Tag: Sacramento Kings

Kings defy the odds and beat the Clippers in LA 124-103

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By Charlie O. Mallonee

After being blown out by the Oklahoma City Thunder on their homecourt in Sacramento on Wednesday night, the Sacramento Kings traveled to Los Angeles to take on the Clippers in the back end of a back-to-back on Thursday night. The Kings chances of winning were just 37.3 percent.

Sacramento has not been a team that has found their homecourt to be a huge advantage this season. In fact, they seem to be very comfortable in big games on the road. That was the case again on Thursday night.

No Kawhi

The Kings did draw the good luck card because Kawhi Leonard was held out of the game due to lower back tightness. That may have really translated to the “load management” card because the Kings have not been playing great basketball lately. If the Clippers took that chance, they played the right percentages.

The Clippers started strong

The Clippers came out of the gate strong scoring 33 points in the opening 12 minutes. They held the Kings to 28 points.

‘Sacramento held the Clippers to just 14 points in the second period. LA shot just 6-for-24 overall in the quarter and did not go to the free throw line once.

The Kings hit 13 of 22 attempts from the field and nine of those baskets were 3-pointers.

The Second Half

The Kings outscored the Clippers 60-56 in final 24 minutes.

Top scorers

  • De’Aaron Fox was the leading scorer in the game with 34 points to go with eight assists and three rebounds.
  • Lou Williams led the Clippers scoring attack with 22 points and he added six assists.

The Glass cleaners

  • Dewayne Dedmon was the top rebounder with 11 grabs. He made it a double-double game by scoring 11 points.
  • Ivica Zubac hauled in 10 rebounds to lead the Clippers.

Dropping dimes

  • De’Aaron Fox dropped a game-high eight dimes in the contest.
  • Lou Williams dished out six assists to lead the Clippers.

Up next

The Kings will host the Lakers on Saturday night.

The Clippers will welcome the Timberwolves on Saturday afternoon.

Kings come back to earth on return to Sacramento in 120-100 loss to the Thunder

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By Morris Phillips

SACRAMENTO–Two segments of basketball–one exhilarating, one dreadful–separated only by the Kings’ successful, five-minute overtime on Monday in Minneapolis, go along way to explaining the lost 2019-2020 season for Sacramento.

In the final 5:42 of regulation on Monday, the Kings scored 33 points, making shots from everywhere, in belief they could overcome an insurmountable deficit against the Timberwolves. They did, tying the game in regulation, and winning it in overtime, 133-129.

The comeback would mark the first time in the previous 24 seasons that a team had overcome a 17-point deficit with less than three minutes remaining in regulation or overtime and won. Simply, on Monday the Kings accomplished what 8,000 plus teams over a quarter century could not: the comeback of comebacks.

Then on Wednesday back at Golden 1 Center–and after a stirring tribute to Kobe Bryant before the opening tip–the Kings reverted, scoring just 16 points in the first quarter on the way to a 20-point loss to the Thunder. The Kings were in it, tied at 14 with 3:58 remaining, then finished the quarter with only two more points, on their way to trailing for the game’s final 40 minutes in a sleepy loss tied closely to a substandard defensive effort that saw the Thunder guards feast on their Sacramento counterparts.

“They were more physical than us, they hit us, they outrebounded us, got the shots they wanted, and that can’t be acceptable for how we’re going to play the game of basketball.”

In Monday’s finish, the Kings hit seven 3-pointers, and got stops–a bunch of them. On Wednesday, the Kings were 1 of 9 from three in the first quarter and watched the visitors–especially from the guard’s standpoint–operate as if they were a basketball ballet troop.

Chris Paul, a close friend of Kobe Bryant, returned to action after missing the Thunder’s previous game to decompress and grieve. The break brought to light what a great season the veteran guard is having in Oklahoma City after his unceremonious dismissal from Houston. Paul’s absence was his first time he hasn’t played and started for the Thunder, a streak of 47 games. On Wednesday, with a heavy heart, it was back to work and the veteran was on top of his game, dissecting the Kings like a surgeon.

“He never really got into a flow from the standpoint of his own, personal offense, but he really managed to manipulate that game in the third quarter. He was finding guys, he was making the right decisions. He got guys open shots,” coach Billy Donovan said of Paul.

All four Thunder guards that saw significant minutes put up good numbers facing a Sacramento defense that didn’t fight through screens and wasn’t the least bit disruptive. Paul finished with nine points, 10 assists and seven rebounds. Luguentz Dort, the undrafted rookie playing in place of the injured Terrance Ferguson, put up a career-best 23 points with five 3-pointers. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the key, off-season acquisition with Russell Westbrook and Paul George departing, had 17 points, seven assists and seven rebounds. Dennis Schroeder came off the bench to add 24 points and nine assists.

Worried about the viability of the Kings’ core of Buddy Hield, Bogdan Bogdanovich and De’Aaron Fox going forward with all three likely to earn big deals to stay in Sacramento?

You should be. Defensively, the trio is nowhere near where they need to be. Picture a youthful Steve Nash getting beat at the point of attack and multiply by three. Not pretty especially with the Kings getting a look at Bogdanovich starting along Fox with Hield’s demotion. Again, all three put up decent offensive numbers on Wednesday, but their double-digit minus, plus/minus numbers said it all.

The Kings get a rough, back-to-back with the Clippers up next Thursday night at Staples Center, the first game at Staples Center since Bryant’s death.

 

 

 

Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O: Kings-Wolves go back and forth in overtime

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The Minnesota Timberwolves Jarrett Culver (23) drives on the Sacramento Kings DeWayne Dedmon (13) on Monday night at Target Center in Minneapolis

On the Kings podcast with Charlie O:

#1 It went into overtime and the Kings (17-29)  pushed the envelope at the Target Center home of the Minnesota Timberwolves (15-32) and got over the hump in overtime victory 133-129.

#2 The Kings never gave up and broke away from two ties to get the victory from the Timberwolves.

#3 The Kings Buddy Hield has been a machine of late and last night in Minnesota Hield scored 42 points and everyone them counted to win this game.

#4 In a game like this Kings head coach Luke Walton might have had to change strategy several times but it seem in the overtime stanza he had it working

#5 Thunder and Kings on Thursday Charlie O sets up this contest at Golden One Center in Sacramento

Hield, Kings shock the Wolves with fourth quarter, overtime blitz

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By Morris Phillips

Buddy Hield coming off the bench? Yeah, that’s working quite nicely.

After shooting poorly over an extended period dating back to December which in part prompted coach Luke Walton to take his leading scorer out of the starting lineup, Hield put on a good face and took his demotion in stride.

But being a team player didn’t immediately perk up his game. That transformation came on Monday night in Minneapolis… in the fourth quarter with the Kings in a seemingly helpless place trailing by 19 points after a sleepy, defensive effort through three quarters.

Hield scored 20 points in the fourth quarter, part of his career-best 42-point night, as the Kings wiped out a 22-point deficit in the final 5:42 and shocked the Timberwolves in overtime, 133-129. The Kings’ comeback was so improbable, it hadn’t been accomplished previously in the next generation statistics era beginning in 1997. Over the final 2:49, the Kings wiped out a 17-point deficit to send the game into overtime, where they prevailed. Over the previous 24 seasons, and in well over 8,000 occasions, teams had trailed by 17 points with less than three minutes remaining in regulation or overtime, and lost each time.

Then the Kings came up with the comeback of comebacks on Monday.

“We should be able to play with a 15-point lead with a couple of minutes left. They made shots. We didn’t execute our defensive game plan. We didn’t get rebounds when we needed to. We didn’t make the needed plays,” said Wolves coach Ryan Saunders.

Over the final 5:42 of regulation, the Kings scored 33 points, in itself a once-in-a-generation accomplishment for offense in such a short period. Hield came up with four of the seven Kings’ 3-pointers in the final stretch, including a 29-foot bomb with 30 seconds remaining. Only one more three, from Nemanja Bjelica, came in overtime, as the Kings shot 18 of 40 from distance for the game.

But that was small bits compared to the Wolves, who made a franchise-record 23 (in 46 attempts) but still came up short. Minnesota lost for the 10th consecutive outing, which led to a locker room filled with disbelief after the game. Shabazz Napier, who missed a pair of critical free throws with 34 seconds remaining even invoked the memory of Kobe Bryant in relaying his disappointment in his and his team’s performance.

“The competitor he is, he would be upset with us, truly upset with us,” Napier said. “Today we did a dishonor to him , to the Minnesota Timberwolves organization, to the fans.”

 

Royalty Flushed: Kings drop sixth straight in Detroit,127-106

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By Morris Phillips

Losing streaks are hard enough to digest, and the individual moments within those streaks even more so.

For the Kings, losing at the middling Pistons, the ninth-ranked team in the Eastern Conference, for their sixth straight loss while allowing Detroit 19 points more than their season average may rank as the nadir for fading Sacramento.

It certainly felt like it in the third quarter when the Pistons turned a 57-50 advantage at the half into a rout.

“Basketball is a simple game: Defend without fouling, make the right play and knock down shots early,” coach Bill Walton said. “I feel like we didn’t do any of those things.”

The Kings certainly didn’t defend. The Pistons were without Andre Drummond and Blake Griffin, along with taking the occassion to send a message regarding punctuality to rookie Sekou Doumbouya, who didn’t start for the first time in 10 games. Despite the absences, the Pistons got way too comfortable shooting the basketball at 53 percent for the game, and at an even higher clip than that in their 36-point, third quarter that put the game away.

Meanwhile, the Kings certainly didn’t have a coherent plan to match the high-scoring Pistons. Missing 25 of their 35 3-point shot attempts kept Sacramento’s offense disjointed and unable to make up the deficit, which grew and grew.

“There are times where we are out there playing good basketball and there are times when we’re not,” De’Aaron Fox said. “I said it before, you just try to play the best basketball you can for the most amount of time. I don’t think we’re doing that right now.”

With the recent trade of Trevor Ariza to Portland, and the Pistons’ lineup changes, the game became a battle of new faces. One stood out: Reggie Jackson, playing in his first game after missing 42 due to a back injury, led the Pistons with 22 points and four assists.

“When you alternate (Jackson with Derrick Rose, who also scored 22 points), you have stability at the point guard position, and that’s what this league is all about, guys that can create and run the floor,” coach Dwayne Casey said of his team’s offense.

Rose, the NBA’s renaissance man, and the guy most frequently mentioned to upgrade a playoff contender’s outlook down the stretch of this season, scored better than 20 points for the 10th straight game, matching his career-best stretch from his MVP season in 2011.

Christian Wood added 23 points to give Detroit three scorers with 20 or more, and Svi Mykhailiuk added 13. The Pistons poured it on in a 70-point, second half that far too much resembled a basketball clinic for the Kings’ liking.

“It’s about where we’re going and I’m a very patient person,” Walton said. “I believe in our group, but we need to do a lot of things including starting games with a much more competitive, engaged mindset. So, I still have all the belief in the world in our team. It’s still surreal to be coaching this team, but there are some things that we need to improve on and improve on quickly because it’s too late in the season to be having these same types of mistakes so frequently.”

The Kings continue their road swing on Friday in Chicago. The Kings and Bulls will be meeting for the second time this season after the Chicago held on for a 113-106 win at Golden 1 Center on December 2.

 

 

 

 

 

Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O: Kings can’t stand the Heat on five game losing streak

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msn.com photo: msn.com photo: Sacramento Kings guard Buddy Hield (24) attempts a 3-pointer over Miami Heat guard Kendrick Nunn, left, and forward Duncan Robinson (55) during the first half, Monday, Jan. 20, 2020, in Miami.

On the Kings podcast with Charlie O:

#1 The Sacramento Kings lost another one this time by five points 118-113 in Miami it was the overtime stanza that dropped the Kings as the Heat outscored them 13-8

#2 The Kings only won in the first frame the first quarter 24-21 but dropped the rest of game and showed flashes forcing overtime

#3 The Kings Nemanja Bjelica led with 22 points he was one of the main reasons why Sacramento stayed in this one.

#4 For the Heat Kendrick Nunn kept things going with a team leading 25 the highest scorer of the contest.

#5 It’s off to Little Cesar’s Arena in Detroit, the Kings will face the Detroit Pistons (16-28) Wednesday night. The Pistons have been playing .500 ball winning four of their last eight.

Charlie O hosts the Sacramento Kings podcast each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Kings dropped their fourth consecutive game on Saturday night in Utah 123-101

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by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings lost their fourth-consecutive game in Utah on Saturday night 123-101. That is not how the Kings wanted to kick off their five-game road trip.

The Kings were never really in the game against the Jazz. Utah outscored the Kings 38-22 in the opening quarter and that set the tone for the entire game.

Sacramento (15-27) was not able to stop the Utah (29-13) pick and roll attack. The Kings also kept sending the Jazz to the free throw line and Utah kept converting those opportunities.

The Kings were missing Holmes

The Kings defense really missed the injured Richaun Holmes on Saturday night. When Sacramento beat Utah back in November, Holmes played a very physical game versus Jazz star Rudy Gobert. On Saturday night, no one kept a body on Gobert and he had his way with the Kings.

Bogi was back for SAC

Bogdan Bogdanovic returned to the lineup for the Kings, but it was apparent that he was still a bit “rusty” as he returned from being off the court. Bogdanovic scored 11 points shooting 5-for-11 from the floor. He also added four rebounds and four assists in his 22-plus minutes of playing time.

The other Bogi was really on

Utah’s Bogdanovic – Bojan – scored 30 points in his team’s victory. He shot 10-for-15 overall and 6-of-9 from behind the 3-point line. Bogdanovic was really just unstoppable.

TOP PERFORMERS

Leading scorers

  • Bojan Bogdanovic was the game’s high scorer putting 30 points in the book
  • De’Aaron Fox scored a team-high 21 points for the Kings

The Glass cleaners

  • Rudy Gobert the leading rebounder with 15 and made it a double-double game by scoring 28 points
  • Marvin Bagley III led the Kings with seven rebounds

Dropping dimes

  • Joe Ingles distributed a game-leading 12 assists
  • Fox led the Kings with eight dimes

THE BIG HEADLINE OF THE NIGHT

According to league sources, the Portland Trail Blazers and the Sacramento Kings have made a five -player trade. There has not been an official announcement because one of the players involved cannot sign a regular NBA contract until Tuesday.

Reportedly, the Kings will send Trevor Ariza, Wenyen Gabriel, and Caleb Swanigan to Portland in exchange for Kent Bazemore and Anthony Tolliver. The Kings would also receive two second-round draft picks, one in 2024 and one for 2025.

The reason Portland was interested in the trade is believed to be their interest in adding Kevin Love to their roster. This trade will clear millions from their payroll that they need in order to make room to make a deal for Love.

The Kings were interested in the deal because they will receive two serviceable players with expiring contracts. Combined those contracts will be worth over 21-million dollars salary cap clearing-dollars. Sacramento may have just made the way to keep Bogdan Bogdanovic a Sacramento King for the long term.

The Kings will also open an extra roster spot in the deal.

Look for the next deal that the Kings will make to involve Dewayne Dedmon who has publicly requested a trade. The Kings will no doubt be looking for a player with an expiring contract in order to have the flexibility for next season.

Kings just couldn’t get to finish line Mavericks win it 127-123

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@Sportsnet photo: The Dallas Mavericks Luka Doncic was hard to contain as he and the Mavericks rains buckets on the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night at Golden One Center in Sacramento

By Jeremiah Salmonson

SRS Kings beat writer

SACRAMENTO–The Sacramento Kings continued to be mire in the mist that is mediocrity. Just when you think they are turning a corner they have a puzzling defeat that puts them back at square one.

The Kings were hoping to flip the script against an opponent they beat on the road last month, the Dallas Mavericks. It was set to be the showdown of Luka Doncic and Marvin Bagley both of whom were picked high in the draft two seasons ago. The tip-off was set for 7 PM PST at Golden One Center.

In the first quarter, the Kings got a strong showing from Buddy Hield. Trying to put his early-season struggles behind him, Buddy was in double figures in the first with ten points. However, the Mavericks managed to take the early lead on 55.6% shooting 35-31. Maxi Kleber was the leading scorer for the Mavs with eight points.

In the second quarter, The Kings kept things close. The Kings scored 36 points in the second but it wasn’t enough to take the lead. The Mavs added 36 as well to keep the game right where it started in the second at a four-point Kings deficit 71-67. The games leading scorers to this point were Buddy Hield and Seth Curry who both had 16 points. The Kings would look to keep up the pace on defense to contain the Mavs offense.

In the third quarter, The Kings had a familiar occurrence take place. That is the third-quarter meltdown. The Mavs outscored the Kings 37 to 26 in the third to make it a 108-93 game. The Kings looked defeated. The Kings defense had let them down in a big way. The Mavs had scored 35, 36, and 37 points in the first three quarters. No NBA team is going to win a game with those numbers. The Kings were heading into the final session looking for a miracle.

In the final quarter, no miracle occurred in Sacramento. The Mavericks scored 19 in the fourth compared to the Kings 20 as the Mavs came away with the victory 127-123. The Leading scorers for the Kings in defeat were De’Aaron Fox with 27 points, Buddy Hield with 25 points and Harrison Barnes who put up 22. For the victorious Mavericks, it was Luka Doncic who had 24 points to go along with 17 assists and 15 rebounds. The Kings are now 15-26 on the season and are running out of excuses.

They are about to embark on a long road trip that will really test this team’s resolve to stay in the hunt this season.

Up Next: The Kings head out on the road to take on the Utah Jazz on Saturday at 6 PM PST. The Kings won’t return home until January 29th.

Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O: Kings can’t force overtime lose by a bucket 114-112 to Orlando

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nbcsports.com photo: The Sacramento Kings De’Aaron Fox (35) defends against the Orlando Magic’s center Nikola Vucevic (9) Monday night at Golden One Center in Sacramento

 On the Kings podcast with Charlie O:

#1 The Kings were focused and concentrated but in the end they lost by a bucket in a see saw fourth quarter loss to the visiting Orlando Magic 114-112 on Monday night at Golden One Center.

#2 The Magic wanted this one just as badly as the Kings did and both team played to death and maybe forcing sudden death but the Magic were able to survive and win in regulation.

#3 Four players in double figures for the Magic with Nikola Vucevic finished on top for the Magic with 26 points it was hard to defend the Magic.

#4 Talk about the kind of night that Nemanja Bjelica who led the Kings in double figures with 34 points the highest scorers for both team

#5 Wednesday night at Golden One the Kings will try again to get in the win column as they tip off against the Dallas Mavericks at 7:00pm

Charlie O does the Kings podcasts each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Empty Sac: Kings battle back only to come up short, lose to Magic 114-112

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By Morris Phillips

SACRAMENTO–Slow starts, heartbreaking finishes, the Kings have seen enough of those this season.

But the reality is that’s what the Kings are about, and Monday’s heartbreaking 114-112 loss to the Magic–decided on Aaron Gordon’s three-point play with 1.1 seconds remaining–was another painful reminder.

“You don’t want to come down to these one-point games because crazy things happen,” coach Luke Walton said. “You have to take care of business before that.”

The Magic came in as the NBA’s lowest-scoring team, averaging just above 103 points per game. But the Kings immediately made the visitors feel comfortable by allowing them 33 first quarter points, which matched their best output in the opening quarter this season. Orlando didn’t have to up the tempo, they just took what the Kings gave them: 26 shot attempts, ample second chance opportunities, four made threes and five made free throws. Down 33-25 after a period, the Kings were already trending negatively.

With the threes falling, and the free throw opportunities swinging dramatically in Orlando’s favor, the Magic took their biggest lead of the night, 65-48 with a minute remaining before halftime. At that point the Kings not named Nemanja Bjelica started to play, constructing a 15-2 run ending the second quarter and starting the third that got them back into it.

Bjelica was keeping the Kings afloat at that point, scoring 25 of the team’s first 63 points. Bjelica would go on to put up 34 points and eight 3-pointers, both career bests, but his super efficient output wasn’t what consumed his thoughts after the game.

“We lost the game earlier, and we need to stop that,” Bjelica said. “We need to start the game like we finished the last five minutes.”

In the game’s final five minutes, Kings’ guard De’Aaron Fox turned on the jets and helped his club wipe out a 100-93 deficit. As the capper to his 31-point, 10-rebound, 8-assist night, the speedy guard got into the lane and converted a three-point play that gave the Kings a 112-111 lead with 15 seconds remaining. As a small consolation, Fox thoroughly outplayed Markelle Fultz in matchup of guards taken in the first five picks of the 2017 NBA Draft. Fultz finished with 16 points and two assists.

On the Magic’s final possession, Evan Fournier patiently dribbled down Fox, but didn’t gain much advantage, and seemed content to settle for an off-balance jump shot at the free throw line extended. Instead Fournier got the ball to Gordon in the lane, who flipped the ball in the basket as Cory Joseph fouled him for the three-point opportunity. The resulting free throw put the Magic up 114-112 with little time remaining.

The Kings felt a foul should have been called on the game’s final play in which a pass in bounds gave Harrison Barnes a four-foot shot opportunity that fell short. But whistles weren’t blowing in Sacramento’s direction on Monday: the Magic converted 25 of 30 free throw attempts to the home team’s 10 of 11.

The Kings fell to 15-25 with the loss, and it was eighth time this season they’ve lost by three points or less.

Marvin Bagley Jr. returned to the lineup after missing the previous ten games and had a strong game with 18 points, six rebounds and two blocks in 23 minutes. Buddy Hield added 16, but Barnes and Trevor Ariza combined to miss 11 of their 14 shots.

The Kings continue their homestand on Wednesday when the Dallas Mavericks come to town looking to break a four-game losing streak to Sacramento that dates back to last season.