Tag: Sacramento Kings

Kings suffer frustrating loss to the Bulls, 113-106, when their comeback falls short

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By Morris Phillips

SACRAMENTO–The rope-a-dope strategy employed by the Kings that shocked the Nuggets on Saturday didn’t translate on Monday against the visiting Chicago Bulls.

The Kings again spotted their opponent a sizeable lead, but this time the comeback fell short. Behind 28 points from Laurie Markkanen, and 20 from Zach LaVine, the Bulls survived Sacramento’s fourth quarter rally to win 113-106.

The Kings failed to climb within one game of .500, falling to 8-11 on the season. The loss also dropped the Kings a game behind the Suns–who won in Charlotte Monday–for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

The Kings had won 8 of 13 coming in, including their unquestioned best win of the season to date over the Northwest Division-leading Nuggets, in which they trailed by 17 at the half, only to rally for an overtime win, 100-97. Against the Bulls, the Kings trailed by 11 at the half, and 10 after three, but could get no closer than 102-100 with 2:18 remaining.

Buddy Hield led the Kings with 26 points, despite missing 10 of his 13 3-point attempts. Afterwards, he pointed to the Kings’ slow start as the reason for the loss.

“When you give a team confidence, they come back and bite you quick,” Hield said of the Bulls, who had lost both of their previous stops on their current road trip, and seven of nine.

After a fast start, things unraveled for the Kings in the second quarter, when the Bulls surged to a double-digit lead behind their five reserves that saw action.

Rookie Coby White, Ryan Arcidiacono, Thaddeus Young and Denzel Valentine each hit a 3-pointer, and along with center Daniel Gafford combined to shoot 8 for 15 from the field. Meanwhile, the Kings’ reserves committed seven turnovers as the home team fell behind by as much as 16 points, 47-31 with 3:20 remaining before the break.

Hield and Harrison Barnes combined to miss 11 of their 15 shots attempts in the first half, as Sacramento was again without Marvin Bagley III, De’Aaron Fox and Harry Giles.

Bogdan Bodanovic, the Kings’ spark off the bench, admitted afterwards that his balky, left hamstring has forced coach Luke Walton to put him on a minutes restriction where he’s limited to five minutes on the floor in any stretch. Since missing the Kings’ road game in Brooklyn on November 22, Bogdanovic has logged fewer than 30 minutes a game, and failed to make at least half of his shots from the floor. On Monday, Bogdanovic finished with 11 points, on 4 of 9 shooting.

For the Bulls, the win marked the first time this season their two, young stars, LaVine and Markkanen have each reached 20 points in a game.

“We’re still encouraging him,” LaVine said of Markkanen. “He had a great game. He needs to play that way all the time.”

The Kings start a four-game road trip in Portland on Wednesday with stops in Dallas, San Antonio and Houston after that. The Kings are in the midst of a stretch where they play 12 of 16 games outside of Sacramento.

Kings come back to beat Denver 100-97 in OT

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Photo credit: @SacramentoKings

By Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO — Saturday marked the return home for the Sacramento Kings after a long road trip. The trip took the Kings through the cities of New York, Washington D.C., Boston, and Philadelphia. It was a tough trip for the Kings who went 1-3 beating the Washington Wizards. The Kings were looking to continue their climb back to .500 against a formidable opponent in the Denver Nuggets on Saturday afternoon. The tip-off was set for 2 PM PST.

In the first quarter, the Kings struggled early. No one on the Kings could seem to hit a shot and Denver began knocking down their’s after struggling in the opening minutes as well. With 2:00 minutes remaining in the first quarter, the Kings were already down 27-13. The rest of the quarter the Kings were able to put up a few more points to cut the deficit to 27-17 going into the second quarter.

In the second quarter, Yogi Ferrell ran the point, the Kings offense seemed to show life in the early minutes for the second. In the opening 2 minutes of time, the Kings managed to cut the lead to 5 points. However, the Nuggets starting piling on again after that. The Nuggets would put up a total of 57 first-half points compared to the Kings’ 40. This obviously wasn’t what Luke Walton and Co. planned for the first half. The King’s fans let out a subtle chorus of boos as the team headed into the locker room. Garry Harris led all scorers in the first half putting up 20 points. The leading scorer for the Kings was Harrison Barnes, who had 8 points for the Kings. If the Kings hoped to come back they needed to shoot better. Specifically, be better from long range.

In the third quarter, the Kings played better than they had all game. That’s not to say there wasn’t room for improvement. The Kings outscored the Nuggets 27-18, which was a marked improvement on both ends of the floor. Led by Harrison Barnes (12 points in the 3rd), the Kings managed to cut the deficit 67-75. The Kings would need to make a big ground in the fourth quarter to have a chance.

In the fourth quarter, the Kings still struggled to hit open shots. Namely, Buddy Hield really struggled. Buddy had a considerable number of open shots that he was unable to knockdown. Regardless of the shooting struggles, the Kings managed to hang tough. With 3:20 left in the game, the score was 87-80 and the Kings had a chance to execute. The Kings managed to do just that. The Kings were able to come back and tie the game with a Buddy Hield layup with 22.9 seconds left. The Kings then got the defense stop with a Rashaan Holmes block and it sent the Kings to overtime. In overtime, the Kings and Nuggets would battle and trade baskets. The game would come down to the final 14 seconds with the score 98 to 97 Kings up. Buddy Hield would be fouled on the inbound and make both his free throws. From there, the Kings got a stop and would go on to win 100-97.

The Kings stay home to host the Chicago Bulls on Monday at 7 PM PST.

Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O: Kings winners 7 of 11, lose to Celtics by one

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Photo credit: goldengatesports.com

On the Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O:

#1 The Kings lost a close battle with the Celtics 103-102 in Boston Monday night. Ironically, the same score the Kings beat the Celtics by in Sacramento.

#2 Bubby Hield gave it all he got this time scoring 41 points, but it wasn’t enough to beat the Celtics.

#3 Harrison Barnes whose had a hot hand of late scored 20.

#4 The score was close in the fourth quarter the Celts were just a little better 28-27 in a real razor-close quarter.

#5 The Kings get Tuesday off and face the 76ers in Philadelphia Wednesday night.

Sacramento Kings podcasts are heard each Tuesday with Charlie O at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

So close yet so far – the Kings lose to Boston 103-102

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BOS 3
TD Boston Gardens @ SacramentoKings

By Charlie O. Mallonee

If the Sacramento Kings (7-9) had emailed their performance in on Monday night versus the Boston Celtics (12-4), no one would have criticized them. They were facing the Celtics on the second night of a back-to-back on the road after winning a very tough game over the Washington Wizards on Sunday.

The Kings didn’t just sleepwalk through the game on Monday night. They came out looking for a win which would mean they would sweep the season series with the mighty Celtics. In the end, the Kings would come up one point short, but they put themselves in a position to win the game.

Luke Walton was not unhappy with his team

Luke Walton said in his postgame comments that all you can ask of your team in the second game of a back-to-back on the road is to put themselves in a position to win the game at the end of the fourth quarter. Walton said his team did that but came up just short.

With 5.7 seconds to go in the game, Cory Joseph inbounded the ball to Bogdan Bogdanovic. “Bogi” put up a 3-point shot with 3.0-seconds remaining. The ball hit the back of the rim and one of the Kings in the lane put the rebound back up, but it went over the backboard. Time expired and Boston won the game 103-102.

Record-setting night for Buddy Hield

BOS 1
Graphic @SacramentoKings

“Buddy Love” set a franchise record by sinking 11 three-point buckets on Monday night. The previous record was held by Mike Bibby who connected on nine 3-point shots on March 25, 2007, versus Phoenix.

Hield also set a personal record by scoring 41 points in the game. He shot 15-for-26 from the floor and went 11-for-21 from downtown. Hield also had five rebounds and two assists.

Spotlight on the Kings

This game featured 22 lead changes and seven ties. The Kings held the largest lead of the game – 11 points in the second quarter. The Celtics built up a 53-46 lead at halftime. After the game, Luke Walton felt his team’s play in the final six minutes of the first half is where they lost the game.

Individual scoring:

  • Harrison Barnes put 20 points in the scorebook. He went 7-for-10 from the free throw line.
  • Bogdan Bogdanovic added 13 points but had a tough night shooting. He went 5-for-20 from the field and 2-for-13 from 3-point land. “Bogi” did dish out eight assists.
  • No other player on the Kings scored in double figures.

Team numbers:

  • Sacramento hit 37 of 78 (46.8%) shots from the floor in Boston.
  • The Kings went 18-for-47 (38.3%) from behind the 3-point arc.
  • This was the Kings downfall: they only went to the free throw line 15 times. They converted 10 of those opportunities, but that number of attempts should have been at least 25. Sacramento could have won the game at the charity stripe.
  • The Kings were destroyed in the paint. The Celtics outscored Sacramento 50-26 down low in the game. That just can not happen.

Focus on Boston

Four of the five Celtics starters scored in double figures:

  • Jaylen Brown scored a team-high 24 points.
  • Jayson Tatum put up 20 points shooting 7-for-18 from the floor.
  • Enes Kanter added 13 points and nine rebounds.

Team stats

  • The Celtics hit 20 of 23 (87.0%) attempts from the free throw line. That was the key to their victory.
  • Boston shot 44.7% (38/85) from the floor.
  • The Celts hit just 7 of 30 (23.3%) from downtown.

Up next

The Kings wrap up their four-game road trip on Wednesday in Philly versus the 76ers.

Boston hosts the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night before they sit down to turkey dinner.

Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O: Kings winners 7 of 11, lose to Celtics by one

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Photo credit: goldengatesports.com

On the Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O:

#1 The Kings lost a close battle with the Celtics 103-102 in Boston Monday night ironically the same score the Kings beat the Celtics by in Sacramento

#2 Bubby Hield gave it all he got this time scoring 41 points but it wasn’t enough to beat the Celts.

#3 Harrison Barnes whose had a hot hand of late scored 20.

#4 The score was close in the fourth quarter the Celts were just a little better 28-27 in a real razor close quarter

#5 The Kings get Tuesday off and face the 76ers in Philadelphia Wednesday night

Sacramento Kings podcasts are heard each Tuesday with Charlie O at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

Short-handed Kings fall to the Nets 116-97

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Photo credit: nba.com/nets

By Jessica Kwong

BROOKLYN — The Sacramento Kings had a “tough night” and beginning to their four-game road trip on Friday night as they played short-handed and lost 116-97 to the Brooklyn Nets.

Both teams struggled with offense to start at Barclays Center, but Garrett Temple hit a triple to give the Nets a lead—that lasted the entire game except for one tie with a few minutes remaining in the first quarter. Brooklyn lead by as many as 22 points. Sacramento was only 4-26 from the three-point line.

“Tough night for us,” Kings head coach Luke Walton said. “If you’re a 3-point shooting team and you shoot 15 percent, you’re not going to win a lot of games. Where we have to be better at are things that we can control.” The Kings could not control the number of injuries that have plagued the team. They played without Bogdan Bogdanovic due to left hamstring tightness, in addition to Marvin Bagley and De’Aaron Fox who have been out with injuries.

Buddy Hield, who tried to step up in his teammates’ absence, had similar words to Walton about their performance: “It was a tough night.”

“When we have extra guys that can make shots it’s a little easier, but missing Bogie didn’t help us for sure,” Hield said. “It’s always ‘next man up’ mentality and we had to come out here and play. They did a good job. they made some shots and made some good plays.” The Kings trailed 26-23 after the first quarter and stayed in the game in the second, trailing 56-49 at the half. Rookie Justin James scored 4 points in 13 minutes played in the first half.

“I felt good out there—I was playing my game. I had a lot of mishaps defensively that I’m not too happy about but coach called on my number and I was ready to play,” James said. “Bogie was down tonight so I tried to come up and play the best that I can.” The game ran away from them in the Kings in third. The Nets began 4-4 and a 10-2 run led Walton to call a timeout. The Kings finished the quarter down 86-70. Sacramento’s bench players came out in the fourth quarter and the Kings fell to a 6-8 record.

The Nets won on rebounds 48-33, while the Kings beat them on assists 26-22 and had 16 turnovers, two fewer than the Nets. The Nets dominated on three’s, scoring 12.

“Brooklyn executed it well tonight and for whatever reason we didn’t do a good enough job of creating looks,” Walton said. “When we did get good looks, we just didn’t knock them down.” Brooklyn was without injured stars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant.

The Kings continue their east coast road trip on Sunday facing the Washington Wizards. Tipoff is at 3 p.m.

Bogi’s Big Night: Kings creep closer to .500, beat the Suns 120-116

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By Morris Phillips

SACRAMENTO — The Suns have come down to earth. And the Kings–playing more deliberate while applying the D–are ascending.

Bogdan Bogdanovic scored a career-best 31 points and the Kings survived a furious, fourth quarter rally from the Suns in a 120-116 victory on Tuesday.

After an 0-5 start–including an embarrasing 29-point loss in Phoenix on opening night–the Kings have won six of eight, and their goal of ending the NBA’s longest playoff drought is back on the table.

With the Warriors, Thunder, Blazers and Spurs in various states of disrepair, Western Conference playoff spots are up for grabs.  Phoenix (last appearance: 2010) and Sacramento (2006) own the lengthiest postseason absences along with the most promise for putting an end to the droughts this season.

The Suns started the season fast with five wins and two one-point losses under the direction of new coach Monty Williams. But DeAndre Ayton’s suspension and some difficult opponents have slowed their momentum. Meanwhile, the Kings have turned it around with defense, and relying on their depth under the tutelage of Luke Walton.

Bogdanovic, getting increased playing time in place of injured point guard De’Aaron Fox, got hot in the second quarter, scoring 18 points as the Kings’ lead swelled to 26. But Phoenix finally responded in a 41-point, fourth quarter that pulled them within 116-113 with 14.2 seconds remaining.

Richaun Holmes and Yogi Ferrell both made a pair of free throws in the final seconds to keep the Kings from an embarrassing outcome.

“It felt like to me that we started to stat-hunt a little bit,” Walton said of the near collapse. “When we continued to run our plays we got wide open everything. When we got stagnant their zone stopped us.”

The Kings limited Phoenix to 26 percent shooting in the first quarter, and the possibility of them holding a fourth, consecutive opponent to less than 100 points seemed doable. They also blocked seven shots, and had seven steals, but this was an important ballgame for both clubs. The Suns’ furious rally, and offensive emergence confirmed that.

“We changed up our defenses a little bit but they hit tough shots after tough shots,” Williams said. “But I just loved the fight of our team.”

“We kind of were ‘OK, we got it,'” Bogdanovich said. “It’s the NBA. You have to be ready to lock in and finish the game.”

Holmes finished with 20 points and a career-best 15 rebounds. Bodganovich hit 7 3-pointers for the first time in his career, but missed the final minutes with a hamstring issue. Cory Joseph dished out 14 assists, also a career-high.

Phoenix’s Aaron Baynes, the journeyman center turned 3-point sensation missed the game with a hip injury. Ricky Rubio was available after missing the previous night’s game in Phoenix against Boston, but couldn’t provide much help. Rubio played just 18 minutes and missed all seven of his shots from the floor.

Devin Booker started slow, drew a technical foul, but finished fast with 30 points to lead the Suns. Kelly Oubre and Mikal Bridges had 20 points each.

Headline Sports with Barbara Mason: 49ers will have to step it up against Green Bay on Sunday; Raiders squeeze by winless Bengals; plus more

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sfgate photo: San Francisco 49ers’ Jimmy Garoppolo looks to pass in 4th quarter of Niners’ 36-26 win over Arizona Cardinals in NFL game at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday, November 17, 2019.

On Headline Sports with Barbara:

#1 The San Francisco 49ers cut it close in their last two games vs. Seattle and Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals in a last minute comeback touchdown to squeak it out.

#2 The Oakland Raiders just got by the Cincinnati Bengals in a 17-10 win. Raiders quarterback Derek Carr threw 25-29, 292 yards, one touchdown, and an interception.

#3 A tough loss in New Orleans as the Golden State Warriors dropped a 108-100 contest to the Pelicans Sunday but tonight they finally pulled off a win against the Memphis Grizzlies 114-95 ending a seven game loss streak.

#4 The Sacramento Kings just got by the Boston Celtics 100-99. The Kings have to thank Buddy Hield, who scored 35 points on Sunday at Golden 1 Center.

#5 The #3 Stanford women came up with a huge victory over Gonzaga 76-70 in overtime. Lexie Hull scored 20 points of 22 after halftime.

Join Barbara for Headline Sports each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O: Kings win 5 of 7, look to keep it going tonight against the Suns

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Photo credit: skysports.com

On the Sacramento Kings podcast with Charlie O:

#1 The Kings have won five of their last seven games. What has been the difference for the Kings — coaching, accurate shooting, or great defense?

#2 The Kings just got by the Celtics on Sunday 100-99. How stunning was that?

#3 The Kings’ Buddy Hield responded with 35 points. He was the deal breaker in the Kings’ win on Sunday.

#4 In the first quarter, the Kings’ Buddy Hield and Nemanja Bjelica had nine and seven points and the Kings had a 30-18 lead coming out of the first quarter on Sunday on the Celtics.

#5 The Kings host the Phoenix Suns tonight night at Golden 1 Center. Charlie O sets this one up for us.

Sacramento Kings podcasts with Charlie O are heard each Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Kings stun the Celtics 100-99 at home

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Photo credit: @SacramentoKings

By Jeremiah Salmonson

SACRAMENTO — Sunday was going to be a test for the Sacramento Kings. Their Sunday opponent was the Boston Celtics. The Celtics have started out the season 10-1 and were on a 10-game win streak. It has been well-documented how the Kings started their season. However, the Kings have played much better as of late. The Kings were 4-7 on the year and looking for an upset at home. The tip-off was set for 12:30 PM PST in Sacramento.

The Kings played one of the best quarters of the season to open up the game. Led by Buddy Hield and Nemanja Bjeilica, who had 9 and 7 points, respectively, the Kings would jump out to an early lead 30-18. Leading the way for the Celtics was Jaylen Brown, who had a Celtics-leading 6 points heading into the second quarter. The Kings played really well throughout the opening quarter. The key for the Kings has been the defensive play. When the Kings play good defense, the rest seems to fall into place.

In the second quarter, the Kings didn’t play as well but part of that has to be contributed to the Celtics hitting their shots. Leading the way for the Celtics in the second was Semi Ojeleye. Semi had 8 points in the second to help bring the Celtics closer to the Kings. Going into halftime, the Kings remained in the lead at 50-46. Buddy Hield continued his good play finishing the half at 16 points. Headed into the second half the Kings were looking to keep the game under their control and not let the Celtics flip the script.

In the second half, the Kings were looking to stay on track. It would turn out to be a fairly competitive back and forth third quarter. The Kings didn’t melt down, which has been an issue in the third this year. However, they were unable to maintain the lead. The Celtics managed to put up 29 points in the third compared to the Kings’ 21 to take a 75-71. Buddy Hield continued his torrid stretch from the field, adding 11 points to his total in the third.

Heading into the fourth quarter, the Kings had a shot to win the game against one of the best teams in the NBA. Both teams would trade baskets and keep even through the quarter. The game would come down to the final few minutes of action. With 36 seconds left in the game, the Kings’ Buddy Hield threw the ball out of bounds to make it 99-98 Celtics with the ball. The Celtics were unable to score and Marcus Smart had a foul on the Kings’ Holmes. He made both his free throws and the Celtics failed to score on the other end for a Kings win.

It was a great victory for the Kings, who snapped the Celtics’ win streak and improved to 5-7 on the year. The next game for the Kings will be Tuesday against the Suns at home. Game time set for 7:00 PM PST.