Game Recap

Tracee Jay

As the final buzzer sounded in Golden 1 Center on Friday, the Sacramento Kings sat 2.5 games back in the race for its first playoff berth in over a decade.

With 20 games remaining, the fans leaving the packed arena were somber but the outlook in the locker room remained focused.

“Everybody knows what’s going on,” said Buddy Hield. “This is our job and this is the fun part about it – proving yourself. And we’ve got to prove ourselves.”

The loss dropped the Kings to 0-4 on the season against the Los Angeles Clippers and just 3-11 overall against the Pacific Division.

However, following a challenging six-game stretch - which saw Sacramento face the top two teams in each conference, Denver, Oklahoma City and Los Angeles - the team will look to get right as the 13-49 New York Knicks come to town on Monday.

“Every possession matters and everything goes down to the wire,” said Willie Cauley-Stein, who finished with 16 points and 12 boards. “Every game is a playoff game… we have to have that mentality every game from here on out.”

No matter what happens, the Kings have a fourth of the season left to shock the world and complete a goal that most NBA analysts said they had no chance of at the onset of the 2018-19 campaign.

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Kings Know the Fight is Just Beginning

Jonathan Santiago

With Playoff implications on the line, the Sacramento Kings entered tonight’s final game in Los Angeles hoping to play the role of spoiler. 

Unfortunately, the hometown team defended their turf as the Clippers toppled the Kings 115-95 in both teams' regular season finale.

Five Kings scored in double figures Wednesday night, led by Willie Cauley-Stein. He flirted with a triple-double, finishing with a well-rounded game. The second-year big man out of Kentucky totaled an impressive 19 points, 14 rebounds, six assists and one block on the night.

Sacramento played neck-and-neck with Los Angeles on their home floor until midway through the third quarter. The Clippers built on a four-point, halftime advantage by closing out the period on a 22-12 run. From there, the Clippers ballooned their lead to an insurmountable difference the Kings couldn’t overcome for the remainder of the game.

At around 50 percent, both teams shot practically even on the night. The difference in the contest, however, were three critical scoring categories. The Clippers topped the Kings in points off turnovers (16-2), points in the paint (48-34) and fast break points (26-5).

In addition to Cauley-Stein, Sacramento saw standout performances from Arron Afflalo, Buddy Hield and Ben McLemore. Afflalo scored 18 on an effective 8-of-11 from the field while Hield chipped in 16 on 2-of-4 shooting from 3-point distance. McLemore came off the bench to contribute a healthy 15 points to go along with seven rebounds, a block and an assist.

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Kings Topped by Clippers in Finale

On the road in New Orleans, the Sacramento Kings seemed poised for one of their final road tests of the season. Unfortunately, their inability to hold onto the ball sunk their chances as they fell 117-89 to the Pelicans on Friday night.

The Kings committed 22 miscues in the defeat. The Pelicans capitalized, scoring 36 points off Sacramento’s turnovers on the evening.

The Kings opened the game with promise, holding pace with their counterparts from NOLA. But mid-quarter adjustments by the Pelicans propelled New Orleans against Sacramento.  In the the final five minutes of the first period, Anthony Davis scored nine of his 19 points to catapult NOLA to what became an insurmountable lead.

In his return to New Orleans, Buddy Hield, though, didn’t disappoint. The rookie guard, whose play has impressed since joining the Kings, totaled 13 points on 6-of-9 from the field to go along with eight rebounds.

On the opposing side, DeMarcus Cousins led the way for New Orleans. Playing in his first game against his former team, the 26-year-old big man scored 37 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in the victory.

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Kings Outdueled in NOLA

Shahbaz Khan

Fresh off being named Western Conference Player of the Week, DeMarcus Cousins opened Monday’s game on a tear. In the first 12 minutes of action, Cousins recorded 18 points, five rebounds and three assists en route to a 14-point Sacramento lead. Boogie and company hit on 67 percent of their field goal attempts, assisting on 10 of their 14 baskets.

Eleven first half turnovers allowed Philadelphia to remain within striking distance despite 61-percent shooting by the Kings. Holding the Sixers to just 5-of-19 from beyond the arc at halftime, Sactown led by seven. Willie Cauley-Stein and DMC combined for 30 first half points, shooting a combined 12-of-16 from the field.

Philadelphia would however come roaring back. The Sixers nearly totaled their first half output in the third quarter alone, scoring 42 points on 70-plus percent shooting. By the quarter’s buzzer, Philly had turned a one-time 16-point deficit into a five-point lead.

Boogie went back to work in the final 12 minutes. He scored 16 of his 46 points on four shots and pulled the team within one possession with a minute left on the clock. Down by three with four seconds remaining in regulation, Arron Afflalo launched a three at the buzzer that fell just short, cementing a 122-119 defeat.

After 22 first half assists, the team finished with just nine in the final 24 minutes.

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Sixers Edge Kings Despite Boogie’s Big Night

Kyle Ramos

Going into the half, the Kings trailed the Trail Blazers by 15 points and were looking for a spark on offense.

That spark showed up in a big way in the form of Marco Belinelli and Darren Collison, who powered the Kings to an exciting comeback victory on the road in Portland.

With the Kings still behind 14 points after a back and fourth third quarter, Collison took over and went on a personal 10-0 run to shave the deficit to just five points midway through the period.

After his scoring outburst, it was Belinelli’s turn.

The new Kings guard knocked down a three-pointer (one of his four on the night) to tie the game at 89 with just under five minutes to go. Marco would go on to score 13 points in the 4th quarter, leading the Kings to a chance to win the game with 9.7 seconds remaining.

The Kings just missed a potential buzzer beater when a Collison floater missed in the final seconds, sending the game to overtime.

During the extra period, Belinelli continued to stay hot, scoring 10 of the team’s 12 points in overtime including a go-ahead three that gave Sacramento a lead that they would not relinquish.

Belinelli would finish with 32 points to lead all scorers. He also tallied four assists, three rebounds, and three steals. Collison posted an impressive double-double with his 21 points and 10 assists as well as four rebounds.

While the second half was dominated by Collison and Belinelli, Kosta Koufos also had a strong outing, recording 22 points and seven rebounds in just 23 minutes of action.

As for the rookie Willie Cauley-Stein, he also made some great plays in his 20 minutes on the court, including a steal leading to a dunk that would be his first preseason NBA field goal.

Also making their Kings debuts, Rajon Rondo and Kosta Koufos contributed solid efforts. Rondo finished with five points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals in 19 minutes, and Koufos pitched in 12 points and eight rebounds.

The Kings will look to ride this positive momentum as they travel to Phoenix to play the second game of their six-game preseason slate against the Suns on Wednesday, Oct. 7.

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Belinelli and Collison Key Comeback Win

Katie Cracchiolo

Although the Kings were without the services of DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay – who were ruled out for the team’s final three games on Saturday – Sacramento was able to keep the game close through three quarters in Denver.

A huge first quarter from Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried (19 first quarter points) set the tone early but Omri Casspi and Ben McLemore rallied to help lead the team back.

Casspi (22 points, seven rebounds and career-high seven assists) helped the Kings take their first lead of the game towards the end of the first half with an 11-0 run, while McLemore finished strong setting a new career-high with seven assists, a career-high-tying four steals and 20 points.

Sacramento closes out the season series against Denver with two wins and two losses.

Highlight: Stockton to McLemore Alley-Oop

The Kings return to Sacramento to take on the L.A. Lakers in the home finale.

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Kings Unable to Slow Nuggets

sacjwise

Omri Casspi's three free throws put the Kings up by one with 32.7 seconds to play, but just like in Sacramento three months earlier, Tobias Harris hit a clutch three-pointer and added a handful of free throws over the final half minute to put Sacramento away.

The Kings big two of DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay combined to score 68 points and grab 20 rebounds, while shooting a combined 25-of-44. However, the rest of the squad only connected on 13-of-41 for 46 points.

[VIEW NOW: Kings at Magic 3/6/2015 Gallery]

Sacramento played well in the second half to bounce back from a slow start in which the team saw its deficit balloon to a game-high 18-points. Led by Gay and Cousins Sacramento eventually took the lead twice in the fourth but it was not to be on Friday night in Orlando and Sacramento fell 119-114.

Jason Thompson is now the longest tenured Kings player in the Sacramento era. Playing in game No. 519 in the purple and black, JT surpassed Kings legend Peja Stojakovic for the honor.

Sacramento continues its eight-game road trip in Miami on Saturday night. Fans are encouraged to tune-in on Comcast SportsNet California and KHTK Sports 1140.

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Rudy's Big Night Not Enough

It’s not often a team travels over 1,500 miles for the second game of a back-to-back, but that was the case for Sacramento on Wednesday in San Antonio.

Following the Kings 38-point victory over the Knicks, the team knew it would be a different type of game against the defending champion San Antonio Spurs a night later. Although the Spurs jumped out to an 11-2 lead in the early moments, the Kings would bounce back to take the lead going into the second frame.

San Antonio used a monster first two quarters from Kawhi Leonard (career-high 19 first half points) to turn the one-point deficit into a 16-point halftime lead.

From there on, Sacramento didn’t have the legs to mount a comeback, ultimately falling 112-85.

Sacramento continues its eight-game road trip in Orlando on Friday night. Fans are encouraged to tune-in on Comcast SportsNet California and KHTK Sports 1140.