Tag: Quin Snyder

The Jazz hand Kings their sixth consecutive loss 120-105; rookie Mitchell puts up 34 points for UTA

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

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by Charlie O. Mallonee

Sacramento – Wednesday night was game one of the Sacramento Kings “youth movement” where the emphasis would be placed on getting the younger team members more time on the floor. Winning would be the secondary goal.

That sounds like a potentially painful proposition, and it proved to be very painful versus the visiting Utah Jazz.

Both teams entered the contest looking to end losing streaks. The Jazz had lost two consecutive games. The Kings were losers in their previous five match ups. This was Sacramento’s last home game before heading out on their longest road trip of the season to face Memphis, Charlotte, Orlando, Miami, San Antonio and finally Boogie Cousins and the New Orleans Pelicans.

This game looked winnable and they needed a win.

The Kings – who led by as many as 10 points in the first quarter – lost the lead for the final time with 8:58 remaining in the second period. They would trail by 10 points at the half, by 15 points at the end of three quarters and 15 at the final buzzer.

SAC could not find a “lock-down defense” that could stop rookie sensation Donovan Mitchell who seemed to score at will, and Rodney Hood who may have played his best game of the year for the Jazz.

Kings head coach Dave Joerger analyzed the game in nine words, ” … we need to play with a lot more nasty.”

What the coaches had to say after the game

Stars of the Game

Jazz

  • Rookie Guard Donovan Mitchell was without a doubt the star of the game for Utah. He scored a game-high 34 points in just over 34 minutes of playing time. Whenever a player scores a point per minute played, he has had an outstanding game. Mitchell shot 14 for 19 overall and converted five of seven from the free throw line. He also contributed three assists and made three steals.
  • Rodney Hood – the fourth year player out of Duke – also had an outstanding game scoring 25 points to earn co-star honors. Hood hit nine of 16 field goal shots and made four of nine 3-point attempts. He went a perfect three for three from the charity stripe. Hood grabbed eight rebounds and made two steals.
  • Joe Ingles and Derrick Favors must also receive best supporting performance awards. Ingles put up 14 points going four for seven from 3-point land. Favors also scored 14 and he pulled down 11 rebounds to make it a double-double game.

Kings

  • Willie Cauley-Stein receives the star of the game for the Kings for recording a double-double. WCS scored 26 points and hauled in 10 rebounds in almost 37 minutes on the floor. He shot 11 for 18 from the field. Cauley-Stein was the Kings high-scorer.
  • Sacramento’s co-star has to be Bogdan Bogdanovic who posted 25 points in 39 minutes of playing time. Bogey shot nine for 11 overall and was a perfect six for six from behind the 3-point line. He also grabbed six rebounds.
  • George Hill gets a featured player credit for scoring 20 points in 36 minutes versus his former teammates. He shot six for 10 from the floor and four for five from 3-point land. Hill also recorded three steals. Many still believe that the Kings are showcasing Hill for possible trades before the February 8th trade deadline.

Key Stats

Utah

  • The Jazz shot 56.8-percent (46 for 81) overall for the game. They hit 12 of 29 attempts from behind the 3-point line (41.4-percent).
  • Utah took advantage of the free throw line converting 16 of 20 (80-percent) opportunities.
  • The Jazz dished out 26 steals while committing only 10 turnovers to exceed the desired goal of a 2:1 ratio. The Kings scored 19 points off the 10 Jazz turnovers.
  • Utah made 15 steals in the contest.

Sacramento

  • The Kings shot an impressive 52.8-percent (38 for 72) from the floor. They just did not have enough attempts and conversions to keep pace with the Jazz.
  • SAC shot an impressive 13 for 21 (61.9-percent) from behind the 3-point arc.
  • The Kings had 19 assists and 19 turnovers. A 1 to 1 ratio is not acceptable. The Jazz scored 27 points off those 19 Sacramento turnovers.

Up Next

Sacramento

The Kings will return to action on Friday in Memphis versus the Grizzlies. Sacramento lost to Memphis 114-96 on New Year’s Eve in SAC.

Utah

The Jazz will host the Knicks on Friday night in Salt Lake City.

 

 

Kings – Jazz Postgame Notes & Quotes

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

by Charlie O. Mallonee

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Arron Afflalo puts the ball up for the Kings Photo NBAE

If you are Dave Joerger this morning, you are probably having an agony and ecstasy moment over your coffee. The ecstasy is your team played a great game on Sunday versus a very talented playoff bound Utah Jazz squad. The agony is your team let a 16 point lead slip away and you lost in overtime on a tip-in with 1-tenth of a second left on the clock.

Joerger really had a good attitude after the game on Sunday. “It was good. Arron Afflalo, like I said pregame, has really stepped up into the leadership position. I thought he really set the tone for us. I think he made four of his first five, five of his first six. He was aggressive. He did a great job at (defending) Gordon Hayward.

Afflalo scored 17 points shooting 6-for-12 from the field and 4-for-4 from the free throw line. He had four rebounds and three assists. Afflalo was one of seven Kings to score in double figures.

“It was good,” said Afflalo after the game. “I was extremely proud of my teammates. Everybody was engaged on both ends of the court. We played with a purpose to win tonight. It’s going to be a true test of our will to take a tough loss like this and play the team (Denver) tomorrow (Monday) that we’re trying to catch for the eighth spot.”

Garrett Temple returned to the court

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Garrett Temple returned after missing 11 games Photo NBAE

Garrett Temple returned to action for the Kings on Sunday night after missing 11 games with a partially torn left ham string. Temple scored 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting including two 3-point baskets to go with four assists and three steals.

“Well certainly he has a positive impact,”, said Dave Joerger. “We were better defensively whether he was in there or not. He is certainly a positive defender and a solid positive contributor for sure.”

Willie Cauley-Stein played with intensity

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Cauley-Stein dunks it over Gobert Photo NBAE

“That was a playoff game for us,” opined Joerger. “We played with playoff intensity. If a guy plays 12 minutes of that, that’s better than four (quarters) in summer leagues where he plays 38 minutes. Summer league, you just get minutes, they keep score and that’s great. This is where you find out where you are as a player and what you need to work on. The intensity of competition is a fantastic experience.

Cauley-Stein put up 15 points while shooting 6-for-12 and grabbing 9 rebounds. “WCS” also had Three assists, two steals and one blocked shot.

The Kings have now lost four in a row

The Kings have now lost four consecutive games and their record has fallen to 25-37 for the season. Sacramento has fallen to 11th place in the Western Conference three games behind Denver in the eighth and final playoff spot. They are tied with the Timberwolves while Portland and Dallas stand in between them and the Nuggets.

Kings (25-37) must face the Nuggets (28-34) Monday night in Denver

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The Kings have the tough task of playing the Nuggets in the second game of a back-to-back set on the road at high altitude in Denver. The Nuggets are coming off a loss to the Hornets and are anxious to take advantage of the fact that 8 of their next 11 games at home.

FiveThirtEight.com projects that the Kings have just a 17-percent chance of winning the game in Denver (ouch!). The second game of a back-to-back on the road coupled with the high altitude seems to the influencing factors. This lopsided prediction is out there despite the fact the Kings are 2-0 versus the Nuggets this season. The second Kings win came after the DeMarcus Cousins trade to New Orleans but that win came in Sacramento.

The Jazz were thrilled to escape Sacramento with the overtime win

“It’s a big lift,” said Jazz head coach Quin Snyder.”I think particularly, Sacramento played well. We made some plays to win the game, but they did a heck of a job and probably deserved to win. I like to think our guys did some good things and we were able to steal one. It gives you a lift. There’s no question about it. With plenty more to go right now, you can’t rest on that any more than you can with getting beat.”

The Jazz also have a back-to-back

The Jazz flew home to Utah where they will host the New Orleans Pelicans in the second game of a back-to-back set. Both teams are coming off wins on Sunday. The Pels picked up their first win with DeMarcus Cousins on the roster by beating the Lakers in Los Angeles.

Utah will be looking to increase their 1.5-game lead over the fifth-place Clippers. The Pelicans are in 13th-place in the Western Conference 3.5-games out of playoff contention.