Tag: Sacramento Kings

Kings blown out by Spurs on the road

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By: Eric He

A night after routing the Knicks by 38 points, the Sacramento Kings were on the receiving end of a rout on Wednesday, falling 112-85 to the Spurs on the road.

On the back-end of a back-to-back, the Kings looked fatigued and it showed as the game went on.

After a close first quarter, the Kings were outscored 28-11 by the Spurs in the second quarter. It wasn’t that the Spurs were dominant offensively, but clamped down on defense as the Kings shot 4-of-15 from the field.

Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green shot the ball well to help the Spurs gain separation and a 54-38 advantage at halftime.

The second half wasn’t much better, as the Kings could not keep up with the Spurs on defense and were swarmed on the offensive end. DeMarcus Cousins had a rough night, defended well by the Spurs. He finished with 14 points on 5-of-12 shooting.

San Antonio led 85-61 after three quarters, and pushed its lead to as high as 40 at 110-70 in the fourth quarter.

Leonard finished with a game-high 21 points and Tony Parker had 19. Tim Duncan played just 19 minutes and finished with five points; no Spurs starter played more than 30 minutes as everyone on the Spurs’ active roster got on the court.

The Kings shot just 37.2 percent from the field and committed 17 turnovers. Cousins’ 14 points actually led the team, as no player had much of a scoring output whatsoever.

It looked promising at first.

The Kings started the game missing their first four shots and committing three turnovers, allowing the Spurs to jump out to an early 11-2 lead. But the Kings clawed their way back in it, and a fastbreak layup by Ray McCallum tied the  game at 18-18. Derrick Williams scored seven consecutive points for the Kings late in the quarter, and the Kings led 27-26 after one.

Sacramento has another back-to-back upcoming: in Orlando on Friday and Miami on Saturday.

Notes

Frustration got the better of the Kings in the second, as both Jason Thompson and Rudy Gay picked up technical fouls. … The Kings drop three of four games to the Spurs in the season series. Sacramento is 55-109 all-time against San Antonio. … The Kings are 3-4 since George Karl took over as head coach.

Vlade Divac is named a Kings V.P.

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

divac

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings announced today the appointment of former star player Vlade Divac as Vice President of Basketball and Franchise Operations.

Divac will be responsible for advising the Kings front office and coaching staff. He will also assist the organization with its global marketing efforts. Divac will be involved with the evaluation and developing relationships with international talent for the Kings.

“With an unparalleled philanthropic track record that spans the globe, Vlade Divac is the epitome of our NBA 3.0 philosophy,” said Kings owner Vivek Ranadive. “He has a unique perspective and global stature that will only further elevate our organization around the world.”

“It’s a great honor returning to the city that has provided a lifetime of unforgettable experiences,” said Divac. “Sacramento and the Kings organization were always in my thoughts and I often dreamed of having a role in helping our amazing fans realize the ultimate NBA prize. I’m thankful to Vivek for the opportunity and look forward to creating more special memories here.”

“Over the past year that I have gotten to know Vlade, he has proven himself as an ambassador to the Sacramento community,” said Kings General Manager Pete D’alessandro. “The organization is fortunate to have him as an advisor. I look forward to his contributions, especially with respect to his knowledge of the international game.”

Since retiring from basketball as a player, Divac has been involved in a number of administrative and leadership positions. He has spent a great deal of time on his philanthropic efforts focused on helping needy children in Serbia and around the world. In 2009, Divac was named the President of the Serbian Olympic Committee.

Kings battle the Blazers but lose 110-99

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Luke Cheng NBA.com
Luke Cheng NBA.com

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings battled the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday afternoon but lost the game 110-99. The Kings overcame deficits as large as 17 points to pull within one point of tying the game in the fourth quarter but ultimately could not overcome the size and talent of the Trail Blazers.

The Kings (20-37) were without DeMarcus Cousins and Darren Collison again on Sunday. Sacramento is now 2-12 when Cousins is not in the lineup. Portland (39-19) used their size to take advantage of the Kings having to play without their big center in the game.

The Kings trailed the Blazers 87-75 after three quarters. The Kings went on 13-2 run to erase Portland’s big lead. It was a one point Trail Blazers lead with 8:23 to play in the game. Portland fought back with strong play from Robin Lopez, Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Aldridge to maintain the lead and preserve the win.

Sacramento was led by the play of Derrick Williams and Andre Miller in the final period. Williams scored 13 points in the fourth quarter. Miller dished out five of his 10 assists in the final quarter. You will see more Williams and Miller on the floor together with the type of chemistry they demonstrated.

“I was impressed. We didn’t have much going after the first couple of quarters and even the third quarter. Andre (Miller) did a good job getting us some easy baskets. There was enthusiasm, but they are a very good team. They are a very good shooting team and execute real well, ” said Kings Head Coach George Karl.

The game was one big runs by the Trail Blazers followed by comebacks by the Kings. Portland led by as many as 17 points. The Kings could have given up, blamed their loss on not having Cousins available and limped out of town on their eight game road trip. They did not give up. The Kings showed tenacity and skill in giving the Blazers a real old fashion NBA batlle.

Rudy Gay was the Kings leading scorer with 24 points. Derrick Williams put up 18 points. Guards Ben McLemore, Ray McCallum and Andre Miller all scored 12 points each. Miller recorded a double-double with his 10 assists.

Sacramento shot 45.3-percent (39 for 86) from the field but connected on just three of 12 3-point shot attempts (25.0-percent). They shot 78.3-percent (18 for 23) from the free throw line.

The most impressive stat of the night was the Kings assist to turnover ratio of 2:1. They dished out 24 assists and turned the ball over just 12 times. That marks real improvement in both statistical areas.

The Trail Blazers were led in scoring by Damian Lillard (31) and LaMarcus Aldridge (26). Aldridge posted his 30th double-double by adding 15 rebounds to his 26 points. Wesley Matthews scored 17 points while Robin Lopez added 15.

Portland shot 49.4-percent (41 for 83) from the floor. They burned the Kings hitting on 10 of 24 3-point shots (41.7-percent). The Blazers helped themselves at the charity stripe hitting on 18 of 20 tries (90.0-percent).

The Trail Blazers outrebounded the Kings 43-33.

The victory gave Portland a 2-1 win in the season series with the Kings.

Cousins and Collison Update

DeMarcus Cousins did come out on the floor for a light shoot-around prior to the game. The Kings are cautiously optimistic about his availability versus the Knicks in New York City on Tuesday evening.

Collison will be in Philadelphia on Monday for a medical evaluation. He is expected to have surgery on his hip flexor on Tuesday.

Coming up

The Kings now embark on a brutal eight game road that begins in New York City on Tuesday night. That is a make up game for the contest that was postponed in January due to a blizzard in the New York area.

The Kings will fly to San Antonio on Tuesday night for a Wednesday game with the Spurs.

The Kings will also visit Orlando, Miami, Atlanta, Charlotte, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. on the trip.

Spurs grind out a win over the Kings 107-96

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NBA.com
NBA.com

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The San Antonio Spurs (35-23) broke out of a four game losing streak on Friday night beating the Kings (20-35) in Sacramento 107-96.

The Kings played without two of their starters – DeMarcus Cousins and Darren Collison – who were sidelined due to injuries. The Kings are now just 2-11 when Cousins does not play.

The Spurs led the Kings 80-78 after three quarters. It took three minutes and five seconds into the fourth period for either team to score. When the scoring began, the scales tipped toward the Spurs who scored 18 points off eight Kings’ turnovers. San Antonio outscored Sacramento 27-18 in the final quarter.

“The basketball IQ in the fourth quarter – I’m not saying it was bad – it wasn’t good,” explained Kings Head Coach George Karl after the game.

The Kings had no assists in the fourth quarter and were outrebounded 11-8. Sacramento committed nine personal fouls to just four personals for San Antonio.

“They’re a team that knows how to win games. They’ve been frustrated, and I think they played with an urgency. It was pretty much the class of a championship team,” summarized Karl.

Tony Parker led the Spurs scoring attack with 19 points. Kawhi Leonard scored 17 points, Manu Ginobili 16 and Tim Duncan added 12.

The Spurs shot just 39.8-percent (35 for 88) from the field and hit eight of 23 attempts (34.8-percent) from downtown. They were 29 of 32 (90.6-percent) from the free throw line. San Antonio recorded 18 assists and turned the ball over just six times.

Ben McLemore led the Kings in scoring with 21 points. He went five for eight from the floor and 10 for 12 from the charity stripe.

Ray McCallum scored 20 hitting on 10 of 17 field goal attempts. Rudy Gay added 16 points.

Jason Thompson had a strong night on defense and stepped up to score 12 points while grabbing 11 rebounds to record the double-double. Andre Miller had a 10 point game.

Sacramento shot 48.1-percent (38 for 79) from the floor. They attempted just four 3-point shots and were successful just once. The Kings were 19 for 23 (82.6-percent) from the foul line.

“In general, I thought how we played was very good. We ran better. We ran more often. The spacing and tempo of the game was pretty good. We just didn’t finish plays – didn’t make good decisions,” said Karl.

The Kings are now 1-1 on this three game homestand. The homestand comes to an end on Sunday afternoon when the Kings host the Portland Trail Blazers.

The Trail Blazers defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 115-112 on Friday night.

The Kings are hoping that center DeMarcus Cousins will be available on Sunday versus the Blazers. Cousins sat out the Spurs game due to a left ankle sprain and left hip contusion suffered in the Memphis game on Wednesday.

Darren Collison is headed to Philadelphia to be evaluated on Monday with surgery on his right hip flexor probable on Tuesday.

The Kings are now 2-2 under George Karl as head coach.

Sacramento will face the Spurs for the fourth and final time next Wednesday evening in San Antonio. The Kings play the Knicks in New York City on Tuesday.

Collison to have surgery

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

12Collison-trade

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings have announced that guard Darren Collison will have surgery to repair a core muscle injury next Tuesday. Collison will have a consultation with Dr. William Meyers in Philadelphia on Monday.

Collison suffered the injury in a game against the Dallas Mavericks on February 5th. He has been held out of all games played since that time.

Ray McCallum and Andre Miller will play the point guard position during Collison’s absence.

Collison will be re-evaluated in three to six weeks. The Kings season ends on April 15th.

Memphis Grizzlis Vs Sacramento Kings

Kings Overtake a Tough Memphis Team

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AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli

By Jeff Hall

SACRAMENTO –

The Kings hosted a tough team in the Memphis Grizzlies. The Grizzlies are one of the NBA’s best teams and the Kings came away with a 102-90 win.

The Kings got off to a good start in the first quarter against the Grizzlies an opened the game with a 32-25 lead. The Grizzlies struggled with poor shooting in the first shooting 43 percent from the field. The Kings shot 53.8 percent with just two turnovers that led to four Grizzly points. Ben McLemore led the Kings in scoring with 11 first quarter points.

The Kings carried their lead to the end of the first half of action with a 61-52 lead as the Grizzlies there poor shooting finishing the first half shooting 44.4 percent from the field Late In the second quarter Kings Head coach George Karl received his first Technical and DeMarcus Cousins got into foul trouble and picked up his third foul with three minutes remaining in the first half. Cousins walked off the court extremely frustrated with the officiating and kicked a chair on the bench Rudy Gay then put on a scoring show with six quick points inside the paint. Gay had 16 points in the first

But Zach Randolph fired a desperation shot and finished the half firing a sixty-two foot shot and sinking the long three pointer as time expired in the second.

Early in the third quarter the Grizzlies began showing their frustrations when Zach Randolph and DeMarcus Cousins got into a heated exchange under the basket at the Grizzlies end. Randolph was charged with a technical.

Once Cousins got into foul trouble the Kings began to struggle in the third quarter and saw their 10 point lead evaporate. The Grizzlies began stepping their game up both defensively and physically and that play would gain a one point lead 77-76 at the end of the third. The Grizzlies outscored the Kings 25-14 in the third.

The Kings responded with a strong fourth quarter outscoring the Grizzlies

Cousins foul trouble kept his scoring numbers down, However Cousins still had a Solid performance with 16 points and Nine rebounds and six assists despite limited minutes

Rudy Gay led the way in scoring for the Kings with twenty-eight points and 10 rebounds and six assists.

Coach Karl was pleased with the play of Cousins despite the foul trouble. “Cousins had a great game considering he played twenty-four minutes, most guys don’t have games like that in that amount of time.” said Karl after the game.

Up next the Kings will host the San Antonio Spurs at Sleep Train Arena on Friday.

Kings Notes: The Kings announced Vance Walberg as a new assistant coach. Walberg has more than three decades of experience at the pre, collegiate an professional levels. Walberg was formerly an assistant coach with the Philadelphia 76ers. He was an Assistant for George Karl with the Denver Nuggets.

The Grange Resturant Sponsors Kings talk with Jeff Hall

Sacramento Kings podcast: Kings set to take on one of the NBA’s best the Memphis Grizzlies Wednesday night

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by Jeff Hall

SACRAMENTO–The Sacramento Kings are going to face one of the best teams in the NBA the Memphis Grizzlies and their a team that’s loaded with talent. There will be no hand outs from the three teams that are coming in for the Kings next three home games. The Grizzlies, San Antonio Spurs and Portland Trailblazers. It’s going to be a tough home series but the Kings have a new head coach coaching his third game with the team George Karl.

The Kings have used him for a couple of games so far one at home when they beat the Boston Celtics and the next night which they lost in Los Angeles against the Clippers. Their in a transition state right now and the team is trying to learn how to play basketball for Karl. It’s a different style of basketball.

That first win was very exciting for Karl and the crowd at Sleep Train Arena just went nuts when they announced Karl to the fans and it was fascinating the way the crowd reacted to him. So he’s welcomed to Sacramento, there not too many expectations because nobody knows what’s going on with this team.

There’s hopes that Karl will be able to turn this team around, is he going to turn the team around quickly? Probably not it’s going to take him a season in a half and that’s the reason why the Kings wanted to bring him aboard. Before the transition of Karl the Kings were getting offers from other NBA teams about DeMarcus Cousins but the Kings didn’t panic and held onto him.’

The Kings can’t be losing Cousins he’s the best player they have on the team and you hate to lose a guy like that. The Kings have seen the importance of having him on the team. When Cousins have the viral meningitis it’s not the same. It’s obvious when he was out he was not the same Cousins is an important part of this team. Cousins has a lot of respect for Karl which is good and that’s what you have to see how the players are going to react to the new coach.

The Kings lost a tough game under Karl in L.A. against the Clippers and you have to remember that the Kings are trying to plan their new strategy now. Cousins after that game felt the team was fatigued because their running a fast break that they’ve never run before. It’s starting to wear the team down and he thinks that had an impact on them against the Clippers.

Jeff Hall is a beat writer covering Kings basketball for http://www.sportsradioservice.com listen to the rest of Jeff’s podcast below

Clippers crush the Kings 126-99

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
NBA.com
NBA.com

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings (19-35) went to school on Saturday night in Los Angeles versus the Clippers (37-19), and the Kings did not have a good time. The Clippers crushed the Kings 126-99.

After outscoring the Clippers 29-24 in the opening quarter, the Kings fell apart in the second quarter as Los Angeles went on a 28-4 run and scored a total of 42 points in the period. The Clippers left the floor at halftime leading Sacramento 66-47, and Los Angeles just played clean up for the rest of the game.

“They (Clippers) play at such a high level of well – even if we had played our A-game I don’t know that we would have won the game tonight. After the first quarter, they were working. Everything was working for them,” said Kings Head Coach George Karl.

The Clippers shot 73.9-percent (17 for 23) from the field and went six for eight (75.0-percent) from 3-Point range in the second quarter. JJ Redick shot a perfect three for three beyond the arc. Matt Barnes connected on both of his 3-Point shots. The Kings turned the over six times resulting in 15 points for the Clippers.

Austin Rivers scored a career-high 28 points for the Clippers. JJ Redick scored 24 while Jamal Crawford poured in 23 points. Chris Paul had quiet night scoring just 10 points but he also added nine assists to his stat totals.

Los Angeles shot 48.4-percent (46 for 95) from the floor and hit on 14 of 35 (40.0-percent) 3-Pointers. They shot 71.4-percent (20 for 28) from the charity stripe. The Clippers turned the ball over just 11 times and recorded 31 assists.

DeMarcus Cousins led the Kings scoring with 21 points but had a tough night shooting connecting on just six of 19 shots. He grabbed just four rebounds.

“I think some fatigue kicked in. This is a new playing style for this whole team. I think the fatigue kicked in. Then our energy level went down. We let them gain confidence and they just ran away with the game,” explained Cousins after the contest.

Rudy Gay scored 15 points but was just four for 13 from the field. Omri Casspi scored 11 points and grabbed 17 rebounds (career high).

The one real bright spot for the Kings was the play of point guard Ray McCallum. He scored 10 points, pulled down seven rebounds and dished out five assists in his 23 minutes on the floor.

The Kings shot just 34.1-percent (30 for 88) from the field. They hit on just four of 16 3-Point attempts. They had a good night from the free throw line hitting on 35 of 46 opportunities (76.1-percent).

Sacramento turned the ball over 17 (28 points) and recorded just 18 assists. That ratio will not lead to wins.

“In many ways, we are in a mid-season training camp. We’ve got to take the video and then come out against Memphis. We’ve got three great teams coming into out building. All three have a skill-set that we have to get better at defending and also get better offensively not creating mistakes or turnovers,” said Karl.

The Kings will have a few days to practice their new playbook. They will be off until Wednesday when they host the Memphis Grizzlies.

Kings win first under Karl beating Boston 109-101

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NBA.com
NBA.com

by Charlie O. Mallonee

George Karl told his Sacramento Kings to think about the rest of the 2014-15 season as a 30 game mini-season. The Kings are now 1-0 in their mini-season after defeating the Boston Celtics 109-101 in Sacramento on Friday night.

The game did not start off looking like the Kings would do anything but lose. Sacramento was out of sync. They turned the ball over. Boston went on a 16-2 run. It looked bleak for Kings’ fans.

Just when it looked like it could not get worse, DeMarcus Cousins picked up a technical foul at the 4:51 mark for arguing a a controversial out of bounds call that went against Sacramento. With 3:50 to go in the first quarter, Karl sent Cousins to the bench and brought in Derrick Williams.

Karl went “small ball” with his lineup and it worked. The Kings closed the gap, took the lead and led 28-27 after the first quarter.

Cousins and Gay started the second quarter on the bench and the Kings played well. When Cousins returned to the game, he looked more comfortable and played better. Sacramento was looking for the extra pass, kicking the ball back out to the perimeter and scoring using their outside shooting.

The Kings shot 53.5-percent (23 for 43) from the field and hit on seven of 13 3-Pointers (53.8-percent) in the first half.

After a dismal start, the Kings led the Celtics 56-51 at the half.

The Kings came out cold to open the third quarter going zero for four from the field. The Celtics cut the lead to one, but Cousins came alive. Cousins scored the first seven points of the quarter for Sacramento.

Both teams seem to lack energy in the third period. The Kings outside shooting was not effective. Boston struggled from the free throw line. The Kings held on to the lead and led 82-74 after three quarters.

The fourth quarter was a battle down under the rim. Neither team shot particularly well. Both teams battled on the boards. Boston kept chipping away at the Kings lead and tied the game at 89 all on a Tyler Zeller four foot shot. Zeller, who was fouled, converted the three point play giving the Celtics the lead for the first since the first quarter.

A Cousins put back gave the lead back to the Kings who would never trail again. Sacramento opened up a lead of as many as 10 points. They settled for an eight point victory 109-101.

DeMarcus Cousins was the Kings leading scorer with 31 points. He recorded another double-double by adding 15 rebounds. Rudy Gay put up 28 points for Sacramento. Derrick Williams scored 11, Ben McLemore 10 and Ray McCallum scored eight points to go with four assists.

The newest King, Andre Miller, scored eight points, dished four assists and added some veteran presence when needed on the floor.

Sacramento shot 48.2-percent (40 for 83) from the field and hit eight of 23 (36.4-percent) 3-Pointers. The Kings went 21 for 26 (80.8-percent) from the free throw line. They out-rebounded the Celtics 57 to 40.

The one glaring area for the Kings was turnovers. Sacramento turned the ball over 24 times and that resulted in 38 points for Boston. It’s not often you turn the ball over 24 times and come away with a win.

The turnovers came in part from the new uptempo style of play and extra passing that Kings used in the game. The turnovers will come down as they grow more accustomed to their new style.

After the game Head Coach George Karl said, “We got to get back defensively better sometimes.There’s a lot of things we’ll have to get better at. But it’s a win, I’m happy with the way we won it.”

The Celtics were led in scoring by Avery Bradley’s 28 points. Tyler Zeller added 22 points, Marcus Smart 16 and Brandon Bass 13.

Boston shot 40.0-percent (40 for 100) from the field went six for 22 (27.3-percent) from beyond the 3-Point line. The Celtics big downfall came at the free throw line where they went 15 for 26 (57.7-percent). Boston turned the ball over just 11 times.

The Kings are now 19-34 for the season and 12-17 at home. Sacramento plays the Clippers in Los Angeles on Saturday night.

Boston’s record falls to 20-32 overall and 8-17 on the road. The Celtics play the Lakers at Staples Center on Sunday.

There’s a Stockton in Sacramento

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STOCKTON

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings have signed guard David Stockton of the Reno Bighorns to a 10-day contract. Stockton is the son of NBA Hall of Fame player John Stockton.

Stockton is 5-11 and weights 165. He was averaging 16.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, 7.9 assists, 2.4 steals and 27.5 minutes per game for Reno. He is a 46.0-percent field goal shooter who shoots 36.4-percent from 3-Point range. Stockton shoots 80.6-percent from the free throw line. He was fourth in assists and second in steals per game in the D-League.

Stockton played his college ball at Gonzaga. He went undrafted out of college. Stockton was selected in the third round of the D-League draft by the Maine Red Claws. He was traded on draft night to the Reno Bighorns.

Stockton will be available tonight versus the Boston Celtics.

The Kings roster is now full at 15 players.