Tag: Golden 1 Center

Portland and Sacramento State make it rain “3’s”: Pilots win 80-75

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
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Izayah Mauriohooho-Le’Afa passes the ball versus Portland Photo: Jordan Chapin SportsRadioService.com

by Charlie O. Mallonee

Sacramento – The Sacramento State Hornets and the Portland Pilots met on the big stage at the Golden 1 Center as the first game of a NCAA Men’s basketball doubleheader. Someone forgot to tell the teams they were just the warm-up game because they played some serious hard-nosed, entertaining basketball.

If you like 3-point shooting, you would have loved watching this game. Both teams used the 3-ball to their advantage and shot it at a very respectable percentage.

While both teams shot well from outside, they also were not afraid to look for defensive breakdowns and drive the ball to the basket.

Portland run in first half put Sac State in peril

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The Pilots and the Hornets battled for the ball all game long on Thursday night. Photo: Jordan Chapin SportsRadioService.com

The Pilots went on a run late in the first half that had them up 41-28 with 3:59 to go in the first half. It appeared that Portland was going to head to locker room at halftime with very comfortable lead that they could build on in the second half.

The Hornets had something else in mind as they put together a 12-0 run of their own to cut the Portland lead to just three-points – 43 to 40 – at halftime. The run was fueled by two 3-point baskets from sophmore guard Izayah Mauriohooho-Le’Afa.

Both teams shot over 50-percent in the first half. Portland shot 16-for-31 (51.6-percent). The Hornets shot 54.8-percent (17-for-31) from the field.

The second half brought more of the same kind of action

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Hornets wait for video replay to determine if they will retain possession of the ball late in the game. Photo: Jordan Chapin SportsRadioService.com

Both teams came out hot in the second half. Neither team was able to open up a lead of more than five points on the other and it was a 2-3 point contest most of the time. At the 7:24 mark in the half, that all changed.

Josh McSwiggan made a layup that gave the Pilots a six-point lead. That kicked off a burst by Portland that the Hornets would never recover from in the game.

Portland built up of a lead of eight points and then managed to stay ahead of Sacramento for the remainder of the contest. The Hornets did cut the Portland lead to just four points late in the half but that was as close as they would come.

When the final horn sounded, Portland had beaten the Hornets 80-75. The victory lifted the Pilots record to 6-7 for the season. The loss dropped the Hornets to 3-9 to date.

Top performances

Sacramento State Hornets

  • Izayah Mauriohooho-Le’Afa is the easy choice for Star of the Game for the Hornets. He scored a game-high 23-points, shooting 8-for-11 overall and hitting 5-of-7 three-point attempts. The sophomore was a perfect 2-for-2 from the free throw line, grabbed four rebounds, dished out two assists and added one steal. His head coach – Brian Katz – said you could see this kind of game coming from Izayah with the way he has been playing recently.
  • Co-star: Senior forward Justin Strings who finished with 19 points and 13 rebounds for the double-double. Strings also added four assists.
  • Co-star: Jordan Tolbert came off the bench and shot a perfect 6-for-6 including going 3-for-3 from behind the 3-point line to post 16-points. Tolbert recorded three assists as well.

Portland Pilots

  • Star of the Game: Forward Josh McSwiggan was the man for the Pilots on Thursday night. He scored a team-high 18-points and added eight rebounds. The Englishman played 35-minutes and shot 7-for-11 from the floor.
  • Co-star: D’Marques Tyson came off the bench to score 17-points in 17-minutes of playing time on the floor. He converted 5-of-8 three-point opportunities.
  • Co-star: Senior center Philipp Hartwich had a big impact on the game for the Pilots. He booked 11 points and eight rebounds while shooting 4-for-6 from the field. His scoring in the lane early in the game really helped to propel his team.

Key team stats

Hornets

  • Field Goal Shooting for the game: 29-for-57 (50.9-percent)
  • 3-point Shooting for game: 8-of-20 (40-percent)
  • Free Throw Shooting for Game: 9-for-16 (56.3-percent) this game might have been lost at the charity stripe
  • Turnovers: 12 which resulted in 16 Portland points (that is five more turnovers than Portland)

Pilots

  • Field Goal Shooting for the game: 29-for-58 (50-percent)
  • 3-point Shooting for game: 11-for-26 (42.3-percent) This was key to their win
  • Free Throw Shooting for the Game: 11-for-18 (61.1-percent) both teams need improvement at the line
  • Turnovers: Seven which became nine Sac State points – taking better care of the ball may have been the difference maker in this game.

Up next

Sacramento State

The Hornets have one more game before Christmas. They will host UC Santa Barbara on Saturday night at 7:05 pm.

Portland

The Pilots are off until December 28th when they will play BYU in Provo.

Kings defeat rival Lakers, 113-102, Cauley-Stein records season-high 26 points

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Photo credit: @SacramentoKings

By London Marq

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — All eyes were on the rookies for tonight’s matchup in Sacramento, California at the Golden 1 Center. This year’s fifth pick in the draft De’Aaron Fox and the No. 2 pick Lonzo Ball, squared to face-off for the first of four times this season in a highly anticipated matchup.  Though Ball was selected three spots earlier, he has played better through the early stage of the season and it has become a hot topic to debate. Only exacerbated by the fact that Fox outplayed and beat Ball in the last NCAA tournament this past March. The Kings enter play trying to find any trace of consistency in their play. Going against their arch-rival Lakers that are also trying to maximize young assets. The Kings had a lot of motivation to win tonight.

When the Kings have played at their best this season, they played lockdown defense. That was how the night started for Sacramento. They opened the first quarter in impressive defensive fashion keeping Los Angeles to just 19 points in the quarter. Zach Randolph led an efficient offense early, pouring in 11 points, helping the Kings gain a 31-19 advantage after one quarter.

In the second quarter, the Kings kept the ball rolling on both ends of the court, outscoring the Lakers 23-22. This would maximize Sacramento’s lead and they would take a 13-point advantage going into halftime.  The Lakers ended up having a decent night offensively. Six players scored double digits and Ball had a double-double with 11 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds. Fox’s stat line was not as flashy with 13 points, three assists, and four rebounds, but he played a crucial role in getting a much-needed Kings win. Especially considering a win over the Lakers always counts for more in Sacramento.

The Lakers gained a bit of momentum in the third quarter, but they would end up allowing 37 points in the fourth quarter. Willie Cauley-Stein had a great game off the bench scoring a season-high 26 points. The game’s final score was Sacramento defeating Los Angeles 113-102.

“I’m thankful for beating the Lakers,” Cauley-Stein said after the game. This was definitely a sentiment that was sure to be felt throughout the locker room tonight.

Sunday night the NBA, Kings, Warriors and Facebook will make history together

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

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by Charlie O. Mallonee

The NBA game on Sunday night at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento will be a history making event as the contest between the Golden State Warriors and the Sacramento Kings will be streamed live on Facebook around the world to India.

This worldwide Facebook event of streaming the game to India comes on Bollywood  Night at the Golden 1 Center which will be a celebration of Indian culture, cinema and music. This will be the fourth Bollywood Night celebrated by the Kings organization.

The Kings have developed some deep ties to basketball fans in India thanks to the efforts of Sacramento majority owner Vivek Ranadive. Ranadive is a strong supporter of the NBA Global Initiatives that are marketing the game to the world.

The Facebook stream of the game on Sunday night will feature the new NBA Mobile Feed which is designed to enhance viewing on smaller screens. The Mobile Feed is a “zoomed in” view to make viewing more enjoyable on smaller devices.

This digital event will originate from the new Golden 1 Center in Sacramento which is billed as ” the world’s most technologically advanced and sustainable sports venue”. The building is dedicated to being on the “cutting edge” of sports and entertainment.

“Technology allows us to enhance the fan experience – in the arena and around the world like never before,” said Kings Owner and Chairman Vivek Ranadive. “Through this groundbreaking live broadcast, we’ll be able to engage new fans, introduce many to the excitement of NBA basketball for the first time, and share the Kings cultural showcase that Sacramento-based fans enjoy every year – through an incredibly powerful network that brings people together.”

Kings-76ers Monday night post game wrap: Kings hold on to win 102-100

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Philadelphia 76ers v Sacramento Kings
Cousins goes to the rack Photo: NBAE

By Tony Renteria

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The game between the Sixers and Kings came down to free throws on Monday night as Sacramento won their fourth consecutive game 102-100.

Garrett Temple put the Kings up by three points with 14.9-seconds to go when he hit 1-of-2 free throws. Philly’s Sergio Rodriguez answered back with a 25-foot 3-point shot that cut the Kings lead to just one point. Robert Covington fouled Cousins with 5.9-seconds remaining in the game. The Kings big man converted 1-of-2 foul shots allowing the Kings to take a 102-100 lead. The Sixers Joel Embiid missed two 3-point shots in those final seconds and the Kings held on for the victory.

The Kings had to outscore Philadelphia 32-23 in the final period to win the contest. The Sixers held a 77-70 lead after three quarters.

The Sacramento Kings record improved to 14-17 with the victory while Philadelphia dropped to 7-23 after the loss. Sacramento holds on to eighth place in the Western Conference with a one-game lead over ninth place Denver and a two-game lead over 10th place Portland – the Kings next opponent.

With 31 games under their belt this season, the Kings just need three wins to get to .500. First-year head coach Dave Joerger continues to focus on defense and finding the right combination of players to put on the floor.

DeMarcus Cousins again led the team in scoring with 30 points on 10-of-20 shooting, while also adding nine rebounds.  Rudy Gay returned to the Kings lineup after missing six games with a hip flexor. He made his presence known chipping in 17 points himself. Gay’s return did create a significant change in the Kings player rotation.

Ty Lawson was again a major factor off the bench for Sacramento on Monday night. He scored 12 points, grabbed four rebounds (three offensive), dished out four assists and had two steals in 20-minutes of playing time. Willie Cauley-Stein played significant minutes especially in the third quarter when Kosta Koufos experienced foul trouble. Cauley-Stein went into the game to help defend Embiid and wound up scoring nine points and pulled down four rebounds.

The Kings won the battle in the paint outscoring the Sixers 52-46 down low. Sacramento also out-rebounded Philly 42-38. The Kings had 24 assists but they turned the ball over 19 times which resulted in 24 points for Philadelphia.

The 76ers were led by Joel Embiid and his 25 points and eight rebounds. Sergio Rodriguez also added 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting, including 4-of-5 from beyond the arc. Jahlil Okafor played 19-minutes at center scoring six points and posting one rebound. Disgruntled big man Nerlens Noel received just three-minutes on the floor and scored three points for his team.

Former King Nick Stauskas never really got going in the game. He played just 19-minutes scoring four points shooting just 2-for-4 from the floor. Stauskas is actually having his best year in the NBA upping his scoring average to 9.5 points per game which is a 2.6 point improvement over his career average of 6.9 points per game.

The 76ers head to Utah to play the Jazz Thursday, while the Kings will travel to Portland play the Trail Blazers Wednesday. The Kings are 1-1 versus the Trail Blazers this season. Each team has won on their home court. DeMarcus Cousins scored 55 points in Kings 126-121 victory over Portland at the Golden 1 Center. The game on Wednesday night will be the final meeting of the season between the two teams.

Kings triumph in Toronto 96-91

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
NBA: Sacramento Kings at Toronto Raptors
Photo credit:Tom Szczerbowski USA Today

by Charlie O. Mallonee

Kings victorious in final game of road trip 

The Sacramento Kings bounced back from playing one of their worst games of the season on Saturday in Milwaukee to playing one of their best games of the year on Sunday in Toronto to defeat the Raptors 96-91. Toronto (4-2) had won three consecutive games. The Kings (3-5) had lost four games in a row.

The Kings have played what has been rated the toughest schedule so far this season in the NBA. Five games in seven nights on the road in the Eastern Conference traveling from Miami to Toronto is brutal. It is also the reality of playing in the NBA. Every team has stretches in their schedules like this and to be successful a team has to deal with the difficulties.

The Kings found a way to deal with best team they had to face on this road trip by stepping up their defense and shortening the rotation off the bench. Head coach Dave Joerger used just nine players off his bench on Sunday night and his veteran players came through for him with the extended playing time – especially on defense.

The Kings held the hot shooting Raptors to just 35.7-percent (30-for-84) from the floor. The Toronto guard tandem of DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry entered the contest averaging 53 points combined per game. The Sacramento defense held them to just 38 combined points on Sunday night.

DeRozan had scored at least 30 points in each of Toronto’s five games this year. The Kings held him to just 23 points.

The Sacramento Kings won on Sunday because of their defense. It has been awhile since you have read those words.

It’s deja vu all over again

The Kings swept the two -game series with the Raptors last season. The Kings won 107-101 in Sacramento behind DeMarcus Cousins 36 points and 10 rebounds. The Kings downed the Raptors in Toronto 104-94 when they had six players score in double figures.

The Kings will have a chance to complete the sweep this season on Sunday November 20 when the Raptors will visit the Golden 1 Center.

Kings dominate the paint

Toronto was without starting center Jonas Valanciunas who sat out because of a left knee contusion. That meant the Raptors 2016 first-round draft pick Jakob Poeltl and Lucas Nogueira who the Raptors have been developing overseas and in the D-League since 2011 had to play the five spot. Poeltl looked like a rookie and eventually fouled out of the game. Nogueria who was seeing his first action of the season after being out because of a sprained ankle looked very good. It is easy to see why Toronto has invested in his development.

The Kings dominated the paint outscoring the Raptors 52-30. Sacramento also out-rebounded Toronto 47-43.

Top performers

Rudy Gay led the Kings scoring attack with 23 points. Gay missed the game in Milwaukee with sore ribs. He played the game in Toronto with his ribs wrapped which did affect his shooting as he went 9-for-19 from the floor.

DeMarcus Cousins posted another double-double game with 22 points and 14 rebounds to go with four assists. Cousins was much more effective from out on the high post than down low under the basket. When he would drive the lane, Cousins was virtually unstoppable.

Ty Lawson was very good on the point dishing out 11 assists and adding five points. Shooting guard Arron Afflalo scored 12 points off just eight shots.

Matt Barnes was a force on defense and scored eight points plus grabbed 10 rebounds. Garrett Temple impacted the game with presence scoring eight points to go with a steal and a blocked shot.

DeRozan led the Raptors in scoring with 23 points but went 7-for-20 shooting. Lowry had 10 assists. Nogueia was the Raptors leading rebounder with five.

Dave Joerger was a happy man after the game

In the postgame press conference Joerger said:

  • He was really proud of his guys and how they responded in a back-to-back game
  • They (the Kings) get after people defensively
  • We had seven guys with two or more rebounds
  • We kept the turnovers down (the Kings had 11 turnovers and gave up just two points off those turnovers)
  • We had seven stops in a row with under 2:30 to play
  • A win like this gives you confidence
  • Rudy (Gay) gave us a big boost

What’s coming up

The Kings have a long flight home and then must get ready to face the New Orleans Pelicans (0-6) on Tuesday night at the Golden 1 Center. Sacramento then has the Lakers (3-3) at home on Thursday night before heading back out on the road.

The Raptors hit the road and will face the Thunder in Oklahoma City on Wednesday. They then travel to Charlotte to face the Hornets on Friday night.

Kings squeak past Timberwolves 106-103

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NBA: Minnesota Timberwolves at Sacramento Kings
Photo Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

by Charlie O. Mallonee

Sacramento – The Sacramento Kings won their first game in the new Golden 1 Center on Saturday night by squeaking by the Minnesota Timberwolves 106-103.It was literally a last-second victory as the Timberwolves had the chance to tie the game or take the lead with 02.6-seconds left on the clock.

The Kings record improves to 2-1 on the season with the victory. Head coach Dave Joerger said the win has some meaning as the Kings get ready to start a five-game road trip.

“It just means you go on the road trip 2-1. I think there is a nice difference between being 2-1 and 1-2 and how you feel about yourself, knowing you are going to play your next five in all kinds of different states around the union,” said coach Joerger about the upcoming road trip. “I think that’s a better feeling getting on the plane tomorrow.”

The loss leaves the Timberwolves winless on the season. Minnesota lost their season opener in Memphis when they let a 14-point lead slip away late in the game. The Timberwolves let an 18-point lead over the Kings evaporate on Saturday night.

New Minnesota head coach Tom Thibodeau likes his teams talent but feels that something has to happen before they can start winning.

“We have to get a lot tougher. We got to get a lot tougher.”

Minnesota can pass and shoot the ball. The Timberwolves shot 51.4-percent from the floor in the game. They shot over 60-percent in the first quarter. Thibodeau is also correct when he says they are not a very physical team when they need to be.

The Kings started the game slowly shooting under 40-percent for much of the first quarter and allowing Andrew Wiggins to score 13 points. Dave Joerger became so frustrated that he pulled his five starters off the floor with 3:18 to go in the quarter and put in the entire second unit.

The Kings came back to life in the second quarter behind Rudy Gay who scored 12 points and DeMarcus Cousins who put up 11. Matt Barnes came off the bench to make a real difference especially on defense.

The Timberwolves led the Kings 65-54 at halftime.

The third quarter was the difference maker in this game. The Kings came out on fire on both ends of the floor. Sacramento outscored Minnesota 31-12 in the period. The Timberwolves shot only 25-percent from the floor.

Minnesota turned the ball over seven times in the period that resulted in 14 Sacramento points. The Kings had just two turnovers the Timberwolves were unable to turn into any points.

“The 3rd quarter was a problem, big problem. We have to take a look the problems and see where the issues are,” said Tom Thibodeau.

The fourth quarter began with the Kings leading 85-77. Sacramento opened up a 10-point lead then the Timberwolves began to chip away at the that lead. Minnesota went on a 9-0 run and tied the game 100-100 with 3:11 to play.

The Kings went back up by five. After Wiggins hit a free throw and cut the lead to four, the unthinkable happened. DeMarcus Cousins picked up his sixth personal foul with 50.9-seconds left in the game. The Kings had to finish the game with their best player on the bench.

Rookie guard Kris Dunn who was fouled by Cousins missed both of his free throws. Gorgui Dieng grabbed the rebound and Zach LaVine missed a 3-point jump shot. Karl-Anthony Towns got the rebound and converted the lay up to make it a two point game, 105-103.

After winning a jump ball, the Timberwolves were unable to hit a basket. Matt Barnes was fouled going for a rebound with 00.2-seconds left. He hit 1-of-2 free throws to end the game.

The Kings won the game 106-103.

Kings (2-1)

  • Cousins was the Kings leading scorer with 29 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists
  • Rudy Gay had a big night 28 points, 11-for-20 shooting
  • Matt Barnes – the impact player of the game off the bench – 12 points including three 3-pointers to go with 9 assists
  • Ben McLemore bounced back from his troubles in the Spurs game scoring 13 points and shooting 50-percent from the field
  • The Kings improved their shooting by 6-percent over Thursday by shooting 45.9-percent (39-for-85) in the game.

Timberwolves (0-2)

  • Andrew Wiggins scored 29 points to lead the Timberwolves scoring attack. He is very difficult to stop when he wants to shoot.
  • Guard Zach LaVine had a big night putting up 21 points while shooting 50-percent from the floor
  • Karl-Anthony Towns added 15 points but the battle between him and fellow Kentucky Wildcat DeMarcus Cousins was a non-event. They just did not match up much in the game
  • PG Ricky Rubio experienced a sprained elbow. Rubio was rumored to be a trade target of the Kings but Minnesota was reluctant to part with him until Kris Dunn is ready

Up Next

The Kings begin a five-game road trip on Monday night in Atlanta. Sacramento will play five games in seven nights all in the Eastern time zone except for the Milwaukee game which is in the Central time zone.

Minnesota heads home to open their home season with the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday night. The Timberwolves will be looking for redemption after losing to Memphis in their season opener.

The Golden 1 Center opens on Thursday night ; the Spurs beat the Kings 102-94

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

NBA: San Antonio Spurs at Sacramento Kings

Photo credit: Sergio Estrada USA Today

Charlie O. Mallonee

Sacramento – Thursday night had all the pomp and circumstance of a Hollywood premiere as the long awaited official opening of the NBA home season took place for the Sacramento Kings. The NBA commissioner was there along with the former commissioner David Stern who sat with Governor Jerry Brown. Out-going mayor Kevin Johnson received his standing ovation for his efforts to build the arena. In-coming mayor Darrell Steinberg and members of the city council managed to get some face time.

Former Kings player Chris Webber and Washington Nationals manager Dusty Baker were seated courtside. If you were anybody in Sacramento or thought you were anybody, you were in the Golden 1 Center for the game on Thursday night.

DeMarcus Cousins officially welcomed the fans to arena on behalf of the team. Majority owner Vivek Ranadive took great pride in welcoming fans to the state of the art arena the ownership group promised them when they bought the team.

The opening was really something to see. If you missed it, you can go to Kings.com and take in the highlights. It will be worth your time.

Then, there was the game between the unbeaten San Antonio Spurs who shocked the Golden Stated Warriors on Tuesday night in Oakland and the 1-0 Sacramento Kings who dominated the Phoenix Suns on the road in their season opener on Wednesday night.

The Kings knew they would be in for a fight because they had to face the team that is picked to win the Southwest Division – even without Tim Duncan- on second half of a back-to-back, away-home schedule. Even though the team was full of adrenaline to do well in front of their faithful fans at the opening of the Golden 1 Center, the task before for them was a difficult one at best.

The Kings played with tenacity and gave the crowd cause to cheer often,but ultimately the talent of Spurs and the fatigue of the back-to-back games caught up to them in their pursuit of a win. The Spurs defeated the Kings 102-94 in first ever regular season NBA game in the Golden 1 Center.

Kings (1-1)

DeMarcus Cousins led the attack for the Kings against the Spurs. He scored 37 points and pulled down 16 rebounds to record a double-double in the game. Cousins shot 10-for-22 from the floor, 3-for-5 from beyond the 3-point arc and went 14-for-16 from the free throw line. The Kings big man spent much of the second-half under the basket involved in a very physical battle with LaMarcus Aldridge and the San Antonio front line. At times, Cousins temper seemed to be very close to boiling over, but he managed to keep it in check.

Rudy Gay had to do battle with Kawhi Leonard all night. Gay finished the game with 17 points with 10 of those points coming at the free throw line. He hauled 7 rebounds, had two steals and two assists as well.

Ben McLemore finished with 10 points in the contest. His best efforts came in the first-half. McLemore shot 3-for-4 from the field and 4-for-4 from the free throw line. Unfortunately for him, it will probably be back-to-back turnovers that resulted in back-to-back personal fouls in the fourth quarter that many of the fans will remember.

Ty Lawson did his job at point guard for the Kings. Head coach Dave Joerger had said that Lawson would see heavy minutes of playing time and he worked 35 minutes on the floor versus the Spurs. Lawson dished out nine assists and turned the ball over just one time. Lawson added seven points, four rebounds and one steal.

Kosta Koufos scored eight, Arron Afflalo seven, Matt Barnes and Willie Cauley-Stein three points each and Anthony Tolliver had two points.

As a team, the Kings shot 40.0-percent (28-for-70) from the floor after shooting 51.4-percent in the first-half. They went 6-for-20 (30.0-percent) from beyond the 3-point line while going 32-for-38 (84.2-percent) from the free throw line. They matched the Spurs by grabbing 40 rebounds. The Kings tallied 22 assists against 15 turnovers.

Spurs (2-0)

To no one’s surprise, Kawhi Leonard led the Spurs scoring against the Kings. Leonard scored 30 points shooting an impressive 11-for-21 from the floor. He was a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line. Leonard also distributed five assists and recorded five steals. He played the last half of the fourth quarter with five personal fouls but it did not seem to slow him down.

LaMarcus Aldridge – the supposed discontented member of the Spurs who wants to be traded – added 16 points and five rebounds while giving DeMarcus Cousins fits under the basket for the entire game. Aldridge played hard and did not give off any signals that he was a player who wanted to be in another uniform.

Dewayne Dedmon and David Lee both had an impact in the game off the bench with 12 points each. Dedmon also had seven rebounds while Lee dished out two assists and had two steals.

San Antonio shot 45.6-percent (36-for-79) from the floor and 33.3-percent (6-for-18) from 3-point land. The Spurs went 24-for-27 from the charity stripe. They recorded 40 rebounds, 23 assists and 10 assists. The Spurs turned the ball over nine times.

What they had to say after the game

“Good game, good effort,” said Kings head coach Dave Joerger. “As competitors, you never want to say you played hard but you lost. But I liked a lot of the things I saw tonight. I thought we ran out of gas a bit. I think out turnovers were deadly and I think they made some tough, tough shots down the stretch. I thought our half-court defense was very solid. When our defense was on the run after turnovers, it’s very difficult to get back and defend.”

“Yeah, it was a big night for everybody. Us, playing in front of the fans and for the fans. This is a lot – this is a new era of basketball in Sacramento and it was good to be a part of it,” said Kings forward Rudy Gay. “Obviously the fans drive us to a new level. This was a playoff atmosphere and it’s good to have that.”

“Coach Joerger is a hell of a coach,” said Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich. “He’s got them playing defense already after one game because of the way they played defense in Memphis. That’s because he knows what he’s doing, obviously. But, that’s a tribute to those guys to pick that up and jump in. If they sustain that, that’s going to be a good basketball team. You can see his stamp all over it defensively.”

Notes

The first home game at Golden 1 Center was a sellout with 17,608 in attendance.

The Kings next opponent is the Minnesota Timberwoles on Saturday  night at 7:30 PM at the Golden 1 Center.

The Spurs will have their home opener on Saturday night when they host New Orleans.

Kings to open the 2016-17 NBA season with away-home back-to-back games

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

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by Charlie O. Mallonee

The NBA regular season schedule was released today and the Sacramento Kings will open the 2016-17 campaign on the road in Phoenix on Wednesday October 28. The game will be a 7:00 PM tip-off  local time.

The Kings first NBA regular season game in the new Golden 1 Center in downtown Sacramento will be on the next night – Thursday October 29 – when they will host the San Antonio Spurs. The tip-off in Sacramento will be at 7:30 PM.

The game times for most of the weeknight games have been pushed back to 7:30 PM to allow the downtown district to clear out from the business day to make parking easier for fans attending the game. The later starts will also allow fans to enjoy early dinners before the game and still be in their seats for tip-off. Game times at home will vary on the weekends.

The Kings will host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday October 29 at 7:30 PM at the Golden 1 Center in a game that will be televised nationally on NBA TV.

The Golden State Warriors will not visit Sacramento until Sunday January 8, 2017. The Warriors will make a return visit on Saturday February 4.

The Los Angeles Lakers will make their two trips to the Capital City before the New Year. The Lakers will play at the Golden 1 Center on Thursday November 10 and Monday December 12.

The World Champion Cleveland Cavaliers will make their one and only appearance in Sacramento on Friday January 13.

Kings games will be televised nationally five times from the Golden 1 Center during the season. TNT will broadcast the November 10 game versus the Lakers. ESPN will show the nation the Clippers – Kings game on November 18 from Sacramento. NBA TV will show three games nationally from the Kings new arena.

The Kings play four games in October (2 home; 2 away), 15 games in November (7 home; 8 away), 15 games in December (5 home; 10 away), 15 games in January (7 home; 8 away), 11 games in February (2 home; 9 away), 16 games in March (8 home; 8 away) and six games in April (3 home; 3 away).

The Kings longest homestand runs January 4 thru 18 with seven games to played at the Golden 1 Center. The team’s longest road trip has seven games between January 20 and January 31 on the road.

The Kings have 18 sets of back-to-back games for the season. Two sets are back-to-back games at home. Eight of the sets are away-away games. Three are away-home games and five sets are home-away games.

The Kings have never won a game when they have opened an arena in Sacramento. They lost the opener in Arco Arena I on October 25, 1985 to the Clippers 108-104. The Kings lost the first game in Arco Arena II to the Seattle SuperSonics 97-75 on November 8, 1988.