Tag: Jason Thompson

Kings destroy Cavs 124-80

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

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Photo credit: Rich Pedroncelli/AP Photo

By Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings did something on Sunday that they had not done since December 2012. The Kings won their third game in a row by blowing out the Cleveland Cavaliers 124-80 at Sleep Train Arena. The victory gave Sacramento a 3-2 record on their five game home-stand.

The Kings were led by Isaiah Thomas with 26 points, six assists and 2 steals. After scoring just nine points on Friday against the Magic, Thomas hit the floor on Sunday looking like a man with something to prove. He proved that he is one the best shooting point guards in the association.

Rudy Gay also had a big night. He scored 20 points on just 12 shots. Gay also was three for five for 3-pointers.

DeMarcus Cousins posted another double-double putting up 16 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.

The Kings second unit had another strong game. Derrick Williams and Jimmer Fredette scored 13 points each. Ben McLemore added nine points, Travis Outlaw six and Quincy Acy scored five points. The bench scored 49 points total for the Kings.

The Kings had their strongest defensive showing of the year versus Cleveland. After allowing the Cavs to score 32 points in the first quarter, the Kings held them to 18 points in the second, 11 points in the third and 19 points in the fourth quarter. Sacramento outscored Cleveland 65-30 in the second half.

Kings Head Coach Michael Malone was very pleased with his team’s defensive effort. Malone feels his club has bought into the defensive scheme that they need to win in the NBA. “I am happy with the defense.”

Malone also pointed out his team’s rebounding domination against the Cavaliers. The Kings out-rebounded the Cavs 50-32. Malone was especially happy with the rebounding effort of Jason Thompson who recorded 16 rebounds in the game.

After the game Isaiah Thomas said, “We’ve got the momentum for the road trip. If we keep this going, we can be very successful.

The Kings do have their work cut out for them as they must head out on a six game road that begins Tuesday in Indiana versus the very tough Pacers. Sacramento will also play in Minnesota, Memphis, Oklahoma City, New Orleans and Houston on the trip. Winning two out of six and playing great defense would be a very good goal for the Kings.

Coach Malone pointed out that his team cannot be satisfied with winning three in a row. He wants the Kings to play defense on the road.

For now, the Kings can travel to Indiana knowing they have just completed their best home-stand of the season.

Kings stop the Magic 103-83

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

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Photo credit: Rocky Widner NBAE/Getty Images

By Charlie O. Mallonee

There are games on the NBA schedule that are must win games. On Friday night, the Kings had one of those games as they hosted the 10 and 25 Orlando Magic. The Magic came into the game tired from a long road trip and with a terrible record against the Western Conference. The Kings did what they needed to do and won the game 103-83 for their second consecutive win at home.

The Kings were led by DeMarcus Cousins with another double-double. Cousins put up 24 points, grabbed 14 rebounds, had six assists, three steals and one blocked shot. Rudy Gay scored 22 points and pulled down 10 rebounds for his own double-double. Jason Thompson had a very productive night recording 14 points. Derrick Williams added 14 points off the bench while Jimmer Fredette scored 11 in a reserve role for Sacramento.

The Magic’s leading scorer was Tobias Harris with 16 points. Arron Afflalo had 15 points. Victor Oladipo added 13 while Glen Davis scored 12 and posted 12 rebounds.

The story was really in the numbers for this game. The Kings shot 51.3% (41-80) from the field and 94.7% (18-19) from the free throw line. Orlando’s field goal percentage was 33.3 while they shot 29.6% from beyond the 3-point line. The Kings out rebounded the Magic 54-37.

The game did not start off looking like a Kings victory. Orlando outscored the Kings 24-18 in the first quarter. The Magic shot 50.0% (5-10) from behind the 3-point arc. The Kings did not go to the free throw line one time. It was not a great beginning for Sacramento.

The Kings came alive in the second quarter scoring 28 points to just 16 for the Magic. Sacramento shot 47.6% for field goals while finally getting to the free throw line four times and hitting on all four opportunities. Orlando came back down to earth shooting just 33.3%, but the Magic still hit six of 15 tries from 3-point land. The teams went to halftime with the Kings leading 46-40.

The Kings needed to come out after halftime putting together some point runs, getting physical under basket and creating opportunities from the free throw line. That is exactly what Sacramento did.

The Kings started the third quarter by getting physical. Sacramento had 14 attempts from the charity stripe and made good on 13 of those tries. They also established a solid lead. The Kings led by 17 with 1:37 to go in the period. The Magic put on a five point mini-run to end the quarter but still trailed the Kings 76-64.

The Magic kept trying to comeback in the fourth quarter and cut the Sacramento lead to 10 with 7:22 to go in the game. The Kings then bore down and went on a 12-0 run to open a 22 point lead. Both coaches emptied their benches and Sacramento cruised to a 103-83 victory.

After the game Coach Michael Malone said, “It was unchartered territory for us. It felt good, obviously, to come out here and have the most complete defensive effort that we’ve had. We held them to 83 points and 33% from the field. To get out and score 21 fastbreak points, to play defense, to dominate the glass and the paint was great. I thought our starting lineup was terrific tonight. The 60 points and 30 something rebounds between Rudy Gay, Jason Thompson and DeMarcus Cousins really set the tone for us. I was very impressed with Derrick Williams. That’s two games in a row where he has played very aggressively and with great confidence. I need him to continue doing that.”

Per DeMarcus Cousins the win validated the win over Portland, “We did take steps forward. I still think we kind of started out slow; we could’ve had a better start. The second unit came in and did a great job, really got the game going and we finished the game off strong I believe. We did have a little stretch where we let them make a run but overall I think we did a pretty good job defensively. Offensively we came along during the game but I think we did a great job tonight defensively.”

The Kings record improves to 12-22 overall and 8-13 at home.

Sacramento returns to action on Sunday afternoon when they host the Cleveland Cavaliers at Sleep Train Arena.

Charlotte Hands the Kings a 113-103 Loss

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

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Photo credit: Rocky Widner NBAE/Getty Images

By Charlie O. Mallonee

The Charlotte Bobcats came into Sacramento on Saturday night having lost five games in a row. The Kings game into the game looking for redemption after the disappointing loss to the Sixers on Thursday night. Both teams saw each other as being a beatable team.

The Bobcats were more motivated than the Kings and left Sacramento with a win 113-103.

The Bobcats were led by point guard Kemba Walker with 30 points. Walker was 12 for 19 from the field and four of six on 3-point attempts. He also dished out six assists and pulled down four rebounds.

Center Al Jefferson also had a big night for Charlotte. He poured in 27 points, grabbed nine rebounds, had two assists and two steals. Gerald Henderson hit for 16 points, Ramon Sessions scored 12 off the bench while Chris Douglas-Roberts added 10.

The Kings finished with some strong performances of their own. Cousins posted his 20th double-double of the season scoring 26 while grabbing 11 rebounds. Rudy Gay had a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Jason Thompson recorded a double-double putting up 15 points and being credited with 14 rebounds. Isaiah Thomas added 21 points and eight assists.

The problem for the Kings was another slow starting first half. The Bobcats shot 64.3% (27-42) from the field while hitting on five of seven (71.4%) from beyond the 3-point line. Charlotte scored 65 points in the first half. It’s going to be a long night when you give up 32 points in the first and 33 points in the second quarter to your opponents. The Kings trailed 65-52 at the intermission.

The Kings played better basketball in the second half. The defense stepped up and stopped giving up easy shots. Sacramento started moving the ball and attacking the rim. The problem was even with the improved effort the Kings were unable to take back the lead from Charlotte. The Kings cut the lead to three with 8:02 left to play in the game, but the Bobcats roared back to open up a lead of 12 points with 1:02 to go. The Kings had to expel so much effort trying to get back into the game that they were never able to put themselves in a position to win.

After the game, a disappointed Kings Head Coach Michael Malone spoke about his team’s lack of defense in the first half. Allowing Charlotte to score 65 first half points obviously frustrated him. He said that at some point his team needs to become “embarrassed” about being 29th in multiple defensive categories. Malone feels there will be no significant change until they do.

Malone also pointed out that his team lost two winnable games versus Philadelphia and Charlotte. After playing at such a high level against San Antonio and Houston, the poor effort put forward in the Sixers and Bobcats games is very disappointing.

Things do not get easier for the Kings as they must prepare to play the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday. The Blazers downed the Bobcats 134-104 Thursday. Portland lost to the Sixers 101-99 on Saturday. The Kings need to anticipate facing an angry Blazers team that is looking to revenge a loss to a team they should have beaten.