Tag: Zach Randolph

Kings beat the Sixers 101-95 in Philly Tuesday night to sweep the season series

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
Z=bo vs sixers
Zach Randolph was a leader in the Kings victory over the Sixers Photo USA Today Sports

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings picked up their first win on their four-game road trip Tuesday night when they downed the Philadelphia 76ers 101-95 in Philadelphia. The victory gave the Kings the series sweep over the Sixers who they defeated in Sacramento on November 9th 109-108.

That is a bit ironic after the Kings just finished being swept by the Toronto Raptors on Sunday.

The Kings found themselves down 78-71 as they headed into the fourth quarter. They would need a 10-point effort from Buddy Hield and nine-points from Garrett Temple to lead a 30-point scoring barrage that would help them to victory. Willie Cauley-Stein added six-points in the final period as the Kings outscored the Sixers 30-17 in the fourth quarter.

Sacramento used 12-of-13 players on their bench in the contest. Only Georgios Papagiannis did not play. George Hill was not available due to illness.

The Sixers held a 57-48 lead at halftime due to some solid play from Robert Covington, Ben Simmons, T.J. McConnell and JJ Redick. Philly outscored the Kings 30-18 in the second quarter and it looked like the Sacramento squad might be in for a long night.

Sacramento kept things close in the third period which allowed them to have opportunity to take control in the fourth quarter.

Kings star of the game

Frank Mason to hoo[
Frank Mason had another strong game off the bench for the Kings Photo USA Today Sports
Rookie reserve point guard Frank Mason gets the star of the game nod for the win over the Sixers on Tuesday night. Mason scored 16-points in just over 22-minutes of playing time on the floor. The four-year Kansas alum shot 7-for-9 from the floor and went 2-for-2 from behind the 3-point line. He also recorded two blocked shots in the game. Mason has demonstrated a maturity and confidence coming off the bench that has served the Kings very well this season.

Kings co-stars of the game

  • Zach Randolph made a good argument that he should have been the star of the game. The veteran power forward put up 27-points and grabbed five rebounds in just over 28-minutes on the court. The man who was brought in as a “role model” has become “a game changer” for the Kings.
  • Buddy Hield did not have his best night from 3-point land but he shot 9-for-19 for the game. He recorded 24-points, grabbed five rebounds, dished out two assists and made three steals in just over 28-minutes of playing time.

Sixers star of the game

Ben Simmons has to get the star as he came within one assist of recording a triple-double. Simmons scored 13-points, hauled in 12 rebounds and distributed nine assists in his 32-plus minutes on the floor.

Sixers co-stars of the game

  • Forward Robert Covington recorded 17-points despite having a very tough shooting night. Covington shot 5-for-19 overall and just 2-for-13 from 3-point range. He did go a perfect 5-for-5 from the free throw line.
  • Jerryd Bayless scored 15 points for the second-unit coming off the bench and seeing just over 26-minutes of action in the contest. Bayless shot 5-for-12 overall and hit 4-of-8 opportunities from downtown.

Key Team stats of the game

Sacramento

  • The Kings shot 41-for-91 (45.1-percent) in the game and hit 7-of-27 (25.9-percent) from behind the 3-point line.
  • Sacramento went 12-for-23 from the free throw line ( the percentage was poor but the number of attempts was excellent and was a real improvement)
  • The Kings committed just 12 turnovers which became 15 Philly points

Philadelphia

  • The Sixers shot 34-for-81 for the game. That was 10 less attempts and seven less conversions than the Kings.
  • Philly hit 10-of-35 3-point attempts. That was three more conversions than the Kings.
  • They went 17-for-24 from the free throw line. The Sixers hit five more free throws than the Kings.
  • Philly out-rebounded the Kings 53-39

Up next

Kings (10-20)

Sacramento wraps up their four-game road on Wednesday night when they will face the Brooklyn Nets in Brooklyn. The Nets are 11-18 on the season. FiveThirtyEight.com gives the Kings a 27-percent chance of winning the game and makes them a six point underdog.

Sixers (14-16)

Philly will host the Toronto Raptors on Thursday night. FiveThirtyEight.com makes the Sixers a 0.5 underdog and gives them only a 48-percent chance to win.

 

Kings Press Row Podcast for 12-13-17: A split at home and back on the road again

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
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De’Aaron Fox was not afraid to go up against the veteran DeRozan (Photo Jordan Chapin SportsRadioService.com)

Host: Charlie O

  • A look back at the home games with Toronto and Phoenix

  • A look ahead at a very tough four-game road trip to Minnesota, Toronto, Philly and Brooklyn

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Buddy Hield directs the offense against the Raptors (Photo Jordan Chapin SportsRadioService.com)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another slow start sinks the Kings: Raptors win sixth straight 102-87

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

 

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JaKarr Sampson drives to the hoop versus the Raptors (Photo Jordan Chapin SportsRadioService.com)

by Charlie O. Mallonee with Jordan Chapin

Sacramento – On Sunday afternoon, I had to keep slapping myself in the face and saying we’re not in Milwaukee anymore Toto. Still it felt like we were in Wisconsin eight nights ago when the Bucks opened the game with a 14-0 run on the Kings because the Toronto Raptors opened the game on Sunday in Sacramento with 13-0 run on Kings.

Just like they did last week in Milwaukee, the Kings made a game out of it thanks to some outstanding play by their second-unit led by the scoring of Buddy Hield and the hustle of “Two-way” signee JaKarr Sampson. Zach Randolph also continued to be the grind it out, being the blue collar leader the Kings hoped he would be by producing another double-double game.

At the end of 48-minutes of basketball, the results in Sacramento were the same as they were in Milwaukee. The Kings had to hang another “L” on their schedule board as they lost the game 102-87. The Kings record now stands at 8-18 for the season

With the victory, the Raptors improve to 17-7 for the season. They have won six consecutive games including the first two games of this four-game road trip. Toronto plays the Clippers in LA on Monday night and then face the Suns in Phoenix on Wednesday before heading back across the border.

Sacramento

Kings star of the game

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Z-Bo settles his team during a timeout late in the game (Photo Jordan Chapin SportsRadioService.com)

Co-writer Jordan Chapin and I had a split decision on who should be the Kings star of the game.

Chapin went with Zach Randolph which is a very difficult choice to argue with in this case. The 36-year old veteran led the Kings in scoring with 19 points and in rebounds with 11. It is his fourth double-double performance of the season. Randolph also led the team in time on the floor playing almost 34-minutes.

I selected Bogdan Bogdanovic who tallied 15 points in the game shooing 5-for-10 from the floor and hitting 4-of-8 3-point attempts. He made the start in place of George Hill who was not with the team for personal reasons. Bogdanovic played almost 30-minutes and scored seven points in the first-half and eight in the second-half. The Kings “oldest rookie” also always impresses with his hustle on defense

Kings co-stars

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Buddy Hield directs the offense against the Raptors (Photo Jordan Chapin SportsRadioService.com)

Buddy Hield was given strong consideration for star of the game. “Buddy Buckets” posted 17-points connecting on 7-of-13 field goal attempts and converting 3-of-5 tries from “downtown”. He grabbed three rebounds, had two assists and added one steal. The one downside to his game was six turnovers.

JaKarr Sampson played hard in his 19-minutes on the court. Sampson went a perfect 5-for-5 shooting including one 3-pointer. He also made four rebounds and blocked three shots. Before you get to excited about Sampson, Dave Joerger indicated in the postgame press conference that JaKarr would be headed back to Reno as soon as Willie Cauley-Stein is game-ready again. Sampson is a victim of too many players and too few playing minutes.

Also seen in limited supporting roles for the Kings

Skal Labissiere rejoined the Kings after playing one game with the Reno Bighorns. Labissiere actually made the start playing just over 14-minutes. He scored six points and pulled down six rebounds.

Justin Jackson also returned from his stint in Reno. He played just over 33-minutes scoring three-points, hauled in five rebounds and dished out three assists.

Toronto

Raptors star of the game

DeMar DeRozan made it easy to choose him as the Raptors star of the game by scoring 25-points while shooting 9-for-15 from the field. The talented guard also converted 7-of-11 attempts from the free throw line. DeRozan also handed out nine assists in his almost 35-minutes on the court.

Raptors co-starts

Serge Ibaka was a 20-point man for Toronto in the game. He shot 8-for-13 overall and sank 4-of-7 from behind the arc. Ibaka also grabbed four rebounds.

The other member of the Raptors dynamic backcourt duo Kyle Lowrie has to be given credit as well. He scored 15 points and recorded a double-double by adding 12 rebounds. He did all of that while working through a 4-for-17 shooting night. That is what you call hanging in there.

Team numbers

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De’Aaron Fox was not afraid to go up against the veteran DeRozan (Photo Jordan Chapin SportsRadioService.com)

Sacramento

  • Turnovers 21 which resulted in 27 Raptors points. They had just 15 assists – that ratio will never be acceptable at any level of basketball
  • 42 rebounds including 7 offensive rebounds
  • Shooting: 47.9-percent overall (35-73) – 10-for-23 (43.5-percent) for 3-point field goals
  • Free throws 7-for-14: percentage is too low. The number of attempts is too low.
  • Kings biggest lead of the game: 1

Toronto

  • Shooting 39-for-87 (44.8-percent) from the floor. The Kings had a better shooting percentage but the Raptors made 14 more attempts and while making 3 additional two-pointers, 1 more three-pointer and they converted six additional free throws for the 14 points they outscored the Kings by in the game.
  • 44 rebounds – 12 on offense.
  • Raptors largest lead 15 points

Up next for the Kings

The Phoenix Suns will visit the Golden 1 Center to take on the Kings on Tuesday night. Sacramento will then head out on a four-game road trip and will not return home until December 23.

 

 

Z-Bo goes head-to-head with Boogie and leads Kings to a 116-109 OT win in NOLA

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

kingspels graphic

by Charlie O. Mallonee with Jordan Chapin

The Sacramento Kings went into the game in New Orleans on Friday night as eight to 10.5-point underdogs. FiveThirtyEight.com gave the Kings just a 15-percent chance of leaving the “Crescent City” with a win. By the end of 53-minutes of playing time in the Smoothie King Arena, everyone who picked the Pelicans to win were 100-percent wrong.

The Kings needed five extra minutes but they defeated DeMarcus Cousins and the New Orleans Pelicans 116-109 to finish their four-game road trip with a record of 2-2. Sacramento won the games in Chicago and New Orleans. They had a realistic chance to win the games they lost in Milwaukee and Cleveland. The Kings played at a higher level on this road trip.

The Kings had to fight and claw their way through the 53-minutes of playing time to stay in this game. There were 12 lead changes and the game was tied 11 times. The Pels biggest lead was 10-points and the Kings largest lead was nine-points. This contest was a “Battle Royale” from start to finish.

Z-Bo was the star of the game for the Kings

Zach Randolph
Randolph and Cousins battled each other all game long Friday night (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

The 36-year old veteran center played like a man half his age on Friday night. Randolph was the Kings leading scorer with 35-points and he made it a double-double game by hauling in 13 rebounds. He shot 14-for-22 from the field and hit 5-of-9 from 3-point range. Randolph did all of that while dealing Cousins on defense during his almost 34-minutes of playing time.

Kings co-stars

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Buddy Hield drives the lane in NOLA
  • Buddy Hield showed the fans in New Orleans what they lost when he was shipped to SAC for Cousins. Hield posted 18-points and grabbed seven rebounds. He shot 7-for-12 for the game and 4-for-5 from behind the 3-point line. Hield sank the 3-point basket that tied the game and sent it into overtime.
  • De’Aaron Fox played over 36-minutes in the game and scored 14-points. He was teamed up with Frank Mason down the stretch and in overtime to help lead the Kings to the victory.
  • Frank Mason came off the bench to lead the second-unit again on Friday night. The rookie out of Kansas scored 12-points, grabbed five rebounds and added three assists.
  • The Kings other “O.G” – Vince Carter – played a big role for the Kings versus the Pelicans. The 40-year old veteran played 32-plus minutes and scored six-points. He also recorded four rebounds and distributed two assists.  Carter also had two dunks ( three if you count the one at the final buzzer that was waved off that could have been the potential game winner).
  • Georgios “Papa G” Papagiannis played an important nine-plus minutes off the bench. The big man was almost a surprise contributor in this game. He came in and played “Boogie” tough while scoring six-points and hauling in three rebounds. Papa G was a perfect 3-for-3 shooting in the game.

DeMarcus was the star of the game for New Orleans

There are very few observers of the NBA who do not see DeMarcus Cousins as being the premiere center in the league. On Friday night, Boogie reminded everyone in Sacramento what they lost when he was traded to the Pelicans.

Cousins dropped in a game-high 38-points and made it a double-double game by adding 11-rebounds. The big man also had four assists and three steals.

Cousins shot 14-for-30 from the field (4-for-10 from 3-point land). He converted 6-of-7 opportunities from the charity stripe.

Love him or hate him – Cousins is an awesome talent.

Other Pelicans who contributed

  • Anthony “the Brow” Davis returned to action after missing three games. Davis played 30-minutes and scored 18-points. He went a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line.
  • Ian Clark scored 15 points in just under 28-minutes of playing time. He shot 6-for-8 from the field.
  • Jrue Holiday added 14 points. He shot 50-percent for the game hitting 6-of-12 field goal attempts.
  • Rajon Rondo – who has been “hot” for the Pels since returning from injury was held out for rest. That decision may be questioned after this disappointing loss.

Team stats that matter

Kings

  • SAC shot 48.5-percent (47-for-97) for the game and 43.3-percent (13-for-30) from behind the 3-point line.
  • The Kings out-rebounded NOLA 46-35
  • Sacramento dished out 21 assists and turned the ball over 20 times (good for 12 Pels points).
  • The Kings made 12 steals in the game.

Pelicans

  • New Orleans posted a 46.1-field goal percentage (41-for-89). They hit 10-of-28 3-point attempts (35.7-percent).
  • The Pelicans converted 17-of-19 free throw attempts.
  • The Pels booked 19 assists and committed 17 turnovers (became 22 Kings points).

Update from Reno

Skal Labissiere scored 29-points, grabbed 17 rebounds and added seven blocks in his start for the Big Horns this week. Look for him to be in Sacramento on Sunday.

Up next

Kings (8-17)

The Kings will return to action on Sunday versus the very talented Toronto Raptors (16-7). The game has an unusual start time as it will tip-off at 12:30 pm.

Pelicans (13-13)

New Orleans wraps up a four-game homestand on Sunday when they host the 76ers.

 

 

 

 

Kings make a huge comeback in Milwaukee but lose to Bucks 109-104

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
z-bo vs bucks
Randolph drives on the basket Photo USA Today Sports

by Charlie O. Mallonee with Jordan Chapin

If you turned off the Kings – Bucks game after watching for just four-minutes and 15-seconds, you know the score was Milwaukee 14 and Sacramento 0. The Kings entire starting lineup had not scored a point and were sent to the bench after just three-minutes and 10-seconds of playing time. So, to see the final score be Milwaukee 109 to 104 for Sacramento must come as a great shock to you.

Even more shocking to you who turned off the game may be the fact the Kings cut the Bucks lead to just one-point with 1:43 to go in the game. The Kings never held the lead in the contest but they had a legitimate chance to win the game with under two minutes remaining to play.

The Game Summary

The Kings starting five did not score a point in the opening quarter of the game. They scored just 16-points in the first-half which is lowest scoring total for a starting five in the NBA since 2014. Buddy Hield scored 13-points for the second-unit and Zach Randolph put up 12-points to help keep the Kings in the game.  Giannis Antetokounmpo posted 19 points, Eric Bledsoe put 16 in the books and  Khris Middleton scored 14 points to lead the Bucks to a 63 – 52 lead at half-time.

The Kings had to start the third quarter without Willie Cauley-Stein who strained his lower back. The injury was not deemed serious but the team wanted to be cautious and sat him on the bench for the second-half.

The Bucks came out in the third-period and caught fire just like they had at the beginning of the game. They opened up a 20-point lead twice in the quarter with eight-points from “the Freak”, five put up by Middleton and five recorded by Brogdon in just over three-minutes on the floor. At the end of three-quarters, the Bucks held an 88-76 lead.

In the final period, it was all about the second-unit for the Kings once again. The Kings were led by Bogdon Bogdanovic who led the Sacramento scoring with nine-points. “Bogi” showed the world he is not afraid to take charge when the pressure is on. Buddy Hield added six-points while Frank Mason III and Z-Bo each put up four-points.

The Kings outscored the Bucks 28-21 in the final quarter but the opening runs by Milwaukee in the first and third periods proved to be too much and the Bucks won the game 109-104.

The Kings made a great comeback but it was not enough for Coach Joerger

Outstanding performers

Kings

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Mason III played strong for the Kings on Saturday night Photo USA Today Sports
  • Zach Randolph led the Kings scoring attack against the Bucks with 22-points. He went 10-for-15 from the floor.
  • Buddy Hield jumped back in the scorebook in a big way with 19-points. He shot 6-for-12 from the field and hit 4-of-6 from behind the 3-point line. Hield also grabbed six rebounds and dished out four assists.
  • De’Aaron Fox overcame a poor early start to record 14-points. He shot 5-for-10 from the floor while hauling in six rebounds and distributing three assists.
  • Frank Mason III had another amazing game. The second-round draft pick showed again why many thought he would go late in the first-round. He put up 13-points and added three assists in the effort to overcome the Bucks early onslaught.

Bucks

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“The Freak” put up 33-points for the Bucks vs the Kings Photo USA Today Sports
  • “The Greek Freak” Giannis Antetokounmpo was the game’s leading scorer with 33-points, 13-rebounds and five assists. The 22-year old is simply amazing.
  • Khris Middleton recorded 25-points hitting 9-of-15 shots from the floor. He went 3-for-5 from 3-point land.
  • Eric Bledsoe – who has found new life in Milwaukee since his trade from Phoenix – scored 19-points while converting 9-of-10 opportunities from the free throw lines.

Team Stats

Sacramento (7-16)

  • SAC hit 37-of-77 attempts from the floor for 48.1-percent field goal shooting (which would usually mean a win)
  • The Kings went 11-for-24 (45.8-percent) from behind the 3-point line. Again that percentage would normally be associated with a win.
  • The team converted 19-of-21 (90.5-percent) chances from the charity stripe. See the Bucks stats to realize why those numbers are not that impressive.
  • The Kings had 20 assists and 15 turnovers. That is far below the desired 2:1 assists to turnover ratio that is the goal in the NBA.

Milwaukee (12-9)

  • The Bucks shot 49.3-percent from the field (34-for-69). They hit just 6-of-19 (31.6-percent) from behind the 3-point line.
  • The Bucks really helped themselves from the free throw line. They hit 35-of-42 chances from the stripe in the game.
  • The Bucks use the Fast Break to perfection as they outscored the Kings 13-2 on the break in the game.

Up Next

Kings

The team flew home after the game and will head back on the road on Tuesday when they will travel to Cleveland to get ready for a game of Wednesday with the Cavaliers.

Bucks

Milwaukee will return to action on Monday night in Boston versus the Celtics.

One last note

Justin Jackson who is on assignment with the Reno Bighorns of the G-League scored 26-points, grabbed six rebounds and added three assists on Saturday night.

Randolph shines, leading Kings to 107-106 victory over Bulls

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Sacramento Kings forward Zach Randolph (50) shoots between Chicago Bulls forward Paul Zipser (16) and center Robin Lopez (42) during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Chicago, Friday, Dec. 1, 2017. (AP Photo/Jeff Haynes)

By: Peter Elliott

CHICAGO, IL. — It was the Zach Randolph show on Friday night at the United Center.

The 36-year-old veteran big man yet again proved his worth, leading the Sacramento Kings (7-15) to a 107-106 victory over the Chicago Bulls (3-18). Randolph earned his first double-double of the season, as he notched a season-high in points with 25 while grabbing 13 rebounds in 32 minutes of action.

Although Randolph’s star shined the brightest, the Kings also received important contributions from role players like Bogdan Bogdanović, Garrett Temple, and Willie Cauley-Stein, who combined for 42 points, 12 assists, and 11 rebounds.

Bogdanović, a first-year shooting guard from Serbia also achieved his season-high in points with 19 on 6-12 shooting from the field and six made free throws in 30 minutes, the most action he has seen so far this season.

Buddy Hield struggled once more in his seven minutes of playing time, as the second-year shooting guard failed to connect on his two shots and played lackluster defense, good for a plus-minus differential of -8.

Neither of the teams that took the floor at the United Center on Friday night appear poised to contend for the Larry O’Brien trophy this summer. However, both teams made it competitive throughout, with the biggest point margin being just seven points in the third quarter.

The Bulls, who are now losers of 13 of their last 14 games turned in a solid showing for a three-win team, but it was their bench that shined. Sacramento had trouble shutting down a seat-warming trio of Paul Zipser, Cristiano Felicio, and Jerian Grant, who combined for a whopping 55 points, four more than the starters’ total of 51.

What’s Next: The Kings will head north into Milwaukee on Saturday night, seeking revenge for 112-87 blowout loss at the hands of the Bucks just a mere four days ago. Tipoff is slated for 5:30 PT/7:30 CT p.m. on NBC Sports California.

Kings Press Row Podcast Week 7 in the NBA

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

press row podcast

hosts Charlie O Mallonee & Jordan Chapin

  • Week 7 in the NBA brings some interesting match ups for us to watch on NBA TV

  • The Kings send three players to Reno to get some playing time

  • SAC wins 2 and loses 2 in week 7

  • Week 8 brings a brutal 4 game trip to the schedule for the Kings

  • Charlie O and the Chap break it all down for you

Same teams, different city with different result: Blazers down Kings 102-90

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

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by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings traveled to Portland to play the second game of a home and home, back-to-back set on Saturday night. The Kings hoped to make it two in a row over the Trail Blazers after their big win on Friday night. Those hopes would not be fulfilled.

The Blazers took their revenge on the Kings by winning game two 102-90. Portland combined strong defense with high-percentage shooting to prevent the Kings from ever having a real chance of winning the game.

PORTLAND (9-7)

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The Trail Blazers starting guards – Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum – are the focal point of the Portland offense. If the two guards cannot be shutdown, the chances of beating “Rip City” becomes very problematic.

Against the Kings Saturday night, Lillard and McCollum combined to account for 47 of the Blazers 102 points.

McCollum scored a game-high 25 points shooting 9-for-16 overall and 4-for-7 from beyond the 3-point line. He also was a perfect 3-for-3 at the free throw line while dishing out four assists, grabbing four rebounds and making two steals.

Lillard posted 22 points hitting 8-of-18 shots from the field. He did have a rough night from long-range going just 1-for-8 from downtown. Lillard did convert 5-of-6 from the free throw line and recorded six assists.

Nurkic was a different player 

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Jusuf Nurkic was not factor on Friday night in Sacramento. On Saturday, the big man scored 14 points and pulled down seven rebounds. Nurkic was factor under the basket on both ends of the court.

Meyers Leonard was a real pain

A 7-foot-1 center is supposed to be parked down low near the basket – not if you are Meyers Leonard. Leonard is a long-range shooter who really does not have a great deal of skills under the bucket.

Leonard came off the bench to score 11 points for the Blazers. He shot 4-for-8 overall and hit 3-of-5 from beyond the 3-point line. Leonard also hauled in seven rebounds.

Rip City was on fire shooting the ball

Portland shot 54.3-percent (38-for-70) from the floor in the game while hitting 10-of-21 (47.6-percent)  three-point opportunites. The Blazers took advantage of the free throw line converting 16-of-21 opportunities from the stripe.

SACRAMENTO (4-12)

Cauley-Stein leads the way again

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Willie Cauley-Stein came off the bench for the Kings again on Saturday night and for the second game in a row he was the Kings high-scorer. The big man scored 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds against the Blazers.

Cauley-Stein went 1-for-1 from 3-point land. It was the first 3-point basket for Cauley-Stein of his NBA career.

Z-Bo is back

Big Zach Randolph did not score a point and looked tired on Friday night versus Portland. On Saturday night, he looked energized and ready to play. Randolph scored 17 points and pulled down five rebounds in his 21-plus minutes on the floor.

Randolph shot 6-for-11 overall including one 3-point basket. He went an impressive 4-for-5 from the free throw line.

Four guards scored in double figures

Frank Mason is making the most of his playing time. Saturday night he scored 13 points shooting 50-percent (5-for-10) from the field in his 19-minutes of playing time. Mason also added two assists.

George Hill had another strong game shooting 5-for-11 from the field and scoring 12 points. He converted 2-of-3 three-point opportunities.

Bogdan Bogdanovic showed signs that his shot may be coming back as he went 5-for-13 from the floor and hit 2-of-6 from downtown. His form has been looking good but the ball has just not been going through the hoop.

De’Aaron Fox got the start again as Dave Joerger went with the two point guard look once again. Fox scored 11 points in 27-minutes on the floor. Fox hit 5-of-9 from the floor and dished out two assists to go with two steals.

Almost everyone played

The Kings went with a 12-man bench for this game because Buddy Hield rolled his ankle on Friday night. The good news for Kings fans is that Hield was feeling much better on Saturday but was held out as a precaution. He is expected to be available for the game on Monday against Denver.

Only Justin Jackson did enter the game on Saturday night for the Kings. Jackson did not play on Friday versus the Blazers.

UP NEXT

KINGS

The Kings will return to action Monday night when they will host the Denver Nuggets at home. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 pm.

PORTLAND

The Trail Blazers head out on the road and will play in Memphis on Monday night.

 

 

Kings storm back to beat the Thunder for their second win of the season, 94-86

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Sacramento Kings forward Zach Randolph, second from left, goes to the basket against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Andre Roberson, left, during the second half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2017, in Sacramento, Calif. The Kings won 94-86. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

By Morris Phillips

SACRAMENTO–The Kings’ desperately sought second win of the season came Tuesday night– 18 long days after the first–at Golden One Center against Western Conference heavyweight Oklahoma City. That’s the headline. But to be fair, the subtext would have to be how poorly the star-laden Thunder played–and how disinterested they looked after tripling up Sacramento in an impressive, first quarter start.

The Kings would have preferred it be about them, but it wasn’t.  At least it wasn’t after the first 12 minutes. After scoring just 10 points in the opening period–and trailing by as many as 17 points–the Kings responded, gaining the lead before halftime, and maintaining it throughout the second half in a 94-86 win.

“We beat a good team with good players, good coaching and a great front office and everybody had a part in it,” Coach Dave Joerger said. “I’d love to give a bunch of `Atta boys’ out but that was a total team effort.”

Zach Randolph led the Kings with all 18 of his points coming after the half, as Sacramento built on its slim, one point-lead at the break. Randolph’s willingness to play center in a smaller lineup keyed the resurgence as the team’s ball movement improved, and the shots began to drop.

“I’m drawing so much attention from the defense, so somebody’s open,” Randolph said. “There’s always a double team, always a man coming over so I can move the ball and get that open shot for my teammate.”

 

 

Kings play better in the Motor City but lose to Pistons 108-99

Published on by Charlie O. Mallonee2 Comments

by Charlie O. Mallonee

Pistons Little Caesars
The new Little Caesar’s Arena in downtown Detroit*

The Sacramento Kings played their best game of the three-game road trip on Saturday night in Detroit even though they lost the game 108-99. The Pistons (7-3) went on a 16-5 scoring run late in the third quarter and the Kings (1-8) were unable to close the gap after that run losing their seventh consecutive game. Sacramento finished 0-3 on the road trip.

The Kings played their best basketball against the most physical team they had to face on the road trip. Maybe the most important accomplishment was scoring more than 86 points in a game which they had not done in their last four contests. There are no moral victories but there are games where a team can show improvement. That is what the Kings showed on Saturday night. They showed improvement.

Dave Joerger went with a starting five consisting of veterans and youth. Zach Randolph and Garrett Temple were the vets who started. Third- year man Willie Cauley-Stein got the start at center while rookies Bogdan Bogdanovic and De’Aaron Fox were also in the starting five. Fox started at point guard because George Hill was not with the team due to personal reasons.

Joerger would also use a 12 man rotation versus the Pistons. Everyone on the Kings bench except Papagiannis played in the game.

The Kings managed to take the lead in this game. Their biggest lead was only one point but in was a lead. They stayed within three to four points of the lead for much of game.

Top Performers

Kings

Pistons Boggy
Bogdanovic drives the lane in Detroit*
  • Zach Randolph led the Kings in scoring with 19 points shooting 8-for-14 (57.1-percent) from the floor. Z-Bo also hit 2-of-3 from behind the 3-point line. Randolph played almost 30-minutes in the game.
  • Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 14 points against the Pistons hitting 6-of-7 shots from the field (85.7-percent). He was a perfect 2-for-2 from 3-point land. As usual, Bogdanovic played very strong defense as well.
  • De’Aaron Fox also posted 14 points but seven of those points came in the fourth quarter when the game was really out of reach. He dished out four assists in his 26-minutes on the floor.
  • Buddy Hield — who was nursing a sore ankle from the Boston game — put 13 up points and grabbed eight rebounds.
  • Garrett Temple had a very solid game with 10 points, three rebounds, three steals and one assist.
  • Willie Cauley-Stein who struggled in the first half really improved in the second half scoring eight points to go with three rebounds, four assists and two steals.
  • Frank Mason played an important role as the point guard for the second unit in the game. Mason played 21-minutes scoring seven points and distributing six assists.

Pistons

Pistons Drummond
Andre Drummond posted a double-double in the game*
  •  Avery Bradley led the way for the victorious Pistons with 24 points. He hit 10-of-15 shots from the floor (66.7-percent). Bradley played 32-minutes for Detroit versus the Kings.
  • Power Forward Tobias Harris scored 20 points, hauled in five rebounds, added five assists, had one steal and one block in the game.
  • Big man Andre Drummond posted another double-double scoring 16 points and grabbing 19 rebounds. He also had four assists, three steals and one block.
  • Point guard Reggie Jackson — who was the subject of trade rumors earlier in the week- scored 15 and dished out seven assists.
  • Former King Anthony Tolliver scored 10 points against his former team.

Team numbers

Sacramento

1-alt kings

  • The Kings shot an impressive 52.6-percent (40-for-76) from the field. They hit 10-of-21 (47.6-percent) of their 3-point attempts.
  • The Kings still did not make it to the free throw line enough on Saturday night. They made 9-of-13 opportunities. Sacramento needs to bring that free throw attempted number up to 20-plus.
  • Sac pulled down 32 total rebounds (3 off/ 29 def) which is on the low side and could be of concern if those numbers continue to be low.
  • The Kings had 24 assists and committed 18 turnovers which resulted in 18 Piston points. The assist to turnover ratio is well below the goal of 2-to-1.

Detroit

Pistons logo

  • The Pistons also shot over 50-percent from the floor as they hit 40 of their 79 field goal attempts.
  • Detroit was on fire from “downtown” as they connected on 13-of-24 (54.2-percent) of their shots from behind the 3-point arc.
  • They hit 15-of-22 attempts from the charity stripe.
  •   It was a low rebounding game for both teams as the Pistons hauled in 35 (8 off/ 27 def) rebounds.
  • Detroit came close to the 2:1 assist-to-turnover ratio as they posted 28 assists versus 15 turnovers. Their turnovers turned into nine Sacramento points.
  • The Pistons had 10 steals against Sacramento Saturday night.

Up next on the schedule

The Kings flew home after the game and will be off until Tuesday when they host the Oklahoma City Thunder at Golden 1 Center. Russell Westbrook, Paul George and Carmelo Anthony should provide quite a challenge for the Kings.

The Pistons stay in Detroit and will return to action on Wednesday when the Indiana Pacers visit Little Caesar’s Arena.

*Photos by USA Today Sports