The Kings return to Sacramento Saturday night to face the defending champion San Antonio Spurs at Sleep Train Arena. The team will look to end its three game skid and return to the win column in front of the Kings faithful.
Projected Starters
Broadcasts: TV – CSNCA
Comcast - 34 / 721
Dish - 446 / 9516
Dish Hopper – 412-34
DirecTV - 698-1
AT&T - 768 / 1768
Radio – KHTK Sports 1140 AM
2013-14 Head-to-Head
Breaking Down San Antonio
After an uncharacteristic 2-3 start to the season, the San Antonio Spurs looked their old selves in impressive victories this past week.
Off one of the more dominant team victories in the 2014 NBA Finals, the Spurs have appeared to regain their chemistry on the court in the early season. Led by Finals MVP forward Kawhi Leonard, who scored 59 total points in wins over the Los Angeles Clippers, Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers, the Spurs have won three consecutive games heading into Saturday’s tilt in Sactown.
San Antonio, which has finished first or second in its division in every season except one since 1989-90, still features the three-headed attack of Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan.
Parker tallied 28 points on 11-of-17 shooting in Tuesday’s 113-100 win over the Warriors after going 3-for-13 versus the Clippers. Meanwhile, Duncan and Ginobili combined for 29 points after totaling 28 a night earlier.
On Friday night, Duncan became the 19th player in NBA history to score at least 25,000 points in a career as he tallied 13 against the Los Angeles Lakers in a 13-point win.
The Spurs swept the 2013-14 regular season series, winning all three meetings. San Antonio holds a 106-54 lead against the Kings all-time, including a 78-38 record in the Sacramento era.
The Kings will be looking for the upset and their first home win over the Spurs since November 2007, when Sacramento earned a 112-99 victory in front of its home crowd.
Ben’s Big Week
No Kings player has shot the ball better from beyond the arc than Ben McLemore over the past week.
The second-year guard has connected on 14-of-33 triples this season and 11 in the last three outings. Against Oklahoma City and again versus Dallas, No. 23 tied his career-high with four treys in each game.
Furthermore, Thursday’s tough loss to Memphis marked the fifth-straight game McLemore has scored in double-figures. In each of the last four contests, he has reached the 15-points plateau and in the past two he has scored 17. November has provided its fair share of ups and downs, but consistency has been a staple in McLemore’s game so far this year.
#HoopsForTroops
Saturday night’s contest against the Spurs is Military Appreciation Night. All week long, the Kings organization has donated tickets to local military members.
For every ticket purchased for the Nov. 15 Spurs game, the Kings donated a ticket, which will be distributed to local military organizations.
Hoops for Troops shooting shirts will be on-sale for $20 at the game or at the Kings Team Store location at Sleep Train Arena.
For more information, please contact communityimpact@kings.com.
Injury Update
Spurs:
- Patty Mills (right shoulder surgery) is out.
- Tiago Splitter (right calf tightness) is out.
- Marco Belinelli (right groin strain) is out.
Kings:
- None