Tag: Sacramento

Curry’s first double double leads to Kings’ win in Phoenix

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by Michael Martinez

picture credit Robin Hagy Photography

SACRAMENTO- It all came down to free throws at the end of the game. Fortunately, the end of the game was not constantly fouling the Kings, who gave up a 15 point lead they had early in the fourth quarter.

The Kings even had a seven point lead within a minute to play, but the Suns never quit. Phoenix would cut the lead down to two with 21 seconds left in regulation. Ben McLemore got to the line where he missed both free throws and gave the Suns some hope to tie it up. Luckily, rookie sensation Devin Booker missed a jumper and James Anderson got the rebound and got to the line. Anderson made them both to put the Kings up by four. After a couple of free throws by Quincy Acy to maintain their four point lead with three seconds to go. The Kings picked up win number 33, 105-101.

Without DeMarcus Cousins and Rajon Rondo, Seth Curry and Kosta Koufos stepped up in a huge way. Curry got his first career double double in the ball game with 20 points and 15 assists. Curry made some outstanding passes as he drove to the hoop and broke down the defense. On 8-14 from the field and 3-6 from beyond the arc, Curry continues to be an effective scorer. One of those threes he juked his defender, made a spin move and knocked down the shot. Curry is solidifying himself with his recent play and the Kings’ decision to sign him has paid off. Hopefully he will continue to develop and make an impact for this team who might not retain Rondo after this offseason.

As DMC sat out, the Kings lost his 26.9 points per game but Koufos did a good job on the offensive end with 19 points and eight boards. Gay chipped in 15 points and although McLemore missed two late free throws, he added 14 points of his own.

The Kings turned the ball over 19 times, which led to 27 points for the Suns. Phoenix also out rebounded Sacramento, 51-40. Phoenix grabbed 17 offensive rebounds and they scored 17 second chance points. Their turnovers and a bit lack of size almost cost Sacramento the game, but the Kings shooting 49.3% led to their victory.

Sacramento will finish their season on the road in Houston against the Rockets. Cousins will once again not play, so expect Koufos to get playing time once again. And whether or not Rondo plays, Curry must get more minutes in the season finale to to see his development as he continues to set career highs.

Kings forget how to box out in loss at home

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by Michael Martinez

picture credit Luke Cheng/Getty Images

SACRAMENTO- The Kings were down five players tonight. Omri Casspi and Marco Belinelli were out because of injury while Rudy Gay, Kosta Kofous and Darren Collison sat on the sideline just to rest. This might have played a factor in the loss tonight as Sacramento was out hustled and out rebounded.

The Kings’ biggest fault in tonight’s game was giving up offensive rebounds and way too many second chance opportunities. Portland score 26 second chance points and had 19 offensive rebounds. Somehow, the Kings lost while shooting over 50% in the game.

DeMarcus Cousins started off the game and dominated with 18 first half points. Cousins finished the game with 30 points to tie Mitch Richmond for the most 30 point games in a season with 26.

Rajon Rondo had a huge night himself with his sixth triple double of the season to set the all time Sacramento record. Rondo recorded a season high 27 points, 12 assists and 10 boards. However, the big nights from the Kings top players was just not enough. Even though the Blazers made less field goals than Sacramento, they made nine more free throws. Portland gave themselves way more opportunities than the Kings to score on the offensive end and yet again Sacramento’s defense was below par.

Not to mention, the Kings turned the ball over 19 times, which led to 24 points in Portland’s favor. As the final buzzer sounded, Portland won 115-107.

The Kings gave a pretty good effort against the playoff bound Blazers and even cut the lead down to one with plenty of time left in the fourth quarter. The Kings got themselves in trouble thanks to a Cousins’ technical foul, his 17 of the season, as well as a tech on Quincy Acy.

On an inbounds pass, Acy pointed from the bench and the ball hit his hand causing interference and a technical.

Portland’s Maurice Harkless played a huge role in the Blazers’ win with a great second half. Harkless scored all of his 20 points in the second half. The Kings were up 57-51 at the half, meaning Harkless half was pivotal to the win. Damian Lilliard added 20 for the game.

CJ McCollum, who was once on the Kings draft radar, had a game high 30 points going 11-20 from the field and 5-10 from behind the arc. McCollum continues to improve and solidify him and Lilliard’s case as one of the best starting backcourts.

Sacramento will take on the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday at 7 p.m. Minnesota just defeated the Golden State Warriors tonight. The Kings will played their second to last game ever at Sleep Train Arena and hopefully they can get a couple more wins in the historical arena.

Sacramento Kings Friday night game wrap: Kings second half come back falls short

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by Michael Martinez

picture credit USA Today

SACRAMENTO- The Kings had a horrendous defensive first half, giving up 39 first quarter points and 66 in the half. 66 points for the Heat in the first half was their season high and Sacramento looked doomed. The game looked very out of reach for the Kings when they were down by 24 points a little over halfway through the third quarter.

But the Kings found their stride and played tough defense in the second half. The Kings turned things on, especially in the fourth quarter with big offensive production from Darren Collison who had 11 fourth quarter points. Seth Curry was big as well with nine points in the quarter.

Sacramento was able to cut the lead to one with a minute and a half remaining as the crowd got louder. A surprising turn of events made a blow out into an incredible come back. As the Kings played tough defense and worked on double teaming and trapping Heat players, they left Luol Deng wide open for a corner three. Deng sunk the three with 45 second left to go and put the Heat up by six. Ultimately, the three would be the dagger as the Kings were unable to complete their valiant effort of trying to win their third straight at home.

Once again, the Kings lose a game with DeMarcus Cousins not playing in the game as he was suspended by the NBA for his 16 technical of the season. The Kings first half mishap cost them the game as they gave up 20 first half points to Gerald Green who started in place of Dwayne Wade. Green finished the game with a game high 30 points.

Collison scored 26 points for the Kings as he played while Rajon Rondo sat out for most of the second half. Curry matched his career high with 21 points as he continues to play well for Sacramento. The Kings defense forced ten second half turnovers, but the Heat’s first half was too much.

The Kings will head to the Mile High City to take on the Denver Nuggets tomorrow. Sacramento will be without Cousins in tomorrow night’s game as he will not play in road games for the rest of the season. Tip off is set for 6 p.m.

Seth Curry has career night in loss

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by Michael Martinez

picture credit NBAE

SACRAMENTO- The Kings rested their three best players. Rajon Rondo, Rudy Gay and DeMarcus Cousins all sat out Monday night in Portland. With that being said, there probably was not a ton of hope to get a win over the Trail Blazers who are battling for a playoff spot. The Kings lost to the Blazers 105-93.

Surprisingly though, the Kings stayed in the game for the first quarter. Sacramento played well, except Portland could not miss a shot even if they tried.

The Blazers broke it open in the second quarter going up by as many as 16 and shooting slightly over 55% from the field. But the third quarter is where things fell apart for the Kings.

While Portland only scored 23 points, the Kings shot a dismal 25% in the third quarter and scored a measly 11 points. The Kings turned the ball over seven times and could not buy a bucket. The Blazers led Sacramento by as many as 28 points and the Kings never really had a chance.

The fourth was the Kings chance to try and come back but the deficit was just too much, even though Portland shot under 30% in the quarter. Seth Curry scored 12 points in the quarter and finished for a career high of 21. Curry was really the only bright spot as the Kings perimeter defense wasn’t very tough. Portland almost shot 50% from beyond the arc, knocking down 14 shots from the perimeter.

Portland’s Allen Crabbe elicited exactly what the Blazers did tonight. He tied Curry for the game high with 21 points on 8-10 shooting, 3-4 from behind the three point line. The most difficult part of this loss is the fact that Damian Lillard only scored 13 points and the Kings still never had a chance.

Nonetheless, when the team’s three best players are resting, nabbing a victory is going to be pretty difficult. Yet again, the Kings’ defensive woes hurt them as Portland shot lights out.

Omri Casspi had a pretty good game with 18 points. Willie Cauley-Stein added 13 points and grabbed 14 boards as the rookie continues to play well. As the season winds down, this game shows just how important Gay, Rondo and Cousins are to the team. The Kings will take on the Washington Wizards at home this Wednesday at 7 p.m. Hopefully the Kings’ big three comes back and helps them get another win at home.

 

 

 

Sacramento Kings Wednesday game wrap up: Turnovers cost Kings in Minnesota

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by Michael Martinez

picture credit: NBAE– Minnesota Timberwolves Karl Anthony Towns (32) goes up on the Sacramento Kings Wednesday night

SACRAMENTO- The Kings had to play without DeMarcus Cousins after he injured his right knee in Monday’s contest in Chicago. As the Kings headed into tonight’s game, the team has struggled all season when he hasn’t suited up. Without the All Star center in the lineup, the Timberwolves looked to capitalize on that with their rookie center Karl Anthony Towns.

Towns had a huge game as DMC watched from the sidelines. The missing presence of Cousins in the middle allowed Minnesota to score a total of 64 points in the paint.

Sacramento was able to stay in the game for most of the game thanks to Rajon Rondo. Rondo totaled 14 points in the first quarter alone for his highest total in a quarter all season. The point guard kept the Kings in a good position all through the first half, as the T-Wolves led 50-48.

Minnesota broke it open in the third quarter as the the T-Wolves shot 70% from the field in the quarter. Sacramento was unable to play tough defense and allowed their opponent to out score them by ten in the quarter. Minnesota would lead 84-72 to end the the third.

The Kings did however try to make a come back to start the fourth. They were able to go on a 15-5 run and get the score to within two points at 89-87. But Minnesota was able to hit  A 6-0 run and open their lead back up. After getting back ahead, the T-Wolves never looked back and won by nine, 113-104.

The Kings turned the ball over 17 times, which led to 22 points for Minnesota. Towns totaled 26 points and 11 rebounds. Andrew Wiggins and Zach Lavine both added 23 more as the T-Wolves shot 56.3%. The Kings turnovers cost them the gave as they did get some good production out of other players. Kosta Koufus scored 15 points and grabbed 15 boards for a double double as he started in place of Cousins . Rondo finished with a team high 25 points and added 8 rebounds and 12 assists.

The three young Minnesota players dominated the Kings offensively and Sacramento missed DMC’s presence. With the season winding down, it could be interesting to see if the Kings can win a couple ball games for pride maybe just want to get a better lottery pick.

The Kings will head back to Sacramento after their 4 game road trip. They’ve struggled at home in the past month, but hopefully the team can pull out a couple more wins as the arena’s days come to an end. The Kings take on the Suns at home on Friday, March 25, at 7 p.m.

Pelicans sweep season series vs Kings

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by Michael Martinez

picture credit Jacob Gonzalez

SACRAMENTO- The Kings had a great win last night in Los Angeles and things were looking up, but then the team came home. Recently, the Kings have struggled mightily at home and tonight was no different. The defense was flat out bad tonight especially in the first half.

The difference tonight was El Dorado Hills native, Ryan Anderson. Anderson’s huge second quarter change the game completely and the Kings really never had a chance thereafter.

The Oak Ridge high grad put up 21 points in the second quarter on 8-11 shooting, 3-4 from the field. The forward’s huge second quarter put the Kings down 74-53 as he made the defense look silly.  Some of his shots were incredible, but nonetheless giving up 74 points was inexcusable. As a team, the Pelicans shot 83.3% in the quarter.  The Kings offense slowed down in the second quarter, scoring 22 points to New Orleans’ 41. The Pelicans’ had their largest lead of the half in the second when they were up by 24 points.

Fans booed the Kings towards the end of the quarter as the Kings gave up the most points in a half all season. Maybe that sparked some fire under Sacramento’s belt out of the locker room.

Out of the break, the Kings scored 10 straight points and cut the deficit down to 11, looking for some hope. But New Orleans never let the Kings get any closer, going up by 21 points at one point in the third quarter.

The Kings continued to struggle while New Orleans kept pouring it on. The Pelicans’ largest lead of the game came in the fourth as they went up by 27 points at one point. New Orleans absolutely dominated the Kings tonight and there was really no question about if they would get the win. Although the Kings only lost the game by 15, 123-108, the Pelicans out played the Kings in every aspect.

The loss is not all that surprising with the Kings recent struggles, plus they have not been able to defeat New Orleans. This is their sixth straight loss to the Pelicans who won all four games this season. And as the Sleep Train Arena starts to see its last games, the Kings have dropped seven consecutive games on their home floor and the games really haven’t been all that close.

The Pelicans shot 54.4% from the field and an astounding 57.1% from behind the arc, knocking down 12 three-pointers.

Anthony Davis finished with 27 points and 14 rebounds, while Anderson totaled 29 points. New comer Tim Frazier scored 14 points for New Orleans and added nine assists.

Darren Collison was the Kings’ leading scorer with 23 points. DeMarcus Cousins finished with 20 points, 12 rebounds and five assists for another double double. Cousins now has 26 double doubles in his last 32 games he’s played in.

The Kings once again showed struggles in playing back to back games. Heading into the contest, the team was 3-12 when playing consecutive games and now that makes it 3-13. It is difficult to play without three of the team’s guards, including Rajon Rondo, but there’s no excuse for the team’s poor effort tonight.

Sacramento is now 26-41 and will head to Detroit to take on the Pistons on Friday. With the season coming to an end, maybe it’s best for the Kings to hope for the best possible draft pick and regroup next season.

 

Turnovers cost Kings in New Orleans

Published on by Michael MartinezLeave a comment

by Michael Martinez

picture credit USATSI

SACRAMENTO-I’m just as confused as the next person who watched tonight’s game against the Pelicans. The Kings looked dominate early on and played great basketball, however the team could not find a way to close out.

Turnovers and lackluster defense hurt this team especially down the stretch. After leading for the majority of the game, the Kings let a 17 point lead in the third quarter completely vanish. And while the Kings kept holding onto their lead, they let the Pelicans come back late and win the game, 115-112.

Out of the gate, both teams scored very quickly. Offense came in a hurry and the Kings started with a fast paced tempo. This allowed Sacramento to take the lead for most of the quarter, but the Pelicans never quit.

Up 27-20 with 3:35 left in the first quarter, the Kings allowed New Orleans to go for a 10-0 run that ended after Omri Casspi put back a lay up for the Kings’ first field goal in two plus minutes.. The Pelicans held a 30-29 lead, but Casspi knocked a pair of free throws to regain the lead. The Pelicans would finish the quarter with the lead after Alonzo Gee made a layup and was fouled with .3 seconds in the quarter. Gee made the free throw to put the Kings at a disadvantage after one, 33-31.

DeMarcus Cousins and Norris Cole put on a scoring frenzy for their respective teams. Cousins finished with 13 points and Cole scored 14 for team highs. The Pelicans shot 56% from the field, but their seven turnovers allowed the Kings to keep it close. Rajon Rondo added five points and five assists with Rudy Gay scoring seven.

The second consisted of a lot of scoring runs. New Orleans started it off with a 6-0 run, 9-0 continuing from the first quarter. But the Kings were able to hit a 9-0 run of their own. Again, the Pelicans scored 5 straight to take a 44-40 lead.

Sacramento once again answered with an 11-0 run to lead 51-44. Jrue Holiday stopped the run with a lay up but the Kings kept their scoring up. The Pelicans turnovers really cost them. Their 15 first half turnovers led to 18 Kings’ points. The Kings largest lead in the quarter was 15 and Sacramento would hold a 63-50 lead heading into the locker room.

Cousins held a game high with 23 points in the first quarter and tallied nine rebounds. The Kings shot at 54.2% in the half as they dominate the second quarter with their uptempo offense.

The third quarter is where things changed. Pelicans’ head coach Alvin Gentry picked up a technical before the third started. Gay hit the free throw for a 14 point lead before any time came off the clock.

Anthony Davis was dominate and chipped away at the Kings’ early 17 point lead. Davis kept the Pelicans right in the game in the third and the score was 89-83 after three. Cousins was once again phenomenal but Sacramento had seven turnovers in the third, which led to eight Pelicans’ points. The turnovers allowed the Pelicans to hang around even after the Kings had been up by so much.

The Pelicans started the final quarter with a 6-0 run to tie it up at 89. The Kings answered right back with an 8-0 run to go back up, 97-89. Sacramento was unable to figure out a way to close out the resilient Pelicans. The turnovers cost Sacramento again as they gave the ball away seven more times in the fourth quarter.

Holiday was huge for the Pelicans with nine fourth quarter points. With a little under two and a half to play, the Kings had a 108-106 lead. Cousins knocked down a pair of shots at the charity stripe to go up 110-106. Davis had dunk to keep the game within two.

With a under a minute remaining, the Pelicans had the ball. The Kings left Dante Cunningham wide open for a three and the forward nailed the jumper. The Pelicans took the lead 111-110. Holiday came up big as he knocked down a shot after a Sacramento miss to put the lead up to three.

Out of the timeout with 12.8 to go, Gay was able to score a quick two. Cole was then fouled and made both free throws. Darren Collison rushed to bring the ball up court and lost it to Holiday who let time expire.

Cousins was his usual self, scoring 40 points and grabbing 16 boards. Rondo had a nice game with 18 points, 10 assists but the point guard had five turnovers. Gay added a double double as well with 18 points and 10 rebounds.

The Kings shot the ball at a great 49.4 shooting percentage from the field but 24 total turnovers led to 22 points for New Orleans. Davis had 31 points and 10 rebounds. The backcourt duo of Cole and Holiday was key to the Pelicans success. Cole totaled 23 points and Holiday scored 20 while adding 10 assists for the double double.

After looking to have a sure win, the Kings will need to regroup and figure out how to close out games. This is the Kings’ second consecutive loss after losing to San Antonio on Saturday.

The Kings will take on the LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers at 7 p.m. at Arco Arena.

Sacramento Kings Thursday night game wrap up: Kings end four game skid in Dallas, win 104-101

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by Michael Martinez

picture credit Ronda Churchill/AP

Wednesday night in Dallas was an important match up for the Sacramento Kings. The team headed into the night on a four gaming losing streak and a 22 game losing streak on the Mavs’ home court. Overall, the Kings put in a tremendous team effort and were able to defeat the Western Conference’s sixth seed, Dallas Mavericks, 104-101.

Rudy Gay was in the starting line up for the Kings who played tough against Dallas in the first quarter. The Kings’ only flaw was five turnovers but they did a great job of rebounding and passing the ball. Rajon Rondo had four of the Kings’ eight assists in the quarter as he headed back to Dallas.

Sacramento struggled with the three ball to start the game, 0-7, but managed to stay in it. Nobody on the Kings scored more than four points and the Mavs got a nice first quarter out of David Lee. After one, the Mavs led Sacramento, 24-19.

The Kings played an even better second quarter. Marco Belinelli came alive with eight points to start the quarter for the Kings, who would go on an 11-4 run. Sacramento moved the ball extremely well throughout the half, but best of all they played great defense. The Kings did not allow the Mavs to get inside and forced Dallas to shoot out on the perimeter, who shot 1-11 from beyond the arc at the half.

At the half, the Kings held a 50-45 and shot well in the half. The team did a better job with the ball, only one turnover in the second quarter. DeMarcus Cousins and Rondo had a team high with eight points apiece with Rondo adding seven assists.

The Kings did much of the same in the third quarter as the second.

The Kings kept the momentum from the second quarter.With 7:38 remaining,  Ben McLemore  had a fast break jam causing a timeout by Dallas with the Kings up 60-55. Out of the timeout, Sacramento went on another run, 7-2, which finished with a sweet McLemore crossover who nailed a three off the dribble. Dallas was forced to call another timeout. The Mavs did answer back with eight straight points of their own

The third was a very clean half four both teams and Chandler Parson kept finding a way to score for the Mavs. Through three, Sacramento was able to shoot over 50% from the field and hold their lead, 73-69. The quarter was pretty even and both teams had 46 points in the paint. The Kings defense was still very solid, however.

In the fourth, the Kings went on another run, 7-2, to start the quarter off. The run would become an 11-2 run in a little less than four minutes. Belinelli was once again clutch for the Kings as he hit a three to put Sacramento up, 89-76, as Dallas took another time out.

The Mavs were able to make a push and after being down by 14 at one point, were only down by five with a little over a minute left to play. Unfortunately, the Kings could not make a free throw to save their life. At the 35 second mark, Cousins was fouled and missed both free throws. Darren Collison was fouled 12 second later and went one for two at the charity stripe to lead 102-97. Dirk Nowitzki scored very quickly to cut the lead to three.

Belinelli was fouled and missed both free throws. On the second miss, the Kings fought for the rebound and the ball squirted out. Both teams scrambled for the loose ball and Collison came up with it and fouled.

Collison finally put down two free throws for the Kings to go up 104-99 with four ticks remaining. Nowitzki was able to put in a late lay-up for a final score 104-101.

Many Kings player had great games. Cousins finished with 22 points and 13 rebounds. Rondo notched 18 points and tallied 12 assists.

Off the bench, Collison had 14 points and Belinelli added 16. Belinelli appears to be coming out of his season slump and was a huge spark for Sacramento. The Kings shot the ball extremely well shooting at 52.5% although their three pointers were mostly off. Parson finished with 28 points in the game but the Kings defense was able to hold on and they closed out a fourth quarter for the victory.

The Kings are now 25-35 and will head to San Antonio on Saturday. The team faces off against the Spurs, who clinched their 19th consecutive playoff berth in their last game. Tipoff starts at 5 p.m. as the Kings look to redeem a loss to San Antonio from a couple weeks ago.

Careless with the ball, Kings still nab victory

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by Michael Martinez

picture credit: Associated Press

SACRAMENTO- Flashback Friday took place at Sleep Train Arena with the old school court on display. The Kings took the fans back in time as well by playing a lot more competitive basketball and picking up a victory. The win came in big part to tremendous play from DeMarcus Cousins, Rajon Rondo and Rudy Gay. Darren Collison was a huge spark off the bench. After a ton of talks of firings and trades prior and during the All Star break, the Kings pulled out an important win.

In the first quarter of play, the Kings and Nuggets went back and forth for the majority of the quarter. Sacramento played better defensively, but both teams were very careless with the ball. Sacramento’s five first quarter turnovers hurt them as they lead to nine points for Denver.

Luckily, the Kings played some better defense and their All Star center DeMarcus Cousins picked up right where he left off. Cousins got to the line six times in the quarter and nailed all six shots from the charity stripe. Rudy Gay showed some confidence in his game by totaling eight first quarter points, 2-3 from the field, with both coming from beyond the arc.

Rajon Rondo also sunk two three pointers. The Kings shot uncharacteristically well beyond the three-point line, 5-7, in the first quarter.

Rondo and Denver center Jusuf Nurkic each picked up a technical after a little shoving match and trash talk coming off a Ben McLemore offensive foul.

Sacramento capped off the quarter with a three-point buzzer beater from Darren Collison off a Rondo assist. Through one quarter, the Kings led Denver, 31-24. The Kings held the Nuggets to less than 30 points, for the first time in Sacramento’s last ten games.

After a nice first quarter, the Kings scored five points in the first minute of the second quarter to go up, 36-24. But soon after, the Nuggets found some offense of there own for a 10-2 run in a minute and 20 seconds.

 

The Kings took a timeout to slow down the Nuggets. Out of the timeout, the Kings went out scored Denver 17-8 with 5:54, which put them up 55-42 with 5:54 left in the half. The run was capped off by a monstrous slam by Cousins who was fouled. Cousins was fouled on the dunk and made the free throw for a three-point play.

Collison made a technical free throw after Nuggets’ head coach Michael Malone picked up a technical. Malone chirped at the refs and his frustration led to the tech.

The Kings were careless with the ball yet again with eight turnovers leading to 11 Denver points, but they did capitalize off Denver’s six turnovers. The Kings scored 11 points as well and their hot shooting kept them up on the Nuggets. Sacramento shot 59.5% from the field and went 10-13 from behind the arc in the first half. Although they kept shooting well from three-point range, the Kings got back into the paint, adding 20 points in the paint in the second quarter and a total of 26 in the first half. The Kings led the Nuggets 70-57 through the first half of play.

A dominant offensive performance came from Cousins, who scored 24 points, 8-11, and grabbed eight boards in the half. Gay also shot the ball well, 5-9 from the field, 4-4 from beyond the three-point line, for 16 points. Rondo and Collison, who came off the bench, each totaled 12 points, while Rondo added 6 assists. Denver’s Danillo Gallinari had the team high for the Nuggets with 17 points in the half and Joffrey Lauvergne had 13.

After an incredible offensive first half, the Kings slowed down at an incredible rate in the third quarter. The team totaled a measly 18 points with Cousins scoring nine of those 18. Cousins continued to get to the line, 5-5 from the charity stripe in the quarter. The quarter was slow and the Kings managed to turn the ball over five more times. With the score 79-72, the Kings pulled out a 7-0 run to go up 86-72. The Nuggets only totaled 20 points with eight of those from Gallinari.

With a quiet third quarter from both teams, the Kings led 88-77 through three.

The fourth quarter showed more offense especially for the Nuggets who found their stride. Denver was able to keep things close by putting up 33 in the quarter, but Rondo came up big for the Kings. Rondo hustled really hard, added eight points and six assists in the fourth quarter. Rondo was clutch going 4-6 from the free throw line late in the ball game. The Kings were able to come out with a win after the break over the Nuggets. The final score was 116-110.

Cousins finished with 37 points,12-20 from the field and a career high 20 rebounds. Cousins also went 12-15 from the line as he got into the paint a lot and Denver’s bigs played him tough. The Kings totaled 56 points in the paint.

“[Cousins] was flat out amazing.” Collison said “They couldn’t stop him.”

Rondo had a big game and was especially important down the stretch. He finished with 24 points, 8-16 from the field, 10 assists and 9 rebounds.

“Rajon had great control of the game down the stretch” said head coach George Karl. “And understanding who were playing and what we had to do to be successful.”

Gay matched Rondo with 24 points and off the bench Collison totaled 17 points.

The Kings offensive was once again very good, except for the third quarter. The team made no three pointers in the second half, which slowed their scoring down quite a bit. The only real flaw of the game was the team’s 22 turnovers that turned into 34 points for Denver. The defense was much better and the Nugget’s high points total mostly came from carelessness as they scored 26 fast break points.

“We really didn’t go over much offense [during practice]. We basically just [practiced] a lot of defense.” Gay said “Our offense is going to be a little sloppy.”

On Tuesday, the Kings will face the Nuggets in Denver. They will need to stop Lauvergne who scored 22 and Gallinari who scored 27 points. These next stretch of games are incredibly crucial as Sacramento faces playoff caliber opponents. The next few weeks will say a lot about this team and it looks like they are ready to make a statement.

Kings fall short in loss to Bulls

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by Michael Martinez

Photo credit (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

SACRAMENTO- A Chicago Bulls team without All Star Jimmy Butler gives opponents a much better chance at winning, or at least competiting. Butler sat out Wednesday night’s ball game with left knee tendinitis. The Kings did do a good job of sticking around with the Bulls, but allowed E’Twaun Moore to tear up the defense as if he was Butler.

Sacramento once again allowed a player who never really impacts games to get a career high in points. The Kings had a lot of sloppy play and their defense was not consistently strong enough to ever allow them to over come the Bulls. Missed free throws cost the Kings as well especially when it counted. Even with another monster game from DeMarcus Cousins, who was honored as an All Star prior to the game, Sacramento could not overcome the Bulls. The Kings (21-27) lost to the Bulls (27-21), 107-102, in a tightly contested match up in Sacramento at Sleep Train Arena.

The Kings lacked urgency to start the game. Sacramento looked slow and the Bulls took advantage, especially Moore. Moore scored ten of Chicago’s first 13 points causing Sacramento to take a timeout at the 7:02 mark. Moore would finish the quarter with 13 points, a point shy of his career high.

Marco Belinelli’s shot started to look better, scoring six points in the quarter, as he got another start. The Kings were able to hang around in the quarter in big part to DeMarcus Cousins, who scored eight points in a row later in the quarter causing the Bulls to call a timeout with Chicago up by eight. The Kings’ defense caused five turnovers, but could not find a way to stop the Bulls from scoring as Chicago shot 57.1% from the field. The Bulls did an excellent job behind the three-point line, going six for eight.

The Bulls took advantage of the Kings’ four turnovers with nine points off those turnovers. Allowing the Bulls to shoot at a high percentage had the Kings down, 35-24, after one quarter of play. For the fifth straight game, the Kings allowed their opponent to score 30 or more points in the first quarter.

“It’s a nightmare,” said Coach George Karl.  “I’ve never had this many games on your home court come out flat.”

Coming off of a sluggish first quarter, Darren Collison helped pick up the pace for Sacramento. Off the bench, Collison finished the half with 13 points, eight of those from the second quarter. The Kings’ defense did a better job against the Bulls’ offense and found some of their own as well.

With 4:35 left in the second quarter, Omri Casspi and Bobby Portis received a technical foul each after the pair were yapping at one another over a prior play.

Down by four, Sacramento looked to keep the game close but the Bulls went on a 6-0 run to go up by ten as Chicago continued their good ball movement with a little under three minutes to play in the half.

Belinelli scored six more points in the second quarter. Belinelli hit two three-pointers for a total of 12 points in the half. Belinelli’s threes helped keep the Kings within reach with one of those threes coming from a Cousins’ screen and put the score at 60-57. Belinelli’s three would be the last field goal of the half with the Bulls leading the Kings, 60-57 after one half of play.

Omri Casspi and Bobby Portis  received a double technical after the pair were yapping at one another over a prior play.

Moore eclipsed his prior career high of 14 points with 15 in the first half for a halftime high. Cousins scored 14 points for a team high. Chicago had ten second chance points in the first half, as they out rebounded the Kings, 26-18. Chicago crashed the boards much harder than the Kings, but with 28 points in the paint Sacramento kept it close.

The Kings started the third quarter off with a 5-0 run, giving them their first lead since early in the first quarter. But the Bulls followed it up with a 5-0 run of their own. The Kings got to 66 points, which was later changed to 64 as a Rudy Gay field goal was changed to a shot clock violation. After that point, Sacramento turned the ball over on five straight possessions, but luckily the Bulls did not do so well either. Throughout the quarter, Sacramento inched closer and closer, but the eight third quarter turnovers never gave them a chance to regain the lead.

Both teams did very little offensively, with Chicago scoring 20 and Sacramento scoring 18. The Kings did a much better job of rebounding the ball with four offensive boards and 14 total in the quarter. Gay scored six points on 3-6 shooting for a total of ten, looking much better in the third quarter after foul trouble in the first half.

Moore continued to play well out of the break with seven points in the third. Cousins also had a big quarter with eight points, as him and Moore tied for a game high with 22 points. After a lot of careless basketball, the Bulls still maintained their lead, 80-75 through three.

The fourth quarter came down to the wire although the Bulls started out the quarter on a 6-0 run. Again, the Kings were able to stay in the game and went up by as many as ten in the quarter. With a little over three and a half minutes to play, Chicago was up 99-90 over the Kings. But Belinelli’s improved shooting came in clutch for Sacramento as they got the lead down to four, 105-101, after he hit a three pointer while getting fouled.

Belinelli missed the free throw, but Cousins grabbed the board and was fouled. Cousins only made one free throw to cut Chicago’s lead to three with 45 seconds in the game. Sacramento kept getting stops and had possession down three with 17.9 seconds.

Out of a timeout, the Kings drew up a play to get Cousins the ball inside for a quick two, but Boogie could not convert on two separate tries. The Kings fouled Moore with 10.4 seconds left and the game seemed basically over. However, Moore missed both free throws and Sacramento got the rebound with nine seconds remaining. Cousins got fouled and missed the first free throw, letting out great frustration afterwards. Boogie missed the second shot on purpose and got called for a lane violation.

Pau Gasol, who finished with 16 points and 13 boards, made two free throws to close out the game and give the Bulls the victory, 107-102. Rudy Gay fouled out by fouling Gasol.

Derrick Rose had a solid fourth quarter with eight points, totaling 21 points and adding nine assists with six boards. Moore finished with a career high 24 points as he filled the shoes of Butler tonight.

Cousins added another double double on the season, 30 points and 11 rebounds, finishing with a game high. Cousins admitted to being banged up after a very physical game, but is still ready to go. Belinelli scored 18 points for Sacramento, 7-14 from the field.

Off the bench, Collison scored 19 points but did not see much playing time in the second half. Rajon Rondo added nine assists for the Kings, who continue to score well in the paint, but have lacked good starts in games.

The defense got better, but Chicago shot 52.4% from the behind the arc, which was a  big difference maker as well as their 19 fast break points. Both teams finished with 17 turnovers in a very sloppy game.

“Starts. Turnovers hurt us tonight, transition defense hurt us tonight,” Cousins said.

The Kings have now lost five of their last six games and are looking for answers with four games left before the All Star break.

“I would probably say our only pattern is our effort coming out early on in games. We’ve got to find a way to improve that,” Cousins said when asked about characteristics in their losses.

The Kings, now 21-28, will need to practice what they preach heading into the last four games to gain momentum as they near the break. On Friday, Sacramento will take on the Brooklyn Nets on the road as they look to get the roller coaster season back in their favor with some much needed road wins.

“We’ve got to get three, we have to,” Cousins said.