in negotiations with George Karl over the weekend. Now those talks may have hit a snag.

Per Adrian Wojnarowski: Yahoo Sources: The resistance to George Karl hiring by Cousins’ camp has stalled talks and given sides pause about pushing through on deal.

Nothing is going to come easy for the Kings this season. They cannot win games and now, they cannot even hire a permanent coach without controversy.

Up Next

The Kings have no time to rest as they host the Phoenix Suns on Sunday night at Sleep Train Arena.

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings eight game losing streak came an end in Indiana on Saturday night as they beat the Pacers 99-94. Rudy Gay (31), DeMarcus Cousins (20) and Darren Collison (23) combined for 74 of the Kings 99 point total.

“What really helped set the tone was the main three primary guys … and guys kind of took our lead. Once we did it – everybody got into the flow,” said DeMarcus Cousins.

Cousins had a tough night shooting going six for 24 from the field, but the Kings’ big man had a perfect night from the free throw line going eight for eight. Cousins grabbed 19 rebounds to record his 28th double-double of the season. He also had three assists and three steals.

When asked how he felt about ending the losing streak Cousins said, “It’s not a good feeling being on a losing streak like that. Come out and get a win – get some relief. Now hopefully we can build off the win.”

Rudy Gay led the Kings in scoring with 31 points including going 11 for 11 from the free throw stripe.

“Especially at time like this, you have to get the ball in the hoop someway, somehow, and I figured (out) a way to do it today,” Rudy Gay said after the game.

Darren Collison put up 23 points shooting nine for 15 from the field including going three for six from 3-Point range. The Kings point guard pulled down five rebounds, dished out five assists and one steal. Collison turned the ball over just once in the game.

Collison said, “We were able to move the ball, get better shots. I thought we got off to a good start.” He scored 12 of his 23 points in the first quarter.

The Kings big three played big minutes on Saturday night. Gay played 43:57, Collison 39:43 and Cousins logged 38:46. Carl Landry was the only player to come off the bench and play double digit minutes (25:32).

The bench was not a factor for the Kings against the Pacers. The Kings bench scored just 11 points compared to the Indiana bench that scored 56 points.

Sacramento shot 42.5-percent (34 for 80) for the game. They were five for 15 (33.3-percent) from beyond the 3-Point line. The Kings shot 88.7-percent (26 for 29) from the free throw line.

The Kings took better care of the basket versus the Pacers. They turned the ball over just 12 times and had 16 assists. They needed to record more assists but the turnover total was in the acceptable range.

Sacramento out-rebounded Indiana 46 to 40.

The Kings defense also showed up on Saturday night. They held the Pacers to just 41.3-percent (33 for 80) shooting. Indiana shot just 20.0-percent (5 for 25) from beyond the 3-Point arc. The Pacers average 32.6-percent for 3-Point shooting this season.

After the game Kings Head Coach Tyrone Corbin said, “It feels good. We needed to get a win – a tough road win. We had to stick it out there at the end to get it. Through it all we hung together and persevered – was able to get a win that we needed. We stopped the slide.”

David West and CJ Miles led the Pacers in scoring with 17 points each.

The Kings flew home to Sacramento after the game.

Coming Up

The Kings come home and will have three of their next four games at Sleep Train Arena.

Tuesday the Kings host the Golden State Warriors. This will be the final meeting of the teams for the season.