Tag: Sacramento Kings

Kings get the No. 8 pick but may trade it

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

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Photo credit: NBAE/Getty

By Charlie O. Mallonee

Last night was the NBA Draft Lottery where dreams are made or dashed by a combination of numbered ping pong balls. If the teams drafted based on their win-loss records alone, the Sacramento Kings would draft seventh. After adding in the lottery factor, the Kings will draft eighth in the 2014 NBA Draft. This is the fifth time the Kings have fallen one spot from its pre-lottery position.

The 2014 draft class is very solid and deep. There will be star quality players available for eighth pick in the draft, but the Kings may never use the pick.

According to a story by Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com, the Kings are going to put their number eight pick on the trading blocking as of today. Per Howard-Cooper, the Kings are looking to add a veteran impact player in exchange for the number eight selection.

The idea of trading the pick is a plausible one. The Kings could use additional veteran talent to reduce the amount of time it will take to become playoff contenders. The addition of Rudy Gay had a major positive impact on the club last season. The addition of an impact small forward or shooting guard would help the Kings improve their win-loss record in 2014-15.

If the Kings choose to keep the pick or unable to find an acceptable trading partner, the mock draft experts think Sacramento will wind up with a power forward or point guard. Gary Parish of cbssports.com believes the Kings will select Arizona power forward Aaron Gordon at number eight. Parrish’s colleague Matt Moore concurs. Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com believes the Kings would select point guard Marcus Smart from Oklahoma. InsideHoops.com sees the Kings selecting power forward Noah Vonleh out of Indiana.

A power forward pick would provide some insurance in case the Kings cannot sign Rudy Gay to a long term deal. A young player could learn much from the veteran Gay.

Choosing a point guard would allow the Kings to keep Isaiah Thomas and use him as a sixth-man off the bench. The Kings could also choose not to resign Thomas and save up to $10-million to use on a small forward or shooting guard.

One thing is for sure. The number eight pick will change the landscape for the Kings’ 2014-15 season.

 

Sacramento approves new arena project

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Artist rendering of the new Sacramento Entertainment and Sports Center

By Charlie O. Mallonee

The waiting is over in Sacramento. Last night the Sacramento City Council approved the downtown Entertainment and Sports Center (arena) project that will keep the Kings in town for the next 35-years. The final vote was 7-2 which has been the typical tallies for almost all of the legislation concerning the arena that has come before the body.

“Tonight’s vote is a historic moment for Sacramento and the culmination of years of hard work from so many in our city and our region,” said Mayor Kevin Johnson, “Sacramento has had a vision for its future and I am so proud of our community for their fight and resolve to ensure that vision became a reality. I can’t wait till groundbreaking in the fall.”

The vote means that work can begin on the demolition of the Downtown Mall and the former Macy’s building in order to begin construction of the new complex. All of the remaining tenants of the mall will vacate the property by the end of May.

“We want to thank Mayor Johnson and the Sacramento City Council for their leadership,” said Kings’ owner Vivek Ranadivé. “We are humbled by tonight’s historic vote and the opportunity to truly transform this great city. Most importantly, I want to thank Kings fans and the amazing people of the entire region for their passion and support.  As I’ve always said, the Sacramento Kings belong to you.”

The total cost of the arena project will be $477-million. The City of Sacramento will pay $223-million with the Kings providing $254-million. The Kings’ lease will start at $6.5-million per year and will contribute $391-million over the course of the 35-year lease. The city will raise its portion of the funds from bonds to be paid with parking revenues, hotel taxes and other revenue created by the arena project.

Demolition efforts will begin almost immediately. The groundbreaking for the project will take place in the fall. The opening of the Entertainment and Sports Center will be in October 2016.

 

Kings beat the T-Wolves 106-103

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Photo credit: Rocky Widner
Photo credit: Rocky Widner

By Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings and the Minnesota Timberwolves met in Sacramento on Sunday night in a game that meant nothing in the standings. Both clubs are out of the playoff picture. The only thing that was on the line was pride. The Kings and T-Wolves brought plenty of pride to the game and put on a hard-fought show for the big crowd which went home happy because the Kings won the game 106-103.

The Kings were led by the outstanding play of DeMarcus Cousins who scored 35 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and handed out six assists. It was Cousins’ 53rd double-double of the season. He shot 13 of 21 from the field and was 9 of 13 from the free throw line.

Cousins’ brilliant play was not the biggest story of the night for the Kings’ center. With one-minute and 13-seconds left in the game, Cousins picked up his 16th technical foul of the season which means he will be suspended for the Kings’ final game of the season versus Phoenix. Cousins had played with the 15 technical fouls hanging over his head since February 25th.

The Kings can and will appeal to the league office who can overturn the call. Head Coach Michael Malone said, “I feel for him. (We will) try to get it rescinded.

Rookie Ben McLemore played with abandon on offense and defense. McLemore scored 19 points and shot 3 for 6 from beyond the 3-point arc. On defense, McLemore held Kevin Martin and Robbie Hummel to just five points combined.

To the delight of the fans, Isaiah Thomas returned to the floor after missing 10 consecutive games with a right quad contusion. Thomas was very productive in his 30-minutes of playing time. He scored 14 points and dished out four assist.

The Timberwolves were led by Kevin Love’s 43 points and 11 rebounds. Love was 15 of 17 from the free throw line. Love had a relatively quiet first-half scoring just 13 points. He really came alive in the second-half and was the leader on the floor for Minnesota.

Rookie Center Gorgui Dieng had a spectacular game through three quarters. He picked up his fourth foul and was quiet after that. Dieng scored 21 points, pulled down 14 rebounds and had four assists.

After the game Kings Head Coach Michael Malone said, “(It was a) hell of an effort for our guys. (We) played better in the second half. Happy to get this win after losing five in a row.”

The Kings will play their final game of the season on Wednesday night in Sacramento against the Phoenix Suns who battling for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Clippers run away from the Kings 117-101

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Photo credit: NBAE/Getty Images

By Charlie O. Mallonee

The Los Angeles Clippers scored 54 points in the paint, 25 points off fast breaks and added 27 points plus nine assists from Blake Griffin to defeat the Sacramento Kings 117-101 on Saturday afternoon in LA. It was a franchise tying 56th win of the season for the Clippers who won 56 games in the 2012-13 season.

The game was much more entertaining that the final score would indicate. The Kings scored 32 points in the third quarter and closed the Clippers’ lead to just two points in the fourth quarter before Los Angeles started hitting 3-pointers to open up the lead and score 32 points in the final quarter.

The Kings were led by DeMarcus Cousins’ 32 points. Cousins added 12 rebounds and five assists to post his franchise record 52nd double-double of the season. Rudy Gay scored 16 points but had a rough game as it took him 18 shots to score those points.

Ben McLemore was held scoreless in the first half but scored 14 points in the third quarter to help the Kings to have a chance to win the game. Unfortunately, McLemore was ejected from the game early in the fourth quarter for putting his hand in the face of J.J. Redick. The loss of McLemore put a major crimp in the Kings run to steal a win in LA.

Reggie Evans had another outstanding game for the Kings. Evans posted a double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds. Ray McCallum played 40 minutes on the point scoring eight points, dishing out eight assists and blocking two shots. Isaiah Thomas was in street clothes on the Sacramento bench again for this game.

DeAndre Jordan scored 21 points for Los Angeles despite going a dismal three for 17 from the free throw line. Chris Paul put up 17 points from the point plus 10 assists for the double-double for the Clippers. J.J. Redick scored 13 points and Matt Barnes added 12 points for LAC.

The Kings shot under their season average as they were just 42.7-percent (35-82) from the field. They had one of their better days from 3-point territory as the team went four for nine (44.4-percent) from beyond the arc. Sacramento was 27 for 33 (81.8-percent) from the free throw line.

One stat that will make Coach Michael Malone happy was the Kings’ 21 assists versus just 10 turnovers. That marks a vast improvement for Sacramento. Los Angeles did out-rebound the Kings 43-38.

After the game, the Kings headed home for their game on Sunday night with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Kings come up short versus Dallas 93-91

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Photo credit: Garrett Ellwood

By Charlie O. Mallonee

Heading into Sunday’s game with the Dallas Mavericks, the Kings had to answer two big questions. First, how would they bounce back after being humiliated by the Warriors 102-69 on Friday night? Second, how would play versus Dallas – a team in a three-way fight for the final two spots in the Western Conference Playoff race?

The Kings did bounce back from Friday night in a big way. Sacramento took Dallas down to the wire but ultimately came up short losing to the Mavericks 93-91.

After the game, Kings Head Coach Michael said, “It’s real simple. We’ve been in a lot of close games this year and we have to find a way to stop beating ourselves.” Malone was frustrated with his team’s rebounding and lack of second-chance points.

The Kings defense held Dallas to just 40.4-percent (36 for 89) shooting for the game but allowed the Mavs to shoot 41.9-percent (13 for 31) from beyond the 3-point line. Dallas hit five of those 3-pointers coming down the stretch in the fourth quarter which propelled them to the win.

The Kings were much improved on the ball handling side. They committed just 13 turnovers and recorded 21 assists. The problem for Sacramento was the 13 turnovers resulted in 21 points for the Mavericks. Dallas scored more than one-half of their points on turnovers and 3-point conversions.

The Kings were led by Rudy Gay and DeMarcus Cousins. Gay was the leading scorer in the game with 32 points, and he added eight assists. Cousins recorded his 49th double-double putting up 28 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Gay and Cousins put the team on their backs and tried to carry them to victory.

Ray McCallum led the Kings on the point for the seventh straight game as Isaiah Thomas was still unavailable on Sunday. McCallum played all but 19-seconds of the game. He scored eight points and added nine assists. McCallum also had four rebounds, three steals and one blocked shot. He turned the ball over just three times.

Travis Outlaw was active all game and hit two key 3-point baskets in the final period to keep the Kings in contention for the win.

As a team the Kings shot 47.4-percent (36 for 76) from the field. They shot just 27.8-percent for 3-pointers. Sacramento shot 70.0-percent (14 for 20) from the free throw line. It was a game where literally one 3-point basket or three additional free throw conversions wins the game for the Kings.

The Mavericks were led by former Warrior Monta Ellis. Ellis scored 23 points off 19 shots, hit two 3-pointers, grabbed four rebounds and recorded four assists. Vince Carter had a productive game scoring 17 points in just 24-minutes of play. Carter was four of nine from 3-point land. Dirk Nowitzki put up 15 points on 17 shots in the game. Jose Calderon added 14 points that included four 3-pointers.

The Mavericks turned the ball over 10 times and allowed just eight points off those turnovers. Dallas out-rebounded the Kings 45-40.

The Mavericks record improves to 47-31 with the victory and has them in seventh place in Western Conference Playoff standings. Dallas now has a two game lead over eighth place Phoenix.

Dallas Head Coach Rick Carlisle said after the game,” We knew it was going to be a dog fight but the good thing is that we stayed together.  Dirk Nowitzki came in and made some big free throws at the end, but they came down and got a returned shot at one point. We’re happy with the win but we need to do much better.”

The Kings have five games remaining in the 2013-14 season and three of them are home games. Up next for the Kings is the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday in Sacramento. The Kings will be trying to avoid the season series sweep as the Thunder have won the previous three meetings. Sacramento will then go on the road to take on the Trail Blazers in Portland on Thursday. The Kings are 1-2 on the season versus the Blazers. Sacramento will then head to Los Angeles to face the Clippers on Saturday before heading home to host the Minnesota Timberwolves next Sunday.

Peja Stojakovic was in the house on Sunday afternoon as the Kings continue to reconnect with the star players from the past.

Warriors crush Kings 102-69

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Photo credit: Rocky Widner

By Charlie O. Mallonee

Sacramento and Golden State played a basketball in Oakland on Friday night. Unfortunately for Kings’ fans, their team spent most of the night in the “Twilight Zone”. The Warriors beat up on the Kings 102-69.

The Kings knew they were in trouble early in the game. DeMarcus Cousins picked up two personal fouls in less 1:30 played in game. For Sacramento to have any chance to compete in the game, they needed a strong effort from Cousins. With their star center on the bench, things went downhill quickly for the Kings.

Klay Thompson led the Warrior attack by being aggressive in taking the ball to the hoop. Golden State scored 18 points in the paint in the first quarter. The Kings were not going to the basket and were cold shooting from the perimeter. Sacramento shot just 18.0-percent in the quarter while Golden State shot just 36.0-percent from the field. The Kings turned the ball over a season high nine times in the quarter.

After one quarter, the Warriors led the Kings 25-14.

Golden State went on a 7-0 run to begin the second quarter. The Kings had virtually no ball movement and opened the quarter by going 0 for 7 shooting. Just as the Kings looked like they might be ready to wake up and challenge the Warriors, Golden State went on an 11-0 run.

By the time the halftime buzzer sounded, Golden State was leading the Kings 59-27.

The Kings shot 17.9-percent (7 for 39) for field goals. Sacramento turned the ball over 12 times and had just four assists. The Warriors shot 48.0-percent (24 for 50) from the field and 46.2-percent from beyond the 3-point line. Golden State had 16 assists and just five turnovers.

The Warriors came out in the third quarter still on fire and went on an 11-2 run. DeMarcus Cousins tried to pick up his team by scoring 14 points in the third, but it was too little, too late. After three, the Warriors led 84-50.

The teams played the fourth quarter because they were required to play it, but the outcome of the game was already known to all. Golden State emptied their bench and rested their starters. Sacramento did the same with about six minutes left to play in the final quarter. The Kings did outscore the Warriors 19-18 in the fourth.

The final score was Golden State 102 Sacramento 69.

The Kings shot just 32.1-percent for the game and just 10.0-percent from beyond the 3-point arc. The young Sacramento backcourt played very young versus the Warriors.

Cousins led the Kings with a double-double of 19 points and 11 rebounds. Rudy Gay and Jason Thompson scored 10 points each.

Klay Thompson led the scoring for Golden State with 21 points. The Warriors had seven players score in double-figures.

After the game, Kings Head Coach Michael Malone spoke about it being a disappointing night with a disappointing effort. He noted that his team could not respond to the Warriors dominate effort in the paint and on the glass. Malone expressed concern over how his team would respond on Sunday versus Dallas.

The Kings will face a tough Dallas Mavericks team on Sunday afternoon in Sacramento. The Mavericks are in a three team race for the final two playoff spots in the Western Conference.

Kings beat up on Bucks 124-107

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Photo credit: NBAE/Getty Images

By Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings had the unenviable task of going from playing the best team in “the Association”- the Spurs – to having to face the worst team in the league – the Milwaukee Bucks – on Sunday at home. The Kings could have easily come out flat, but they came out ready to play looking for a victory. Sacramento beat Milwaukee 124-107.

The Kings were led by DeMarcus Cousins who posted a double-double scoring 32 points and grabbing 12 rebounds while playing just 29 minutes in the game. Cousins spent the entire fourth quarter on the bench. Isaiah Thomas scored 30 points on just 15 shots that included going three for four from “3-point land”. Thomas also dished out eight assists. Rudy Gay put up 24 points while pulling down eight rebounds and serving up four assists. Ben McLemore scored 15 points including three 3-pointers.

Sacramento shot 51.2-percent from the field and shot 35.0-percent (7 for 20) from beyond the 3-point line. As a team, the Kings recorded 19 assists against just 12 turnovers. The Kings outrebounded the Bucks 44-40.

With a big win and numbers like they posted, you would think Kings Head Coach Michael Malone would have been very happy after the game. You would only be partially right. Coach stated that he is happy with any win in the NBA, but he was unhappy with the 63 points his team gave up in the second half. Up by 40 at one point, Malone was not pleased that he had to consider putting Cousins back in the game if things had continued to get out of hand.

The Kings came out in the first half ready to dominate the lowly Milwaukee Bucks. The Kings took a 70-44 lead into the locker room after 24-minutes of play. DeMarcus Cousins put up 21 points; Rudy Gay added 17 while Ben McLemore posted 11 going four for eight from the field.

The Kings were able to dominate due to their play in the paint. Sacramento scored 28 points down low while allowing the Bucks just 16 in the paint. The Kings also ruled the boards outrebounding Milwaukee 27-20.

The Kings were looking to run the fastbreak in the first half. They added nine points off the break while the Sacramento defense gave up no fastbreak points to the Bucks. The Kings defense held the Bucks to just 34.9-percent (15 for 42) shooting. Sacramento shot 58.1-percent (24 for 43) from the field. The Kings shot 40.0-percent (4 for 10) from beyond the 3-point arc.

Coach Malone was also able to give some extended rest to Cousins, Gay and Thomas. That also meant valuable playing time for Ray McCallum and Travis Outlaw.

The first half also featured two flagrant fouls committed by the Bucks.

Milwaukee started off the third quarter with an 8-0 run. That caused Malone to take a quick timeout. The Bucks started working the paint and scoring on the Kings. The Kings appeared to be flat and distracted. Cousins then scored on a coast to coast bucket and Thomas hit two 3-pointers allowing the Kings to maintain the lead. The Kings hit the century mark with 2:17 left to play in the third quarter. The quarter ended with the Kings leading the Bucks 104-70.

The fourth quarter should have been pure garbage time for the Kings. Instead the Bucks were able to begin to make Malone and the crowd a bit nervous. Sacramento suffered a series of defensive breakdowns that caused Malone to call timeouts to preach defense to his team.

The Kings allowed Milwaukee to shoot 75.0-percent (15 for 20) from the field in the fourth quarter. The Bucks scored 14 of those points in the paint and 10 points on fastbreaks. Milwaukee outscored the Kings 37-20 in the final period. Garbage time or not, that cannot happen when you start the quarter with a 34-point lead. It is part of the process of having to learn how to handle a large lead.

The Kings are off until Wednesday when they will host the New York Knicks in the final game of the four-game home-stand. Sacramento will then head out on a three-game road trip to Oklahoma City, Dallas and New Orleans.

Kings fall to Spurs 99-79

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Photo credit: NBAE/Getty Images

By Charlie O. Mallonee

The San Antonio Spurs won their 12th consecutive game on Friday night as they beat the Sacramento Kings 99-79. It was a game that featured ferocious defense, very physical play and at times just plain ugly basketball.

Kings head coach Michael Malone was happy with his teams’ effort in the game. He also had praise for the play of San Antonio. Malone made it known he was happy to be done with the Spurs for the 2013-14 season.

The Kings were led by Isaiah Thomas’ 18 points. DeMarcus Cousins recorded a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds. Rudy Gay scored 14 points while playing through a stomach virus. Travis Outlaw had a strong night scoring 13 for the Kings.

The Kings big three – Cousins, Gay and Thomas – scored just 47 total points on a night when they needed to score 65-70 points combined to win the game. The Spurs played really tough defense against the Kings on Friday.

The Spurs had six players in double figures led by Marco Belinelli’s 17 points. Kawhi Leonard put up 15 points. Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili scored 14 points each. Tim Duncan was held to just 10 points.

The Kings came out slow in the first quarter and the Spurs quickly doubled up the score 16-8. The Sacramento shooting improved and the Kings closed the scoring gap in short order. The Kings shot 47.8-percent for the quarter while the Spurs shot just 36.4-percent from the field. Cousins put up eight points while Thomas added six to go with five points from Ben McLemore and Rudy Gay’s four. The Spurs were led by Kawhi Leonard and Tiago Splitter with seven points each.

The Kings managed to put up just 14 points in the second quarter as their shooting fell off to 28.6-percent. The second unit led by Ray McCallum was unable to put together a run. Things went from bad to worse as Ben McLemore picked up two personals in under 30-seconds and had to go to the bench with four fouls. While the Kings could not score, the Spurs kept the ball moving and took any shot that became available. San Antonio scored 23 points in the period by keeping the ball moving and going to the basket. The Spurs scored 18 points in the paint to just two points in the paint for the Kings. The Spurs were just 1 for 13 from beyond the 3-point line in the first half. At halftime, the Spurs led the Kings 47-37.

The Kings came out in the third quarter with burst of energy and quickly cut the Spurs lead to just five points. Rudy Gay looked like his was going to take charge of the game despite being under the weather. The rally was short lived as the Spurs scored five quick points and increased the lead back to 10 points. Tim Duncan picked up a technical foul for protesting the calls of the referees in the midst of some very physical play. Kings Coach Michael Malone also was assessed a technical for protesting the calls of the officials. The Kings committed six personal fouls and turned the ball over seven times. At the end of three quarters San Antonio led Sacramento 69-57.

The Spurs started off the fourth quarter with two quick baskets which forced the Kings to call an early timeout. San Antonio started hitting their outside shots and began to take full control of the game. Sacramento had several defensive breakdowns that allowed the Spurs to score easy baskets. The Spurs were paced by guard Marco Belinelli who scored 13 points in the final quarter. Rudy Gay was able to play just three minutes due to illness. San Antonio scored 30 points in the fourth while Sacramento put up just 22 points. The Spurs won the game 99-79.

The Kings will go from playing the best to playing the worst in NBA as the Milwaukee Bucks come to Sacramento on Sunday afternoon. Sacramento will need to guard against letting down against a team they should beat.

Kings lose a heartbreaker to T-wolves 104-102

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By Charlie O. Mallonee

Kevin Martin scored 31 points and Kevin Love hit for 26 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and distributed five assists as the Minnesota Timberwolves defeated the Sacramento Kings 104-102 on Sunday night in Minneapolis.

Isaiah Thomas led the Kings with 27 points and Derrick Williams put up 26 points off the bench to take the game down to the wire with Timberwolves. Rudy Gay added 14 points, but it would not be enough to get a win in the seventh and final game of the 13-day road trip.

The Kings started the game with a major disadvantage having to play without DeMarcus Cousins in the lineup. Cousins was suffering from knee tenderness. Cousins is almost a guaranteed double-double in every game he starts which means a significant  of number of points and rebounds must be covered by the other starters and the bench.

Nikola Pekovic was unable to go for the Timberwolves due to an ankle problem.

The Timberwolves jumped out to an early 13-6 lead as the Kings looked out of sync on both offense and defense which forced an early timeout call. The Kings looked better for short period after the timeout but then began to give up fastbreaks and easy points to Minnesota.

Derrick Williams – the former Timberwolf – came in with the second unit for the Kings and immediately provided a spark by scoring 10 points on just three shots. The Kings were able to close the gap and trailed the Timberwolves by just three points – 32-29 – after one quarter of play.

The Kings did not start the second quarter well as it took them 2:29 to put up their first points which was another bucket by Derrick Williams. The Kings closed the Minnesota lead to just two and took the lead 39-38 on a Derrick Williams three-point play. After a timeout, Rick Adelman put his first unit back on the floor to face the Kings. Michael Malone chose to keep his second unit out versus the Timberwolves’ first unit.

The Kings and Wolves then began trading baskets and fouls staying within three points of the other team. The game also switched to a half-court offensive contest. The Kings’ defense prevented the Timberwolves from setting up for the fastbreak. The Kings using some inspired play from Rudy Gay and Williams were able to go to the locker room with a 54-53 lead.

Derrick Williams scored 16 points in just 11 minutes of play for the Kings in the first-half. Reggie Evans scored eight points and Rudy Gay added seven points. Isaiah Thomas put up five points and dished out six assists. The Kings had 12 assists versus seven turnovers. The Sacramento bench outscored the Minnesota bench 30-4.

 The third quarter began with Kevin Martin and Kevin Love shooting the ball well and allowing the Timberwolves to retake the lead. Gorgui Dieng was very active on defense plugging up the middle and swatting away shots. The Kings then turned it on with Isaiah Thomas tying the game at 69 all.

Isaiah Thomas really turned up the effort scoring 13 points in the third, but the Love, Martin and Dieng combination was very strong allowing the Timberwolves to take the lead 77-74 after three quarters.

The Kings came out in the final period with Williams and McCallum hitting buckets and giving the Kings the lead 78-77. When the Timberwolves had not scored after two minutes, Rick Adelman took a timeout.

The teams proceeded to trade buckets and the game remained tied or within two points of the other team for the next few minutes. Derrick Williams showed the Minnesota fans what they gave up when he was traded to Sacramento by scoring nine quick points.

Kevin Love scored four quick points to give the Wolves the lead, but Thomas and Williams kept the Kings in the game and within one point with 1:26 left to play. The Kings took the lead on two free throw shots by Williams. Love gave Minnesota the lead back with a 3-point shot. Ricky Rubio opened up a three point – 98-95 – lead for the Wolves hitting one of two free throws with 41 seconds left to play. The Kings missed on three opportunities and Minnesota went to the free throw line with 16 seconds left to go. Kevin Martin hit the two free throws and it was 100-95 with 16 seconds to play. Isaiah Thomas hit a 3-point shot to bring the Kings within two points of the lead. Kevin Martin was fouled and hit two free throws. Thomas hit another 3-pointer to make it 102-101 Timberwolves. Martin hit two more free throws and Thomas hit from the charity stripe to make it 104-102 Minnesota. Dieng was fouled and missed both shots with 1 second to go. Rudy Gay took a full court shot that missed and the Timberwolves won the game 104-102.

The long and arduous road trip is finally over. The Kings headed back to Sacramento and will host the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night.

Kings fall in Chicago 94-87

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By Charlie O. Mallonee

The Chicago Bulls defeated the Sacramento Kings 94-87 on Saturday night in Chicago. It was a game that featured daunting defense and lacked on solid offense from the opening tip to the final buzzer.

Both teams shot under 40 percent from the field. The Kings hit on 31 of 85 (.365) shots. They converted just 2 of 14 3-point opportunities. The Bulls shot .397 (31 of 78) and were 6 of 20 from beyond the 3-point line. Defense ruled the game.

The Kings out-rebounded the Bulls 55-40. Sacramento swept 19 balls off the glass to just 7 for Chicago. Even though they controlled the rebounding, it was not enough to give the Kings a win.

Sacramento really fell short in the assists category. They had just 12 assists for the game and had only 4 in the first half. Chicago recorded 21 assists.

Once again the Kings committed more turnovers than they had assists. They turned the ball over 16 times versus the Bulls.

Even with those less than spectacular statistics, the Kings were just 3 points down with 29 seconds left in the game. It was a battle of the defenses.

After the game, Kings’ coach Michael Malone said he was proud of how hard his team played and for keeping the game so competitive. He acknowledged there things that could have been down better, but Malone was happy with the way his team battled versus the Bulls.

Isaiah Thomas led all scorers in the game with 26 points. He also 5 assists. DeMarcus Cousins posted another double-double with 25 points and 14 rebounds despite being double-teamed by the Bulls all game.

Rudy Gay had a quiet game with 13 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Gay is drawing the attention of opposing defenses and is having a tough time putting up the kind of numbers he was posting earlier in the season. The Kings need to make some adjustments to allow Gay to be productive on offense.

The Bulls were led by Joakim Noah with 23 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists. He also had 5 blocked shots and 3 steals.

Taj Gibson scored 19 points on just 9 shots. Mike Dunleavy put up 16 points and was 3 of 6 for 3-pointers.

The loss dropped the Kings record to 23-43 for the season. Chicago is now 37-29 and playoff bound in the Eastern Division.

The Kings wrap up the 7 game road trip on Sunday in Minnesota versus the Timberwolves.