Tag: Oklahoma City Thunder

Pelicans land hard on the Kings in a 149-129 win in “the Big Easy”

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Bagley vs Pels
Bagley slams it home Photo @SacramentoKings

By Charlie O. Mallonee

By the end of the evening in New Orleans, the Sacramento Kings would rather have been in Yuba City because they had no reason to celebrate on Bourbon Street. The Kings gave up 149 points to the New Orleans Pelicans in their loss on Friday night. The 149 points was a new game-high scoring record for the New Orleans franchise.

The Kings did score 129 points of their own, but it was in a losing effort. There were some highlights but a loss is a loss. This was the Kings first road loss of 2018-19, and they are now 0-2 on the season.

Joerger’s take
”I saw some really good things offensively tonight,” Kings coach Dave Joerger said. ”I see, certainly, a lot of things defensively that can be learned through experience that just takes time as younger guys learn how to play against older guys. I am not fired up about giving up 149, but I do like what I see from a lot of our guys.”

Maybe this reporter is just a little impatient, but he has heard the “I saw some really good things” line many times over the last two years. Yes, this is a completely reworked roster with some very young players, but the “I’m happy with some of what I saw from my team tonight” line is going to wear thin very quickly. After 10 games if the team is playing poorly, the coach is going to have to speak honestly about the way his team is playing. The time to “kick butt and take names” is coming sooner and not later for Sacramento.

Coming out party for MBIIIV
The Kings top draft pick saw some major playing time on Friday versus the Pelicans. Bagley played 32-plus minutes and matched up well against “the Brow” – Anthony Davis. MBIIIV put up 19 points hitting 7-of-10 from the field. He converted 5-of-6 opportunities from the free throw line. Bagley grabbed eight rebounds, had three assists and made three steals.

Not a bad second game as a professional for a 19-year old having to go up against Anthony Davis.

WCS comes up “Big” again
Willie Cauley-Stein was the Kings leading scorer for the second consecutive game with 20 points in just over 25 minutes of playing time. He shot an impressive 9-for-14 from the floor. The big man also grabbed seven rebounds.

Swipa the Fox and Buddy Buckets showed up as well
De’Aaron Fox shot 6-for-12 from the floor and scored 18 points for the Kings. He also dished out six assists and pulled down seven rebounds. The Fox hit 6-of-7 chances from the free throw line.

Buddy Hield recorded 17 points, hitting 7-of-11 shots from the field. Hield put in 3-of-4 tries from behind the 3-point line. He also added three assists.

Mr. Mason had a big game coming off the bench

Mason vs Pels
Frank Mason works against the Pelicans Photo: @SacramentoKings

Frank Mason III played just over 21-minutes and scored 18 points. Mason shot 7-for-13 from the floor and converted 3-of-4 from the free throw line. He also handed out six assists.

What about Harry Giles III?
Harry had a tough game on Friday night. He committed six fouls in just over 18 minutes on the floor. Giles scored seven points and added four rebounds. He shot just 3-for-11 for the game. Rookies sometimes struggle.

Team stats
The Kings shot 52.1-percent (50/96) for the game. The problem was the Pelicans shot 58.9-percent (56/95) in the contest.

Sacramento hit 10-of-25 (40-percent) from 3-point land. New Orleans buried 16-of-31 tries from behind the long-distance line.

The Pelicans outrebounded the Kings 52 to 39.

The need for defense
The practice on Saturday will be all about defense. The Kings have proved they can score. Now, they need to figure out how to stop their opponents from scoring at will.

Up next
The Kings will return to action on Sunday on the road in Oklahoma City versus the Thunder at 4:00 pm PT. The quest for their first victory of 2018-19 does not get any easier having to face a team a talented as the Thunder on the road.

Kings show heart, but fall to OKC Thunder 106-101

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Photo credit: @SacramentoKings

By: Jeremiah Salmonson

The Sacramento Kings and Oklahoma City Thunder came into their game at Chesapeake Energy Arena Monday evening, having very different seasons. The Kings have had a record of 21-46, and the Thunder a record of 39-29. The Kings lost their previous game to the Denver Nuggets 130-104. The Thunder won their last game 104-94 against the San Antonio Spurs. The tip-off was set for 5:00 pm PST.

In the first few minutes of the first quarter, it was all Thunder, especially Carmelo Anthony. Only three minutes had passed into the game and Carmelo had already drained three 3-pointers. The Thunder continued to look dominant with Russell Westbrook, slamming an authoritative dunk roughly halfway through the first quarter.

The Kings changed that narrative though. After battling back into position, Frank Mason would be fouled with 2:14 to go in the quarter. He made both of his free throws, and the Kings pulled within one, 16-17. The quarter would end with the Thunder leading 19-16.

The second would start with the Kings’ Buddy Hield drained a three to tie the game at 19 apiece. The game would go back-and-forth with only two points separating the two teams with 6:04 to play. Koufos, Bogdanovic, and Jackson would finish with the Kings scoring in the second. The game would go into halftime with the Thunder on top 46-40.

In the third quarter, the Kings would come out firing. Justin Jackson would drain a three to give himself eight points on the night and pull the Kings within three, 43-46.

With 10:30 to play in the third, the Thunder had extended their to 43-51 and it wasn’t looking good. The Kings jumped back into it though, thanks to a part by a Justin Jackson three that made it 50-53. Although it may sound like a broken record, this game constantly went back-and-forth.

No team really jumped out to a commanding lead, even though the Thunder has a couple leads in double digits. Vince Carter would hit a three with 1:40 to go, bringing the Kings within one, 73-74. To close out the third, Garrett Temple would throw a layup and make it 79-78 going into the final quarter.

The Kings went into the final quarter with little optimism after taking a small lead into the fourth quarter. However, the lead was short-lived as Ferguson would come out and drain a three to give the Thunder back the lead, 81-79.

The game didn’t have any real separation until the Thunder extended the lead to 102-92 with 2:48 to play in the game. The Kings would battle trying to fight their way back, but ultimately succumbed to their wounds. The final score was 106-101 and the Thunder got their 40th win on the season.

What’s Next?
Kings return home to face the Miami Heat on Wednesday night at 7:00 pm PST. The Thunder went on the road to face the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday at 4:30 pm PST. 

Kings run out of air at a mile high as Denver wins 130-104 on Sunday

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SAC vs DEN featured image
photo @SacramentoKings

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings kicked off a short two-game, three-day road trip on Sunday afternoon 5280-feet in the air versus the Denver Nuggets. The loud crash that you heard was the Kings hitting the proverbial brick wall at 120 mph as they were blown out by the Nuggets 130-104.

Denver entered the contest fighting for their playoff lives in ninth-place in the Western Conference, one-half game out of eight-place and being in the NBA playoffs. With the battle for the playoff berths in the West so close, every game is critical for the Nuggets.

Their victory on Sunday moved Denver into a three-way tie for the eighth and final playoff spot with the Clippers and Jazz. The Nuggets are just one-half game behind seventh-place San Antonio.

The final 15-game stretch of the regular season in the Western Conference is going to be a real “dog fight” as 10 teams battle for eight playoff positions.

SAC was a statistical mess

The Kings just suffered in almost every area of the game on Sunday:

  • They shot 42.9-percent from the field while allowing Denver to shoot 56.2-percent for the game.
  •  The Kings went 6-for-31 (19.4-percent) from “3-point land” while the Nuggets hit 15-of-37 (40.5-percent) from long-range. If you are not hitting 3-pointers, a team cannot afford to have their 3-point defense breakdown and hope to win the game.
  • SAC was out-rebounded 51-38 in the game. The Nuggets owned the defensive glass pulling down 43 rebounds on defense to the Kings 31. A team like Sacramento needs those second-chance point opportunities.
  • The Kings had only three steals. Dave Joerger will not be happy with that number because he is all about making deflections on defense.
  • Sacramento recorded only one blocked shot in the game.

Positive numbers:

  • SAC went to the free throw line 26 times in the game which is they type of numbers the coaching staff would like to see on a consistent basis. The Kings converted 20 of those 26 free throw attempts.
  • The Kings protected the ball very well in the contest as they turned it over just three times which resulted in just five points for the Nuggets.

Individual numbers

Kings (21-46)

SAC vs DEN starting 5
 The Starting Five Photo @SacramentoKings
  • Kosta Koufos started at the five spot again. Koufos posted 14 points and he made it a double-double game with 10 rebounds.
  • De’Aaron Fox was back in the starting lineup and played just over 30-minutes. “Swipa” scored 12 points, distributed nine dimes and had three rebounds.
  • Buddy Hield came off the bench to lead the team in scoring with 18 points. “Buddy Buckets” had a much better shooting night hitting 8-of-15 field goal attempts. He did struggle a bit from behind the arc as hit converted 2-of-6 from long-range.
  • There was more good news for SAC as Willie Cauley-Stein returned after being out with back trouble. WCS scored 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds in just over 30 minutes of playing time.

Nuggets (37-30)

Denver’s starting five was very productive as four of the five scored in double figures and three of the five scored at least 20 points.

  • Nikola Jokic was the man for the Nuggets as he posted a triple-double scoring 20 points, pulling down 11 rebounds and distributing 10 assists. He also had a blocked shot.
  • Gary Harris was the leading scorer for the Nuggets with 21 points.
  • Jamal Murray was the other starter who scored 20 points for Denver shooting 8-for-16 for the game.
  • Trey Lyles had big game coming off the bench scoring 14 points in just over 18 minutes of playing time for his team.

Up next

Kings

SAC wraps up this mini two-game road trip in Oklahoma City on Monday night. The Kings are 4-9 on the second night of back-to-back games this season. The Thunder are 39-29 so far this season and are currently tied for fourth-place in the Western Conference.

Nuggets

Denver has Monday off and then returns to action on the road in Los Angeles versus the Lakers on Tuesday night.

Warriors play defense from start to finish as they knock off Thunder in 112-80 blowout win

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Photo credit: @warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND — The Golden Warriors decided to play defense for the entire 48 minutes of Saturday night’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder as they won 112-80 at Oracle Area. The Thunder had embarrassed the Warriors in the two previous meetings this season. Thunders’ stars Russell Westbrook and Paul George sent the Warriors down to a 17-point defeat in Oklahoma City on November 22, and they routed the Dubs 125-105 at Oracle Arena on February 6. The Warriors have not lost the season series to the Thunder since the 2012-13 season, and they played Warrior basketball Saturday night.

The Warriors won the first quarter 24-19 and the second quarter 28-26 to finish with a seven-point advantage 52-45 at the end of the first half. The Thunder closed the gap to one, but the Warriors went on a 37-11 run that included 30 points in the last 8:48 of the third quarter. They continued to shut the Thunder offense down as they outscored OKC 28-14 in the fourth quarter to 112-80.

Game Notes and Stats: After the game, Kevin Durant commented about the team’s performance: “We’re champions. We’re 46-14, and we’ve got one of the best road records in the league,” Durant said. “We’ve been doing this the last two years. We’ve got to be us.”

Draymond Green was hit with his 15th technical foul of the season. If he gets one more technical, he will be suspended for one game. Warrior coach Steve Kerr said he is not concerned at all about the situation. Green commented: “I’m an emotional guy. I play with high emotion, I love this game of basketball. I play it with passion. I’ll continue to play with passion.”

The numbers show how good the defense was. Russell Westbrook, the defending NBA MVP, was held to just 15 points. Westbrook did have a double-double, but the Warriors shut down him down. PAu George, who tallied 38 in the last game at Oracle on February 6, was held to just five points. Carmelo Anthony had 14, and Raymond Felton added 11. The Warriors held the Thunder to  33% from the floor, and the Thunder made just nine 3-pointers in 34 attempts. The Warriors outrebounded them 54-43, and the Dubs had eight steals and six blocked shots.

The Warriors were led on offense by Kevin Durant. Durant knocked down 28. Steph Curry had 21, Klay Thompson 11, Draymond Green 10, and Nick Young chipped in with 16.  The Warriors are now 46-14 for the year.

Kevin Durant received an honor Saturday night.

Durant received the January NBA Cares Community Assist Award for his giving off the court to help kids, families and other charitable causes for education and communities. He donated $3 million last month to the University of Texas where he played and matched Colin Kaepernick’s $10,000 in the quarterback’s “10 for 10” campaign, Durant’s contributions helping a local organization doing community-based justice work.

“I’ve got to continue to leave my mark off the basketball court as well,” Durant said. “Look forward to doing that.”

Up Next: The Warriors head East for a three-game road trip. They play the New York Knicks Monday night in New York. They meet the Washington Wizards on Wednesday and finish the trip in Atlanta against the Hawks.

Curry scores 44 to lead Warriors in 134-127 victory, despite Clippers’ fourth-quarter rally

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Photo credit: nba.com/warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors returned to action Thursday night against the vastly improved Los Angeles Clippers at Oracle Arena. The Clippers beat the Warriors at Oracle Arena the last time they played. Clippers’ Lou Williams knocked down 50 points that night, and the Warriors were determined to not let that happen again. The Warriors, behind Steph Curry’s 44 point performance, Thursday night sent the Clippers down to defeat, 134-127, but it was not easy.

The Clippers started poorly this year, but after the trade that sent Blake Griffin to Detroit, they have turned their season around. They still have Austin Rivers, DeAndre Jordan from last year, but they added Danilo Gallinari, Milos Teodosic, Tobias Harris, and Lou Williams. The Warriors owned the Clippers when Chris Paul and Blake Griffin were their starters. They are gone, and the Clippers are on the rebound.

The Warriors made one change to the starting lineup Thursday night as Steve Kerr decided to start JaVale McGee at center in place of Zaza Pachulia. The move was made to jump start the offense in the first quarter, and the strategy worked as the Warriors raced out to a 34-23 lead at the end of the first 12 minutes of play. It was the first time since November 19th that the Warriors finished the quarter with an 11-point advantage. Curry electrified the crowd as he made a three pointer from half-court as the buzzer sounded to end the period.

The Warriors continued to play well in the second period. At one point, they led 57-40 when Nick Young connected on a three. The Clippers, however, came back on a 9-0 run to close the gap to eight. Curry connected on a three late in the first half to up the lead to 15 70-55, but Danilo Gallinari matched Steph with a three of his own as the buzzer sounded. The Warriors finished the half leading 70-58. Kevin Durant had 12, Curry 15, Thompson 17, and Draymond Green seven. Austin Rivers and Gallinari led the Clippers with 10 apiece. Teodosic had nine, and Lou Williams was held to five.

The Warriors, who have owned the third quarter this year, got off to a good start as they increased the led by 16 after Curry knocked down a three-point shot. Kevin Durant followed with a three of his own, and it looked as if the Warriors were on cruise control. The Clippers cut the deficit to 12 at the end of the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, the Clippers went on a 9-0 run to make it a two-point game. They trailed 104-102. The Warriors behind three big three-point baskets by Curry and one by Durant were able to meet the challenge. They met every Clipper challenge as they showed they still know how to play defense and what they have to do to win a close contest.

Game Notes and Stats: With the win, the Warriors improve to 45-14 and had just 23 games left on the regular season schedule.

The Clippers are now 30-27 but are in the race for the playoffs. The loss time was just the sixth in the last 19 games played and their coach, Doc Rivers, has made them very competitive.

Curry had a double-double with 44 points and 10 assists and he made 8 threes in 11 attempts. Durant knocked down 24, Thompson 19, Green 14. McGee tallied six points and had four boards. Pachulia also scored six. David West had 10.

The Warriors shot 62.7% from the floor but they allowed the Clippers to take 12 more shots in the game.

The Clippers shot 50% from the floor.

The Warriors recorded 31 assists and on defense, they had eight steals and eight blocked shots. The Warriors committed 15 turnovers. At one point in the first quarter, Steve Kerr called a timeout as the Warriors turned the ball over three straight times.

The Clippers had seven players in double figures. Austin Rivers 14, Gallinari 15, Jordan 16. Harris 22, Teodosic, 14. Montrezl Harrell pitched in with 15 and Lou Williams finished with 21. Williams made several big three-point shots when the Clippers rallied in the fourth quarter.

The Warriors’ next opponent will be the Oklahoma Thunder Saturday night at Oracle Arena.

The Thunder, behind Russell Westbrook, Paul George, and Steve Adams, pounded the Warriors the last time they met at Oracle. In fact, the Thunder has won two of the three games played so far this season. The Warriors have their work cut out for them as they have to figure out a way to stop the Thunder attack. Saturday’s game should be a barn burner.

Westbrook adds 18th triple-double of season and hits game-winning shot for 110-107 Thunder win

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By Jordan Chapin

SACRAMENTO — The Sacramento Kings made their return to the Golden 1 Center after a well-needed week off. The return of Frank Mason and Skal Labissiere jump started the Kings final 25-game schedule with a 110-107 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder Thursday night. The reigning MVP, Russell Westbrook, proved once again why he is one of the most clutch players in the league by racking up his 18th triple-double of the season and hitting the game-winning shot.

After trailing by 23 points in the first quarter, the Kings took advantage of their opportunities with the second unit lead by Buddy Hield with 19 points and Vince Carter with 13 points. The Kings cut the lead within eight at half, and then it was Zach Randolph time. Z-Bo finished his night with 29 points and 12 rebounds and put the Kings up by five with under four minutes to go. After several lead changes, the Thunder led by two with just 11 seconds to go in the game. Vince Carter put up a shot from about 34 feet out–missed–was tipped up several times, and with one second left, Justin Jackson came flying in for the put back lay-up to tie the game.

With exactly one second to go, Westbrook caught the in-bounds pass on the wing, and rose-up over Garrett Temple and drained the three-pointer as the clock expired. Although Westbrook did struggle from the field, he reminded us why he is a perennial All-Star in this league. His teammates Paul George and Carmelo Anthony picked him up on the scoring end, as they combined for 49 points.

When the Kings return to Golden 1 Center on Saturday night, they will have a fully rejuvenated lineup as they take on the Los Angeles Lakers. Sacramento will see Isiah Thomas for the first time since he has put on the Purple and Gold. The Kings extended  their record to 18-40 as OKC gets their 34th win of the season and stand pat as the fifth seed in the West.

Thunder dominate Warriors at Oracle 125-105; Golden State drops third game in last four

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Photo credit: @NBA

By Jerry Feitelberg

Oakland — There have been many people expressing doubts about this years’ edition of the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors have not been able to get things goings. They have fallen behind too many times in the first half and have not handled the ball well or played defense as well as they have in the past three seasons.

The Thunder came into the game having lost four straight.

Warriors’ coach Steve Kerr wanted the team to get off to a fast start Tuesday night against the Thunder, but that did not happen.

The Thunder came out firing on all cylinders. They were led by Russell Westbrook, who looked to be unstoppable. The Thunder raced out to an early lead and never looked back as they swamped the Warriors 125-105.

The Thunder outscored them 42-30 in the first quarter, and they never let the Warriors climb back into the game. They moved the ball and defended the Warriors. They wouldn’t let Steph Curry or Klay Thompson get into any sort of rhythm. Kevin Durant was the only Warrior to get anything going against his former team.

Westbrook and Paul George made shot after shot and the Thunder’s big man, Steve Adams, had a huge night both on offense and defense.

No matter what Steve Kerr did, the Thunder had an answer. The Thunder led 70-57 at the half. The Warriors could do nothing in the third quarter as Paul George led the Thunder attack. The Warriors fell behind by 22 at the end of three quarters, and it is very rare for a team to win when they trail by that many so late in the game.

The Thunder kept the momentum going and they cruised to an easy 125-105 win over The Dubs.

Game Notes and Stats: The Warriors have now lost three out of the last four games they have played, and two of the losses were blowouts.

The Warriors are now tied in the loss column with 13 with the Houston Rockets, and the Rockets own the tiebreaker. If the teams end in a tie, Houston would have home court advantage.

The Warriors committed 25 turnovers Tuesday night.

The Warriors committed 25 turnovers in the Sacramento game, but were lucky to get a win. Many people are wondering when the Warriors are going to turn on the switch and start playing the way they have in the past three years. They are limping to the All-Star break, and hopefully, they can regroup and get back on track in time for the playoffs.

Durant led the scoring with 33. Curry had 21, but Thompson was held to 12. Draymond Green knocked down five. Green had seven assists and eight boards, but had to leave the game when has was called for his second technical foul of the night.

The refs called five technical fouls on the team in the game.

David West led the bench with nine, and Shaun Livingston had six.

The Warriors’ bench has not been as productive this year as it has been in previous years, and that may be a factor in the team’s recent lackluster performance.

George led the Thunder with 38. Westbrook had 34. Jerami Grant added 16, and Adams had 14.

The Thunder’s Carmelo Anthony suffered a sprained ankle early in the game and did not return to action. The win was OKC’s first in Oakland since 2013.

Up Next: The Warriors return to action Thursday night against the Dallas Mavericks. Game time is at 7:30 pm PT at Oracle Arena.

Kings defeat the Pelicans 114-103 in NOLA to finish road trip with a 3-3 record

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by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings beat the Pelicans in New Orleans for the second time this season by downing the Pels 114-103 on Tuesday night. The victory allowed the Kings to finish their six-game, 13-day road trip with a surprising 3-3 record.

For the naysayers out there, yes the Pelicans were without DeMarcus Cousins who is out for the rest of the season after rupturing his left achilles last Friday versus the Rockets. The Kings were without the services of Willie Cauley-Stein, Skal Labissiere, Frank Manson, Malachi Richardson and their head coach Dave Joerger.

Why did the Kings win the game?

Two sets of stats really explain why Sacramento came away with the “W” Tuesday night. The Kings out-rebounded the Pelicans 49-36 but even more important than the over all numbers is the offensive rebound count.

SAC pulled down 14 balls off the offensive glass while NOLA grabbed just two offensive rebounds. The Kings scored 26 second chance points converting 10-of-11 opportunities. The Pelicans scored zero second chance points and literally had no second opportunities in the contest. It is virtually impossible to win a game playing one shot and done basketball in “the Association”.

Rebounding made the difference in the game for Sacramento in New Orleans.

Top Performers

Kings

  • Star of the Game honors go to Zach Randolph who scored a game-high 26 points and made it a double-double game posting 12 rebounds. Z-Bo shot 11-for-23 from the floor and hit 3-of-6 three-point attempts. The veteran big man also played very physical versus New Orleans star Anthony Davis.
  • Kosta Koufos earns Special Co-Star of the Game status by starting the game and playing 37-plus minutes to post a double-double of his own. Koufos put up 17 points and recorded 17 rebounds (seven offensive rebounds). Koufos hit 7-of-12 shots from the field.
  • Co-Star of the Game credit goes to De’Aaron Fox for scoring 15 points, hauling in six rebounds and dishing out four assists in 27-minutes of playing time. Fox had a +9 rating for his time on the court.

Pelicans

  • New Orleans Star of the Game honors go to reserve shooting guard Ian Clark who played over 29-minutes scoring 20-points while hitting 9-of-10 field goal attempts. Only one of his field goals was a 3-point conversion. Clark also recorded six rebounds.
  • Anthony Davis receives Co-Star credit for the game. With Boogie Cousins gone for the season, the weight of success falls squarely on the shoulders of Davis. He scored a team-high 23 points and made it a double-double by recording 13 rebounds. Davis went 9-for-10 from the free throw line.
  • Jrue Holiday gets a Best Supporting Player nod for contributing 20 points but he went just 9-for-20 shooting from the floor to score those points. Holiday did not post a single rebound.

Key Stats

Sacramento (16-34)

  • The Kings hit 46-of-97 shots (47.4-percent) from the field for the game. They took 20 more attempts than the Pelicans and made seven more field goals than New Orleans.
  • Sacramento converted 10-of-26 three-point attempts (38.5-percent) which was one more made 3-point field goal than the Pels hit in the game.
  • The Kings outscored the Pelicans in the paint 52-42.

New Orleans (27-23)

  • The Pelicans shot 50.6-percent from the field (39-for-77) for the game but it was 20 less attempts and seven less conversions than the Kings put in the books.
  • New Orleans won the battle of Fast Break points outscoring the Kings 23-22 for the game.
  • The Pels dished out more assists (26-22) than the Kings but they were not enough to turn the tide of the game.

Up Next

Kings

The Kings flew home after the game and were able to sleep in their own beds for the first time in 13 days. They will be off until Friday night when they have the unenviable task of hosting the world champion Golden State Warriors at the Golden 1 Center.

Pelicans

New Orleans will hit the road and will play the Thunder in OKC on Friday night.

The Thunder beat the Kings 95-88; Sacramento has lost five in a row

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Photo credit: @SacramentoKings

By Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings suffered their fifth loss in a row as the Oklahoma City Thunder won 95-88 at Chesapeake Energy Arena on Monday night. The Kings’ losing streak may not end anytime soon with their intensified commitment to player development continues.

Sacramento went with a very young starting five on Monday night. Dave Joerger tapped Skal Labissiere, Willie Cauley-Stein, Bogdan Bogdanovic, De’Aaron Fox and Garrett Temple to start the game. Temple was the only starter who was not playing on his original NBA contract and he played just under 18 minutes in the game.

Buddy Hield and Justin Jackson saw significant playing time coming off the bench for Sacramento. Veteran point guard George Hill played just over 24 minutes, but that may be the Kings trying to showcase Hill for a possible trade. There have been persistent rumors that the Nuggets have real interest in picking up Hill who has become expendable with the emergence of Frank Mason.

The Kings played well in the first-half and actually held the lead at halftime 52-46. De’Aaron Fox and George Hill each scored 10 points in the half to lead the Sacramento scoring attack.

As it has been so often this season, the third quarter was the Kings downfall. The Thunder outscored Sacramento 31-16 in the quarter. Carmelo Anthony put up 15 points for OKC shooting 5 for 11 in the period. The Kings used nine players in the quarter but only three of them scored. Willie Cauley-Stein posted seven points, Bogdan Bogdanovic scored six and Garrett Temple recorded three points.

The Kings had a glimmer of hope in the fourth quarter when Russell Westbrook received back-to-back technical fouls and was ejected from the game with 2:51 remaining to play in the contest and the Thunder leading 91-80.

Sacramento was never able to cut the Oklahoma City lead to less than seven points and wound up losing the game 95-88. The Kings are now 13-30 on the season and reside in last-place in the Western Conference. The Thunder’s record improved to 24-20 which puts them in fifth-place in the Western Conference.

Stars of the Game

Thunder

  • The “Big Three” for OKC take the honors and that is really no surprise. Carmelo Anthony scored a game-high 20 points shooting 7 for 19 and grabbing nine rebounds as well. Russell Westbrook posted a double-double with 19 points and 16 rebounds. Paul George put 18 points in the book.
  • Steven Adams receives the award for “mouth of the game”. The big man did not stop chirping at the officials throughout entire contest. If Westbrook was ejected for going overboard with his complaints, Adams should have received the same punishment. The constant negative chatter directed at the officials has to stop. Adams scored 13 points shooting 5 for 11 from the floor, but he hit only 3 of 12 from the charity stripe.

Kings

  • Buddy Hield led the scoring attack for Sacramento. Hield came off the bench to score 16 points in almost 28 minutes on the floor. Hield shot just 6 for 15 and was 0 for 5 from behind the 3-Point line. He was a perfect 4 for 4 at the free throw line.
  • Willie Cauley-Stein had another strong game. The Kings starting center played 39 minutes and 52 seconds in the game and scored 15 points. He hit 6 of 13 field goal attempts while pulling down seven rebounds and adding three steals.

Key Stats

OKC

  • The Thunder out-rebounded the Kings 58-37. Of their 58 rebounds, 18 came on offense. Those 18 offensive rebounds turned into 13 second chance points for the Thunder.
  • Turnovers: OKC had 20 TOV but they led to just seven points for Sacramento. The Kings committed 15 turnovers which the Thunder turned into 18 points.

SAC

  • The Kings had a 15 point lead at one point in the game.
  • SAC scored 13 second chance points converting 5 of 6 opportunities.
  • The used 10 players in the game including Georgios Papagiannis.

Up Next

Kings

SAC will host the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night at the Golden 1 Center. The Kings will then head out on a six game road trip – the longest of the year.

Thunder

OKC will host the Lakers on Wednesday night.

Thunder stifle Warriors offense, pick up emphatic 108-91 home win

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by Jerry Feitelberg

The Oklahoma City Thunder played their best game of the season as they defeated the Warriors 109-91 Wednesday night in Oklahoma City. The Thunders’ Big Three, Carmelo Anthony, Russell Westbrook, and Paul George all scored more than 20 points each, and the Thunder slowed the Warriors running game and took the Dubs out of their game. The Thunder, coached by Billy Donovan, entered the game with a record of 7-9. The Thunder made two big moves in the offseason to improve their offense by signing Paul George and trading for Carmelo Anthony. The team really hadn’t played well until Wednesday night. The Thunder lost several games after having a big lead at the half, but they did not let the game slip Wednesday night.

The Warriors’ Kevin Durant was back in the lineup on Wednesday. Durant could not help the Warriors as they fell behind 33-26 after the first quarter. The Thunder offense was on fire as they shot 54% from the floor and held the Warriors to just 36%.

The Thunder kept the pressure on, and the Warriors fell further behind. Everything was going well for OKC. Russell Westbrook, Paul George, Carmelo Anthony were making shots, and the Warriors were not. Klay Thompson could not buy a bucket, Draymond Green scored two points in the first half. Zaza Pachulia did not score at all, and the bench did not provide a spark. Steph scored 13 and KD knocked down 14, but the Warriors ended the first half trailing by seventeen 65-48

The Warriors, who usually dominate the third period, could not get anything going. OKC continued to play stellar defense, and the Warriors continued to make turnovers and missed open shots. The Thunder increased the lead to twenty-three and was in total control as the third quarter ended with a 94-71 advantage.

The Warriors won the fourth quarter 20-14, but it was too little, too late. Billy Donovan kept his starters in for most of the fourth quarter and didn’t remove them until there were just 90 seconds left in the game. The Thunder won 108-91 and snapped the Warriors’ seven-game winning streak against them.

Game Notes and Stats- The Warriors finished the four-game road trip with a record of 2-2 and fell to 13-5 for the season. The Thunder improved to 8-9. Steph led the Warriors with 24 points. KD tallied 21. Klay had 9, Draymond 4, and Zaza 2. Three of the Thunders’ starters recorded a double-double. Westbrook, the NBA’s reigning MVP, scored 34 points, had nine assists, and ten rebounds. Paul George had 20 points and eleven rebounds, Steven Adams fourteen points and twelve boards. Carmelo Anthony poured in twenty.

The Warriors are home for Thanksgiving and resume play Friday night against the Chicago Bulls at Oracle Arena. Game time is at 7:30.