Tag: Jimmer Fredette

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.

Kings fall hard at Golden State

Published on by Charlie O. Mallonee1 Comment

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By Charlie O. Mallonee

Every NBA fan knows that there is nothing harder for a team to do than win game two of a back-to-back schedule. The Kings traveled to Golden State and proved how hard it can be as they lost to the Warriors 98-87 after losing to the Clippers on Friday night. Do not let that score fool you. The game was much uglier than the final score would suggest.

In his post-game comments, Kings Head Coach Michael Malone summed up the game by saying his team did not shoot well and they did not defend well. He went on to say that his team’s effort was less than acceptable.

The game was essentially over after the first half. The Kings shot just 31.7% (13-41) from the field and were outscored by 10-points in the first and second quarters. The Warrior shot 53.7% (22-41) from the field and 46.7% (7/15) from behind the 3-point line. At half-time, the Warriors led the Kings 56-36.

The Kings came out hot in the third quarter by going on an opening 8-0 run to start the period. As the Kings attempted to fight their way back into the game, Golden State kept finding ways to score and keep the Kings at bay. At the 2:28 mark, Klay Thompson hit a 3-pointer followed by a Kings turnover that set up another Thompson 3-pointer. Sacramento never recovered from that sequence.

In the final quarter, both coaches went deep into their rotations to finish up the game. For the Kings, there was the first Jimmer Fredette sighting of the season. The Kings closed up the score but still lost 98-87

The Kings finished the game with a 34.5% (30-87) field goal shooting percentage. No matter what else you do, a team cannot win shooting 34.5%.

On defense, the Kings allowed the Warriors to shoot 51.3% (39-76). Sacramento allowed the Clippers to shoot 50% from the field on Friday night. The Kings cannot allow opponents to shoot that well and expected to win.

The one highlight of the game for the Kings was the play of rookie Ben McLemore. McLemore scored 19-points in 30 minutes of playing time. He also pulled down four rebounds, blocked two shots and added one assist. McLemore may have earned more playing time for himself with his performance against the Warriors.

The Kings will take Sunday off and return to practice on Monday. Their next game will on Tuesday when they host the “new look” Atlanta Hawks at Sleep Train Arena.