Sacramento Kings Report – Kings vs Nuggets 12.29 Recap

Sacramento Kings Back to Back Action

After coming off of a tough loss Saturday night to Phoenix, the Sacramento Kings traveled to Denver to take on the Nuggets.

The Nuggets came into this game 2nd place in the west, with a 22-9 record.
The Kings, losers of 6 straight games come in with a record of 12-20, having lost 6 in a row.

The Kings would have De’Aaron Fox back from a minor injury.
Marvin Bagley is still ruled out for a few games with a foot injury.

Sacramento has played the most road games this season in the NBA. This trip to the mile high city would be their 19th road game this season.

Would the Kings be able to end their losing streak?

Or would the thin air of Denver, paired with a tough back to back, keep the Kings huffing and puffing in the loss column?

1st Half Recap

De’Aaron Fox had the first basket of the game for the Kings, and his first basket after returning from an injury that has kept him out the last few games.

Richaun Holmes was the main source of offense for the Kings in the first half. Holmes scored 8 of the Kings first 19 points.

Holmes led all scorers in the first half with 16 points, also chipping in 6 rebounds and 1 assist.

Buddy Hield had his first 3 point make, which gave the Kings their first lead of the game 28-26, with 2:35 left in the 1st quarter.

The Kings did win the 1st quarter 32-31.

Jokic made his first basket of the game with 5:40 left in the 2nd quarter.

The Kings were able to build up a 7 point lead at one point in the first half.

Denver had a nice 16-7 run in the middle of the 2nd quarter to go up by 5 going into the half.

The Kings first half was stymied by sloppy passing, which lead to scoring opportunities by the Nuggets.

Harry Giles Sighting!

Harry Giles entered the game and I think I could hear Kings fans cheering while sitting on their couches spanning from the newly constructed housing complexes from North Natomas to the foggy hills of Auburn.

It’s safe to say that Kings fans LOVE Harry Giles!
Giles is a hard worker, an easy guy to root for, has a HIGH ceiling and is getting much better at not making funny faces when he gets a foul called on him! What’s not to like about Giles?

Giles came in and had an instant impact when he stepped on the floor. He set some nice screens, displayed smart passing, which helped to set up two Kings 3 point shots. Along with making a few shots of his own, and grabbing some rebounds, Giles had a mostly positive impact on the game.

Though, Giles does still need to work on the defensive fouls, but he is learning and improving from his early season performances.

With Dedmon requesting a trade maybe Giles will find a place in the rotation.

Second Half Action

The Kings came out a bit sloppy in the 2nd half. First half scoring leader Richaun Holmes was held to only 1 shot from the floor in the second half, which he made.

Sacramento would go down by double digits multiple times in the 2nd Half. The Nuggets were led by Michael Porter Jr. Porter made his first NBA start after being selected in the first round in 2018 but sat out most of his first year rehabbing a back injury.

Kings 4th Quarter Comeback?!

Midway through the 4th quarter the Kings went on a 14-2 run to bring themselves within 2 points at 104-106.

The Nuggets would score a few baskets in a row to increase their lead. Then a tough 3 by Hield brought the Kings to within 4 at 112-116.

The Kings needed to make some stops!
With under a minute left, and the Nuggets with the ball, the Kings needed a stop. Hield switched onto Jokic in the post, Jokic was fed the ball and hit a TOUGH mid-range leaner to extend the Nuggets lead to 118-112.

Bogi missed a 3 pointer but grabbed a long rebound! He rifled a cross court pass to his fellow Serbian Bjelica who hit an off balance 3 pointer to bring the Kings within 3 points with 16.5 seconds left… The Kings would need some good fortune to pull out this win.

Sacramento fouled Barton who hit both free throws to put the Nuggets up 4 points. The Kings still had hope! A quick 3 and a steal or foul and get the ball back, THEY HAVE A SHOT!

Fox dribbled down looking to create for a last minute comeback. Fox drives, shuffles a sketchy pass to Barnes who fumbles it, hits off his leg, falls down and the ball goes out of bounds. Possession goes back to the Nuggets with just under 3 seconds left… Sloppy late game execution… again.

The Kings could not mount a comeback, though they had the opportunity.

The Kings would lose 115-120 to fall to 12-21, 7 straight losses and 2-8 in their last 10 games.

Sacramento Kings Notable Stats

Nemenja Bjelica led the Kings, and all scorers, with 27 points on 10-13 shooting, and 5-7 from the 3 point line!

Richaun Holmes had 18 points on 9-13 shooting, but was pretty quiet in the 2nd half.

Fox had another solid game coming back from injury, racking up a double double, scoring 18 points and 13 assists, but did commit 4 turnovers.

Buddy Hield didn’t have a terrible game like his last 5 or 6 have been! Hield scored 20 points on 8-18 shooting, 3-9 from 3 point range and chipped in 8 assists, 5 rebounds and 2 steals.

And Kings fan favorite Harry Giles III had a nice stint off the bench. Giles played 17 minutes, scoring 11 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block, 1 steal but 5 fouls. Giles looked better on the floor, but still needs to work on his fouling woes.

On the Nuggets side, Michael Porter Jr. looked like the lottery pick he was touted to be. Porter had 18 points on 8-10 shooting, and looked big, athletic and skilled from 3 point line to the paint. If he can stay healthy, the Nuggets have a HUGE boost as they make their case for best in the west.

Sacramento Kings Team Stats and Thoughts

The Kings shot decently from the field, going 52.9%, and 38.2% from the 3 point line. Not great but an improvement from recent performances.

Sacramento was killed at the free throw line by the Nuggets who went 28-31 compared to the Kings 12-17.

The Kings were moving the ball around well on offense at times, and won the assist battle 32-23.

Though Sacramento committed more turnovers than Denver, 14-12, the Kings were able to get more points off turnovers, 22-17.

Sacramento has been trying to focus on defense, and running a more consistent offense early in the season, which has taken away from fast break point opportunities.

The Kings only made 2 points on fast break opportunities compared to the Nuggets 8. The Kings were stopped at the rim by the Nuggets at least 3 times on 2 on 1 and 3 on 1 opportunities.

Full game stats from ESPN: https://www.espn.com/nba/matchup?gameId=401161131

Looking Ahead – Go Kings!

The Kings take their 7 game losing streak into Los Angeles to take on the Clippers for the first time this season.

Maybe the Clip-Show will decide to enact load management on at least one of their two superstars, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. Either way, the Clippers lineup is stacked and always gives the Kings trouble.

Mr. Uh-Oh 2.0

The Kings have ALWAYS had a tough time containing the scrappy, tough Montrezl Harrell. But the Kings now have their own version of the aptly nicknamed Montrezl “Mr. Uh-Oh” Harrell in their budding big man, Richaun Holmes. It should be fun to watch that matchup!

I predict the Kings will make it close, but end up losing to the mighty Clippers.

The Kings played better against the Nuggets than in the last few games and will hopefully keep their thoughts positive and get back to their winning ways.

Go Kings!

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