The Golden State Warriors traveled from North Texas to South Texas to take on the Houston Rockets at the Toyota Center Thursday night. The Warriors, who are No. 1 in the Western Conference, competed against the Rockets, who are No. 2. As you should already know, the Rockets fired away last year with a 14-game win streak that was eventually snapped by Kyle Kuzma and the Los Angeles Lakers.
A familiar face made the first free throw of the game and for a good reason. The Rockets’ new “First Shot” ceremony gives a featured celebrity or a local public figure a chance to earn $5,000 for the charity of his or her choice. Tonight’s lucky guest was Houston Astros shortstop Carlos Correa.
Both teams had their game faces on for an action-packed Western Conference matchup. The Warriors took an early 7-2 lead on Klay Thompson’s three at the 10:06 mark of the first quarter.
But let’s not forget that Rockets shooting guard Eric Gordon was on fire, leading all scorers with 13 points in the first. The Rockets’ Twitter proceeded to remind fans to vote for Gordon for the 2018 NBA All-Star Game.
Nick Young hit a three with four seconds left on the clock, but the Warriors trailed the Rockets by four (37-33) at the end of the first. A four-point deficit is a deficient number, but there was still lots of basketball left.
Both teams continued to battle it out in the second quarter. Before the media timeout, the Warriors led the Rockets by one (59-58) with 4:27 left in the second. After the timeout, the Warriors went on a nice 10-2 run in a span of 1:10, but continued to trail the Rockets by one (63-62) at the half.
Here are the Warriors’ stats at the half:
Halftime 📊
Klay – 15p Steph – 14p/5r/3a Draymond – 8r/7p/6a D.West – 8p Andre – 6p/3a/2s Nick – 6p Zaza – 4p Pat – 2p/2a Shaun – 4r Kevon – 3r
Steph Curry got things going in the second half as he finished a layup at the rim to pull the Warriors within one (65-64) at the 11:04 mark of the third quarter. Zaza Pachulia provided the assist on Curry’s layup.
The score was tied at 68 with 7:33 left in the third. Draymond Green made a pair of free throws to put the Warriors up 70-68, but the Golden State lead was short-lived, as Gerard Green hit a three to put the Rockets back on top 71-70.
The score was tied up again at 74 with 5:40 left in the third. Many people were expecting Curry to put on a shooting show–which he did–but the Rockets’ Gerard Green hit just as many threes in an attempt to redeem himself.
Curry then hit a three. Green missed his three at the buzzer. The Warriors were up by three (93-90) at the end of the third.
Draymond Green was doing his thing on the court. Most notably, David West made a sweet pass to set up Green’s dunk at the 10:30 mark of the fourth quarter. West also made some dunks of his own.
Fox was fearless in driving the lane against the Rockets on Wednesday night
Kings showed great effort versus the Rockets on Wednesday night
This was a classic battle between a Tier 1 team and a Tier 3 team
Willie Cauley-Stein silenced many of his detractors
The Kentucky connection came up big for the Kings in the opener – Cauley-Stein, Labissiere and Fox made a major impact in the game
Buddy Hield was a major player for SAC in the game
George Hill showed why the front office wanted him on the roster to provide a veteran presence on the floor
The Kings play their first game on the road Friday night in Dallas – this will be a Tier 3 vs Tier 3 game. Both teams will be in the 2018 Draft Lottery
It will be a chance to see Dennis Smith who many media reporters feel has the inside track on becoming Rookie of the Year
Join us for out next Kings Press Row Podcast next Tuesday only on SportsRadioService.com.
Cauley-Stein puts in a dunk to cut the Rockets lead to three points with seven seconds to go in the game
by Charlie O. Mallonee
Kings open the 2017-18 regular season with loss to the powerful Houston Rockets
The Sacramento Kings kicked off their new season before a sellout crowd of 17,583 at the Golden 1 Center on Wednesday night. Their opponent was the very powerful and talented Houston Rockets who started their season on Tuesday night with a last second win over the defending NBA Champion Golden State Warriors in Oakland.
The Kings hoped to take advantage of catching the Rockets on the second game of a back-to-back set on the road. They also received some good news when they learned that Chris Paul would not play due to ongoing problems with a knee contusion.
Sacramento (0-1) kept the game close through all four quarters. They even won the third quarter 24-23. The lead changed eight times in the game and the contest was tied four times. Houston’s largest lead was 11 points while the Kings biggest lead was six.
James Harden struggled through the first three quarters of the game appearing to be tired from effort that expended versus the Warriors on Tuesday night. Unfortunately for the Kings, Harden caught a second wind in the final period and scored 12 of his game-high 27 points over those last 12 minutes. That performance really made the difference for the Rockets (2-0).
Despite being down by 11 points with 5:13 remaining in the game the Kings did not give up and cut the Houston lead to just three points with 26-seconds to go in the contest. It was at that point this game took a left turn that the Kings would never recover from.
The Kings George Hill sank two free throws to make it a 98-95 game with Houston in the lead with 26-seconds remaining. On the inbounds play, Hill appeared to disrupt the possession by Eric Gordon who lost control allowing the ball to go out-of-bounds. The big crowd went wild but settled as a video replay was ordered.
What the crowd, the Kings bench and the majority of the media did not understand was the replay was not to determine if Gordon was the last player to touch the ball before it went out-of-bounds. The replay was to confirm a foul call that made on Hill by the referee on the far-side of the court. The replay center in Secaucus upheld the foul call and Gordon was sent to the charity stripe to shoot two shots.
Gordon hit both shots to give Houston a five-point lead with 26-seconds to play essentially sealing the win for the Rockets. The Kings gave it their best effort but came up short.
Kings head coach Dave Joerger addresses the call in a very subdued manner in part two of his video comments.
Dave Joerger was very proud of the effort his team gave against the talented Rockets
Ben DuBose of Sports Talk 790 Houston and Locked on Rockets Podcast previews the Houston Rockets for Kings fans.
CP3 moves past Curry Photo: USA Today
How are James Harden and Chris Paul working out as a backcourt team so far in the preseason?
With Harden and CP3 on the floor together does that change the pace of play for the Rockets?
How does local favorite Ryan Anderson look so far in the preseason?
Now that the roster is set – are there any surprises?
Is there any worry about a let down on Wednesday in Sacramento after the hype and energy that will be expended in the Bay Area versus the Golden State Warriors?
Get the insiders view of the Kings first opponent of the 2017-18 season in just 20 minutes of fast paced questions and answers. Be ready for opening night by knowing more about the Rockets and what to watch for as they play the Kings.
Sports fans the story should be the game in Oakland and the loss by the Kings to the Warriors, but this reporter has to ask why was the game shown in the Bay Area and not in Sacramento and the Valley? Frankly this this reporter is still scratching his head trying to figure out why the rabid Kings fans were not able to watch their team take on the best team in the NBA even if it was a preseason game.
The majority of Kings fans will not be able to see the Warriors play their beloved Kings in person this season. They would love to see their team in action against the NBA’s best anytime they have the opportunity to see it happen. So why did Bay Area fans have the opportunity to watch the game while Sacramento fans had to depend on the radio broadcast and internet feeds? There really is not a logical answer. One would think advertisers would have been thrilled to support a broadcast that featured the Kings versus the NBA’s best.
The Kings held their own in this game
Sacramento trailed just 54-51 at halftime. They were still hanging in there trailing by just three – 84-81 at the end of three quarters. Ultimately, the Warriors were just too strong coming down the stretch as they outscored the Kings 33-25 in the final frame to take the game 117-106.
This game featured 12 lead changes and was tied seven times. The longest point run was a 7-0 run.
Top scorers
David Stockton – who was just added to the Kings roster – was their leading scorer with 23 points. Stephen Curry led the Warriors in scoring with 18 points in just a little over 18 minutes of playing time.
Top rebounders
The Warriors Jordan Bell was the leading rebounder in the game with 11. Skal Labissiere was the Kings top man off the glass grabbing eight rebounds.
Assists leaders
David Stockton of Sacramento was the games top assists leader with eight. Klay Thompson was the man for Golden State dishing out six dimes.
Team stats
The Warriors outrebounded the Kings 47-40. Golden State grabbed 21 offensive rebounds to Sacramento’s 13. The Kings controlled the defensive boards 27-26.
GSW dished 34 dimes to the Kings 27.
The Kings made six steals to the Warriors four thefts.
Golden State blocked four shots while Sacramento blocked just two shots.
The Kings turned the ball over 16 times while the Warriors turned it over just 12 times.
3-point shooting: Sacramento 10-for-22 45.5-percent; Golden State 15-for-33 45.5-percent.
Remember this was a preseason game
No matter how exciting this game was fans cannot forget this was a preseason game. It was in no way representative of what a regular season game between these two teams will be like. That is not to say the regular season games will not be competitive and exciting, but they will be different than the game on Friday night.
The countdown to the regular season is on
The regular season will begin on Wednesday when the Houston Rockets visit the Golden 1 Center to take on the Kings in game one of the 2017-18 season for Sacramento.
The Warriors are on a roll. They beat the Houston Rockets in Houston by a score of 125-108. The Warriors continue to play great defense as the held the Rockets All-Star James Harden to just 17 points. The Warriors led by five at the half 62-57. However, as they have done so often this season, they put it into gear and outscored the Rockets 37-22 to lead by twenty at the end of three periods of play.
They continue to shine on defense. They blocked seven shots and had eight steals. They continue to lead the NBA in both those categories. The big block of the night came in the fourth quarter when Kevin Durant blocked Eric Gordon’s 3-point shot. Gordon was 2-for-14  from the floor and ended the night with just six points.
With the win, the Warriors are now 37-6 for the season. The Rockets drop to 33-13 and are 2 games back of the San Antonio Spurs in the Southwest Division of the Western Conference. All five Warrior starter were in double figures. KD had a big night with 32 points,7 assists, 4 boards, and 2 blocked shots. Steph Curry made 5 three-point shots and ended the night with 24 points and he, too, had 7 assists. Klay Thompson knocked down 16. The Dubs’ defensive whiz, Draymond Green continued his excellent season with 15 points, 7 assists,8 rebounds, and 3 blocked shots.
Zaza Pachulia, who seems to be getting better as he gets used to the Warriors’ offense, recorded 10 points, 2 assists, and 9 rebounds. Andre Iguodala had 5 points, 2 assists, and 9 big rebounds helping the Dubs to the win. Patrick McCaw and James Michael McAdoo, who is filling in for the injured David West, each had 8 points. James Harden had a double-double with 17 points and 11 assists. Harden also committed 7 turnovers.Clint Capela scored 22, Sam Dekker 17, Patrick Beverly,13, and Trevor Aziza 12.
The Warriors have recorded 30 or more assists for the fourth game in a row and the 30th time this season. No other team in the NBA has had more than 8 games with 30 or more assists.
The Warriors have now beaten three of the five teams that have defeated them so far this year. They evened the series with a convincing win over the Cleveland Cavaliers last Monday. They beat the Lakers in November after an embarrassing early season loss in LA. They now defeated the Rockets to get a measure of revenge as the Rockets beat the Dubs in double-overtime at Oracle Arena in December. The Dubs now have to beat the Memphis Grizzlies, and San Antonio Spurs to get even. They play Memphis twice in February, once in Memphis and once at Oracle. They play the Sputs two more time, and both games will be in San Antonio.
The Warriors fly to the Sunshine State to play the Orlando Magic. Game time is at, gulp, 9 am Sunday morning. They play the Miami Heat on Monday.
AP photo:Montezl Harrell of the Houston Rockets (right) loses the ball as Kevin Durant (left) of the Golden State Warriors defends in the first half as the Warriors drop an double overtime performance to the Houston Rockets at Oracle Arena on Wednesday night
by Jerry Feitelberg
Oakland-The Houston Rockets snapped the Golden State Warriors twelve-game winning streak Thursday night at Oracle Arena in double overtime by a score of 132-27. The game was fiecely contested by both teams all  night. Neither team would give an inch. The Rockets had seven players finish the night in double figures. The Dubs had five. There were five technical fouls called in the game. Draymond Green played his heart out, but he was called for a flagrant foul one in the second overtime period that, unfortunately, turned out to be the key play that doomed the Dubs. Green was going up for a layup when he was fouled by James Harden. As Draymond was going down backward to the floor, his right leg came up and hit Harden in the face. To many, it appeared to be inadvertent, but after a long review, the refs charged him with the foul.Draymond was awarded two free throws, and he made one. Harden made both, and the Rockets retained possession. The Rockets went up by four 128-124. They increased the lead to six, and that was the ballgame.
The game went back and forth all night. The Rockets biggest lead of the night came in the first period when they had a 13-4 lead. The game was tied at four when the Rockets went on a 9-0 run. The Dubs came back and tied the game at twenty. The Dubst hen took the lead by four 24-20, but it didn’t last long. The Rockets tied  it at twenty-five Houston then went ahead and finished the first quarter with a 32-30 lead.
The Dubs tied it at 32 on a Kevin Durant bucket. Houston regained the lead, but the Dubs came back and led by three 46-43. The Rockets continued to match the Dubs offensively and regained the lead 51-48. They finished the first half with a five -point lead 64-59.  James Harden, Ryan Anderson, and Eric Gordon led the Rockets attack. Durant with nineteen, Draymond Green had ten points, six assists, and six rebounds. Andre Iguodala added nine. Steph Curry, saddled, with three fouls, had just five points in eleven plus minutes in  the first half. Klay Thompson did not have a good shooting night, and he finished the first twenty-four minutes with seven points. The Rockets scored ten second-chance points while Golden State had zero. That was the most telling stat of the first half.
The Rockets continued to answer every Warrior challenge in the third quarter. Steph got it going as he made a couple of clutch three-point shots. Houston refused to bend. The Dubs outscored the Rockets by just one point and trailed by four 86-82 after three. The Dubs closed the gap to one 86-85 when KD hit a three to start the quarter. The Rockets increased the lead to seven 97-90.The Dubs started a comeback. They tied Houston at 97 behind two key buckets by Draymond.  Neither team could get separation from the other. They tied the score four times before the buzzer ended the game tied at 113 in regulation.
Steph Curry scored the Warriors’first six points of the first overtime session. He made a reverse layup and was fouled on the play. He made the free throw. Houston came back with a 2-point bucket to make it 116-115. Steph hit a three. Harden countered with a three of his own to trail 119-118. KD responded to put the Dubs up by three. The Rockets scored the next five points to take the lead 123-121. The Dubs tied it again. The Rockets had the ball for the last twenty-five second but the Dubs defense held and the Rockets committed a 24-second violation and the first OT period ended with the score tied.
Steph Curry, saddled with five personal fouls, committed an offensive foul and had to leave the game early in the second OT. Harden made a three to put the Rockets up 126-123. It was at this point that Harden fouled Draymond as he was going in for a layup. Both players were called for a foul. Green made one but Harden made his two and Houston had pssossion of the ball. That was the game. The Dubs could not catch up and they lost by five 132-127.
Game notes- With the loss, the Dubs fall to 16-3 while Houston improves to 12-7. James Harden had his fourth triple-double of the season as he had 29 points, 13 assists, and 14 rebounds. Ryan Anderson had 29 and Eric Gordon added 23, coming off the bench. Four other rockets were in double figures. Â Kevin Durant had a double-double with 39 points and 13 boards. Draymond also had a double-double. He scored 20, had nine assists and 15 rebounds. Curry scored 28, Iguodala ten and Klay fifteen.There were 12ties in the game. The Rockets won the offensive rebound battle as they scored twenty-eigh second chance points.
The Warriors hope to get back on the winning track Saturday night againstthe Phoenix Suns. It won’t be easy as the Suns seem to match up well agains the Warriors and have played the Dubs hard in the two meeting so far this year. The game will be at the Oracle arena at 7:30 pm.
Harden has a triple-double versus the Kings (Rocky Widner/NBAE)
The homestand ends on a down note
SACRAMENTO- –The Kings closed out a five-game homestand on Friday with a loss to the Houston Rockets 117-104. Looking at the final score you might assume that it was a boring, blowout of a game. You would be wrong.
The game started off very one-sided and then Sacramento realized what was happening. The Kings began to put forth a complete effort as a team and fought their way back into contention.
Late in the fourth quarter, the outcome of this game was really in doubt.
The hole the Kings dug early was just too deep
“Tough battle for tonight. We didn’t come out with enough force early. They’re a good team after a loss.Them coming off a loss – they were very focused … We (Kings) came in too slow,” said Sacramento head coach Dave Joerger after the game.
The Rockets grabbed the lead when Clint Capela sank a six-foot hook shot for the first score of the game. Houston would never trail in the game. In fact, the Rockets would build a 19-point lead after the first 12-minutes of play. When the first quarter was in the score book, Houston held a 38-19 lead over the Kings.
Trevor Ariza scored 12 points in the period hitting four 3-point shots
The Rockets made eight 3-point baskets in the quarter off 17 attempts
Houston shot 52.0-percent (13-for-25) from the floor
They outrebounded the Kings 18-6
The only downside for the Rockets was the fact that James Harden shot 0-for-5 from the field in the quarter and was held to three points – all from the free throw line
The Kings could have easily backed off and mailed it in for the rest of the game. They did not take that option.
The Kings came to life in the second quarter
Omri Casspi returns for the Kings (Rocky Widner/NBAE)
The Rockets (10-6) stayed hot in second quarter. They shot 55.6-percent 10-for-18) from the floor and 6-for-11 (54.5-percent) from beyond the 3-point line. As a team, Houston scored 30 points in the period.
Sacramento shot 61.1-percent (11-for-18) from the field and 2-for-6 (33.3-percent) from 3-point land. They also went 7-of-8 (87.5-percent) from the free throw line. The Kings outscored the Rockets 31-30 in the quarter.
The other amazing thing happening in the quarter was the return of Omri Casspi to the floor for the Kings. The Kings forward had become the forgotten man at the end of the bench. Casspi played the entire 12-minutes scoring 4 points, grabbing two rebounds and dishing out two assists. Casspi would have more to contribute later in the game.
“It (playing Casspi) gave us an ability to play similar size guys. It’s a quicker game where we wanted to make them pay. I thought we were very poor in the first seven-eight minutes of playing to the second side of the court – getting some movement, getting some cutting and I think that’s definitely his game. He’s done his work. He’s stayed healthy. I think it’s going to work out for him,” said Kings coach Dave Joerger.
At the half, the Rockets led the Kings 68-50.
The third quarter was not a thing of beauty
El Dorado Hills Ryan Anderson comes alive in the 3rd quarter (Rocky Widner/NBAE)
Both teams struggled coming out of halftime. The Rockets shot a horrible 33.3-percent (7-for-21) from the field and a very poor 27.3-percent (3-of-11) from beyond the 3-point arc. The one bright spot was forward Ryan Anderson came alive hitting two 3-point buckets and two free throws to be his team’s leading scorer in the quarter with eight points.
The Kings overall shooting percentage was better at 45.5-percent (10-for-22) but their 3-point production was a terrible 1-for-11 (11.1-percent). Sacramento did manage to outscore Houston 24-22 in the third. After three quarters, Houston led the game 90-74.
The biggest problem for the Kings in the third quarter was the fact DeMarcus Cousins picked up two personal fouls and was working with a total of four personals in the game. That meant he had to go to the bench and spend the last 5:21 of the period on “the pine”.
The fourth and deciding quarter was both exciting and painful
DeMarcus Cousins tries to take the game over for the Kings (Rocky Widner/,NBAE)
The Rockets quickly made it a 16 lead as the quarter began and things began to look very dim for the Kings especially with Cousins on the bench. However, Sacramento was able to cut the Rockets lead down to 10 points with 7:45 left in the game but Houston quickly built it back to a 13 point cushion.
With 7:19 remaining, DeMarcus Cousins and his four personal fouls reentered the game. The problem was Harden had suddenly come to life for Houston and they pushed the lead back up to 16 points.
Cousins tried to single-handedly take over the game and will the Kings back into contention. He hit four 3-points baskets over a two-minute period and cut the Houston lead to just eight points, but that was as close as the Kings would come to the lead.
Houston scored the final five points of the game and came away the victory 117-104 over the Kings (6-10).
Some NBA and career records were set in this game
Houston set a NBA record for 3-point field goal attempts with 50 tries from behind the arc in the contest
The Rockets connected on 21 of those 3-point attempts which was a season-high for them
DeMarcus Cousins went 5-for-9 from 3-point range which set a career high for him for 3 point field goals made
Other important numbers you need to know
DeMarcus Cousins was the leading scorer in the game with 32 points
The Rockets James Harden recorded a triple-double: 23 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists
Houston’s Trevor Ariza scored 18 points all coming from his six 3-point baskets
El Dorado Hills product Ryan Anderson scored 13 points and dished out four assists before family and friends at the arena
Matt Barnes and Ty Lawson each score 12 points for the Kings
Garrett Temple scored 10 points for Sacramento coming off the bench and shooting a perfect 5-for-5 from the floor
Omri Casspi scored seven points, had five assists and hauled in four rebounds in his 28-minutes playing time in a triumphal return to the rotation for the Kings
The Kings had five players score in double-figures while the Rockets had seven players score in double-digits
Sacramento finished its five-game homestand 2-3
Houston kicked off its five-game road trip 1-0
One happy King despite the loss even though he would have liked to have won the game
“It was good,” said Omri Casspi.”Coaches kind kind of got me going and being involved in different plays. It felt great. I’ve missed being out there playing in front of the fans. Unfortunately, the result came up short but (it was) good to be out there.”
James Harden on breaking the 3-point field goal attempt record
“I didn’t know until just now. (We were) efficient though, right? 21-out-of-50,” asked Harden. “That’s pretty good – that’s pretty good.”
Local guy Ryan Anderson on the Kings new arena
“There has be a lot of news talking about this new arena coming into being,” said Anderson originally from El Dorado Hills. “Just to be here now is pretty awesome. Beautiful place.”
Coming up next
The Kings kick off a six-game road on Sunday in Brooklyn with the Nets. The game starts at 3:00 PST local time.
The Rockets continue their five-game road trip with game number two in Portland on Sunday night.
The Kings wrap up their five-game homestand on Friday night when they host the Houston Rockets. The Rockets are 9-6 on the season and are in fifth place in the Western Conference.
The Rockets continue being road warriors tonight
Tonight’s game kicks off a five-game road trip for Houston
By the end of this trip the Rockets will have played 14 of their 20 games on the road
Houston is 5-4 on the road to date; they were 18-23 on the road last season
Toronto stopped the Rockets three-game winning streak on Wednesday night with a 115-102 win in Houston
WARNING: the Rockets are 5-0 in the first game following a loss this season
It’s still James Harden’s world
James Harden NBA.com
Harden is averaging 28.7 points, 12.5 assists, Â and 7.7 rebounds per game
He has scored or assisted on 53.7-percent of the Rockets field goals this year
Harden has 12 double-doubles (points/assists) so far this season
He has recorded 15+ assists five times this season
New additions since last year
Ryan Anderson NBA.com
First, there is the a new head coach in Mike D’Antoni. This is his fifth head coaching job in the NBA. He has been the head man at Denver, Phoenix, New York, Los Angeles Lakers and now Houston
Local product Ryan Anderson formerly of New Orleans – the 3-point bomber who loves to take on the Kings – is now a member of the Rockets. He is averaging 12.3 points per game and shooting 38.4-percent from 3-point range
Houston also signed Eric Gordon as a sixth man away from New Orleans. He is averaging 15.4 points per game off the bench for the Rockets
Kings – the final game of the homestand
Sacramento is 2-2 on this homestand. A win tonight would give them a winning record on this home tilt
This is the first of four meetings between the Kings and Rockets this season
The Rockets won 3-of-4 games last season
The Kings are looking to build on their wins over Toronto and Oklahoma City
This will be another test for the new “small ball” line up that has been put in place by head coach Dave Joerger
For Sacramento it’s still about Boogie
Cousins celebrates versus Thunder (Rocky Widner/NBAE)
As Cousins goes so goes the Kings. The big man scored 36 points and grabbed 13 rebounds against OKC. They will need big numbers from him again tonight
Rudy Gay is always important to the Kings success on the court. He put up 17 points versus the Thunder just below his season average of 20.2 ppg. With a scoring machine like Ryan Anderson at forward for the opposition, Gay’s production will be key
Point guard Darren Collison exploded on offense in his first start of the season. He scored 21 points and dished out six assists in the Wednesday game
Sacramento also received good support from the bench on Wednesday night. Ty Lawson, Kosta Koufos, Ben McLemore and Garrett Temple all played productive minutes in the game
Coach Joerger went with a short bench against OKC. He used just nine players in that contest. Will that be the case again tonight?
The trade rumors just will not go away
More trade rumors were flying around on the internet today claiming that DeMarcus Cousins is about to be traded soon. The rumors have indicated that a trade would happen in early December to as late as February 2017.
The good news for Kings fans is their star player seems to be immune to the trade talk at this point is career. He has been the subject of trade rumors so often Cousins might only be concerned if he was left out of the rumor mill.
The concern is affect the trade talk might have on his teammates. It does not take much to distract a team and take them off their focus of trying play winning basketball. They need to follow the lead of their star player and focus on the game and not the talk off the court.
Back on the road again
Barclay Center home of the Nets NBA.com
The Kings will head back out on the road for six games in 12 days with all but one game to be played in the Eastern time zone. It is a long trip but the good news is there is only one back-to-back set of games on the trip.
The trip opens on Sunday night in Brooklyn with the Nets. The Kings will then get the back-to-back out of the way early as they play the Wizards in D.C. on Monday night. They will also visit Philadelphia, Boston, Manhattan, and Dallas before returning home on December 9th to host the Knicks.
For entertainment purposes only
The good folks at FiveThirtyEight.com have the Rockets as the favorites in the game minus 0.5 points. They give the Rockets a 52-percent chance to win the game.
The FiveThirtyEight CARMELO system projects the Rockets to have an 85-percent chance of making the playoffs but just a one-percent chance of winning the NBA Championship.
The fine folks in Nevada say the Rockets are the favorites minus 3.0 to 3.5 points. They believe the over/under will be 215 to 216 points.
The Sacramento Kings NBA D-League entry – the Reno Bighorns – opened their 2016-17 season with a 112-103 loss on the road deep in the south of Texas to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers (Houston Rockets) on Sunday night.
The Bighorns started the game very slowly and appeared ready to suffer a blowout as the Vipers shot 50-percent from the floor and outscored Reno 32-13 in the first quarter.
Things improved for the Bighorns in the second quarter as they scored 22 points but the Vipers continued to stay hot as they shot 50-percent again for the period and put up 29 points of their own.
At the half, Rio Grande Valley held a 61-35 lead over the Bighorns.
A different Bighorns team stepped out on the floor to start the third quarter. The Bighorns turned on their defensive intensity and then added improved play on offense to put themselves right back into the game. Led by Malachi Richardson’s and Isaiah Cousins’ eight points each the Bighorns outscored the Vipers 33-17 to close within 10 points of the lead after three quarters of play.
The Vipers came out in the fourth period with the realization that they needed to step up their game or they faced the possibility of losing a contest they once had under their control. Viper forward Isaiah Taylor scored 12 points and dished out five assists to lead the charge as Rio Grande Valley went back up by as many as 16 points. Reno did not lay down in the final quarter. The Bighorns scored 35 points led by Malachi Richardson’s 11 points and Lamar Patterson’s 10. Reno outscored the Vipers 35-34 in the fourth.
When the final buzzer sounded, Rio Grande Valley had defeated Reno 112-103.
Kings fans will recognize the names of the Bighorn players who made a difference
Lamar Patterson – signed to Reno as an affiliate player to the Sacramento Kings- was the Bighorns leading scorer with 23 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Patterson was an impressive 9-for-18 from the field. He played 32 minutes.
Malachi Richardson – who came to the Kings from Charlotte in exchange for Marco Belinelli – added 22 points. He went 4-for-12 from the floor including hitting on 3-of-6 from 3-point range. Richardson also went 11-for-16 from the free throw line. He played 38 minutes.
Other former Kings roster players who had an impact were center Georgios Papagiannis who scored 15 points in 29 minutes on the floor. Second-round draft pick and affiliate player Isaiah Cousins scored 14 points. Forward Skal Labissiere put up 9 points and grabbed 11 points in his 31 minutes of playing time.
Chane Behanan – who played in Mexico last season and for Rio Grande Valley the year before that – added eight points in 13 minutes of playing time
Rio Grande Valley Vipers
The Vipers scoring was led by forward Isaiah Taylor who is an affiliate player of the Houston Rockets. He scored 24 points and hit four 3-pointers. Taylor distributed seven assists in his 31 minutes on the floor.
Three other Viper player players scored in double figures: Kyle Wiltjer (22), PJ Hairston – who has played in the NBA – added 15 points and Le’Bryan Nash scored 21 off the bench.
The Vipers outscored the Bighorns 60-44 in the paint
What’s coming up for the Bighorns
The Bighorns travel to Austin where they will play two games with the Austin Spurs. They will play a game on Tuesday at 9:00 AM PST and on Thursday at 5:30 PM PST. The Bighorns will then head home for their home opener on Saturday, November 19 with the Oklahoma City Blue.
Sports Radio Service 