Sac-Town Crown – Sacramento Kings Weekly Recap – Still In It!

Sacramento Kings Weekly Recap

3.2-3.8.20

Opponents: Washington Wizards, Philadelphia 76ers, Portland Trail Blazers, Toronto Raptors

Starting off the week, the Kings still had a glimmer of playoff hopes.

With just over 20 games left in the regular season, Sacramento needs to keep tallying up wins, controlling what they can, and wait for other teams to lose.

Nail-biter Against Washington

Sacramento started off the week at home versus the Washington Wizards, who have scoring machine Bradley Beal, and are 9th place in the eastern conference.

The Kings were on fire, and built up a 28 point lead at one point in the game!

In typical Kings fashion they lost the 3rd quarter, 46-19, and ALMOST let the Wizards back in the game.

The Kings never trailed, and held on for a HUGE home win, 133-126.

Down Early and Often Against Philly

Sacramento’s next opponent was the Philadelphia 76ers, who were without Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons.

The Kings would fall down early and never bounce back.

Sacramento would get within 6 points a few times after trailing by double digits multiple times, but would never be able to make it close against Philly. The Kings lost 125-108.

Big Win in Rip City

Sacramento traveled to Portland on Saturday for the first game of a back to back.

The Kings needed a bounce back win against the TrailBlazers to keep any bit of playoff hopes alive. And that is just what happened!

Sacramento controlled the game from the tip, and never let up.

The Kings led by as much as 26 points, and were led by Bogdan Bogdanovich, who was acting as both facilitator and scorer for the Kings. Bogi scored 27 points, 7-11 from 3 point range, along with 8 assists, including 7 in the first quarter.

Sacramento won 123-111.

Week Ending Heartbreak

Coming off a win the previous night in Portland, the Kings traveled back home to play the 44-18 Toronto Raptors to finish off their week of games.

The Kings played well for 47 minutes and 47 seconds against the Raptors… It was those damned last 13 seconds that left Kings fans shrugging their shoulders and pounding their fists on the coffee table.

Up until the heartbreaking, head scratching, gut punch that was the final 13 seconds of the contest, this was one of the best Kings games I have watched all year! The Kings fought hard but lost 118-113.

Looking Ahead to Next Week

Sacramento finished the week 2-2, are 7-3 in their last 10 games, with a current record of 28-36 overall and are tied for 9th place in the NBA western conference, 4 games back of the Memphis Grizzlies.

The Kings have two games this next week, New Orleans and Brooklyn.

The Kings will need to help themselves, and hope to get help from others to have a shot at the playoffs!

I predict the Kings will go 2-0 next week!

GO Kings!

Starting off the week, the Kings still had a glimmer of playoff hopes. With just over 20 games left in the regular season Sacramento needs to keep tallying up wins, controlling what they can and wait for other teams to lose.

Sacramento started off the week at home versus the Washington Wizards, who have scoring machine Bradley Beal and are 9th place in the eastern conference.

The Kings were on fire, and built up a 28 point lead at one point in the game!

In typical Kings fashion they lost the 3rd quarter, 46-19, and ALMOST let the Wizards back in the game. But the Kings never trailed, and held on for a HUGE home win.

First Half

Sacramento Kings Weekly Recap

The Kings got off to an 8-0 start to the contest, sparked by back to back Bogdan Bogdanovich 3 pointers.

Harry Giles threw a spectacularly smooth behind the back pass to Bjelica for a dunk in transition, which got the Golden 1 crowd FIRED UP!

The Kings went on a 13-3 run at the end of the 1st quarter, and held the lead 39-23 at the end of one quarter.

Buddy Hield scored 17 points in the first half, punctuated by a layup with just over one second left in the 2nd quarter.

The Kings would lead at the half, 76-49.

Second Half

The Kings built up a 27 lead at one point, but the Wizards would not go away.

The Wizards kept chipping away at the Kings lead and finally tied up the game at 90 with just over two minutes left in the 3rd quarter.

Sacramento was outscored in the 3rd quarter 46-19.

4th Quarter Kings Resurgence

The Kings would bounce back and look like the dominant team they showed themselves to be in the 1st and 2nd quarters.

Sacramento held a 4 point lead … Bogi nabs a steal, passes up the floor … Bjelica lobs to Len for a rim-rocking alley-oop!!

That Len slam put the Kings up 109-105.

Late in the 4th quarter Fox took a confident step back 3 pointer to put the Kings up 122-111! That was followed by a CoJo steal and basket, 124-111 in favor of the Kings!

Sacramento controlled the rest of the game and held off the Wizards comeback!

The Kings won 133-126!

Sacramento is 6-1 since the All-Star break, tied for the best record in the NBA in that time span!

Individual Stats and Thoughts

De’Aaron Fox took over the game late, just as the leader of the team is supposed to do!

Fox scored 31 points on 12-19 FG, 2-4 3pt FG, 5-6 free throws, 4 assists and 1 turnover!

Buddy Hield had a big first half, scoring 17 points. He did not score in the second half though. He was 4-8 from 3pt range on the game.

Alex Len had another very impactful game. In his 14 minutes he scored 12 points, 6-8 FG, 6 rebounds and 1 block.

Team Stats and Thoughts

Both teams shot over 50% from the field, Kings 56% and Wizards 51%.

Both teams shot well from the charity stripe. The Wizards went 28-34, 82%, and the Kings shot 20-24, 83%.

The Kings out-rebounded the Wizards, 50-38.

Sacramento destroyed the points in the paint category, 66-44.

Team Stats	Wizards	Kings
FG	41-80	50-89
Field Goal %	51.2	56.2
3PT	16-38	13-29
Three Point %	42.1	44.8
FT	28-34	20-24
Free Throw %	82.4	83.3
Rebounds	38	50
Offensive Rebounds	2	8
Defensive Rebounds	29	34
Assists	28	23
Steals	10	13
Blocks	5	2
Total Turnovers	14	15
Points Off Turnovers	21	23
Fast Break Points	21	18
Points in Paint	44	66
Fouls	22	24
Technical Fouls	0	2
Flagrant Fouls	0	1
Largest Lead	0	28

ESPN Game Stats

Kings Come Out Flat, Remain Flat

Sacramento Kings Weekly Recap

The 76ers won the tip and set the tone of the game from the start.

The first play of the game started off with an easy entry pass into 76ers veteran Al Horford, who easily backed down the younger, smaller Harry Giles for an easy two points at the rim.

Early in the game Harry Giles knocked down a tough, running, left hand hook shot, a shot which he has been taking and hitting with confidence recently.

The 76ers got out to an 18-8 lead early.

De’Aaron Fox had two crafty ‘And 1’s’ on drives to the basket early in the 1st half. Fox was getting into the lane and showing off his arsenal of attributes around the paint early and often.

The Kings fought back and tied the game 30-30 late in the 1st quarter, but that would be the last time things were that close.

Sacramento fell down by as much as 12 points in the 2nd quarter.

At halftime Fox scored 13 points, and Bazemore with 12 points off the bench. The Kings trailed at the half, 63-53.

Second Half

Halfway through the 3rd quarter the Kings were down 61-80.

The Kings then went on a 12-0 run to cut the deficit to single digits!

This would be a theme of the second half; fall down by double digits, fight back to within single digits, but not quite close enough, and repeat that process.

With under 3 minutes left in the 3rd quarter Sacramento went on another big run, 15-2, to get within 6 points at 82-76.

4th Quarter – Not Quite Enough

Sacramento fell down by 20 points early in the 4th quarter, 110-90. The Kings would then go on another run, 10-0, to make it closer at 110-100.

Sacramento would try and fight back again late, but it was too little too late.

Philadelphia dominated from the tip and earned the win in Sacramento, 125-108.

Individual Stats and Thoughts

Fox led the Kings with 23 points, on 9-17 FG, 0-4 3pt FG, adding in 7 assists and only 1 turnover.

Buddy Hield scored 22 points in 25 minutes off of the bench. Buddy shot 6-10 from 3 point range!

76ers forward Tobias Harris had himself a game. Harris scored 28 points, grabbed 14 rebounds, 11-22 FG, 4-6 3pt FG.

Shake ‘Rattle & Roll’ Milton has been playing well recently for Philly. He scored 20 points, on 8-14 FG, 3-5 3pt FG.

Team Stats and Thoughts

Sacramento shot 53% FG in the game, but only 38%, 11-29 from 3 point range. Sacramento didn’t make their first 3 point shot until a few minutes into the 2nd quarter.

The 76ers shot 45% from 3pt range, 17-37.

Philadelphia dominated the offensive glass, grabbing 14 offensive rebounds.

Matchup	76ers	Kings
FG	47-96	42-79
Field Goal %	49.0	53.2
3PT	17-37	11-29
Three Point %	45.9	37.9
FT	14-17	13-18
Free Throw %	82.4	72.2
Rebounds	50	44
Offensive Rebounds	14	4
Defensive Rebounds	31	33
Assists	24	23
Steals	8	7
Blocks	2	4
Total Turnovers	13	18
Points Off Turnovers	16	22
Fast Break Points	9	18
Points in Paint	52	56
Fouls	18	21
Technical Fouls	0	1
Flagrant Fouls	0	0
Largest Lead	20	0

ESPN Game Stats

Kings Blaze the Blazers in Road Win

Against the 76ers on Thursday, the Kings came out flat and stayed flat, in a frustrating loss. This was not the case on Saturday, as the Kings traveled to Portland to face the TrailBlazers in the first game of a back to back.

Richaun Holmes was back in action, coming off the bench for the Kings after missing over a month with a shoulder labrum tear.

Sacramento controlled the game from the tip, and never let up.

The Kings lead by as much as 26 points, led by Bogdan Bogdanovich, who was acting as both facilitator and scorer for the Kings.

This win helped the Kings keep pace with the 8th place Memphis Grizzlies.

Game Summary

Sacramento Kings Weekly Recap

The Kings started off the game on a 26-10 run, led by Bogdan Bogdanovich, who was acting as facilitator early on in the contest.

Bogi threw back to back lobs, which were converted by Giles and Fox, respectively.

Bogi tallied 7 first quarter assists, Harrison Barnes had 11 first quarter points. The Kings led at the end of one quarter, 40-24.

2nd Quarter 3 Point Kings Barrage

Sacramento was ON FIRE from deep in the 2nd quarter.

The Kings were 14/21 from deep in the first half.

The Killer B’s – Buddy, Barnes and Bazemore – combined for 10/12 from 3 point range in the 2nd quarter!

The Kings lead at the end of the first half 77-54.

Second Half Action

Bogi scored the first 9 points for the Kings in the second half.

Sacramento was still able to hold their lead at double digits most of the second half. Though, at times in the 3rd quarter the Kings resorted to isolation basketball and didn’t look like they did in the first half.

Scuffle In Rose City

A series of hard screens between CJ McCollum and Alex Len turned into a shoving match, and then evolved into a chest puffing match between a few more sweaty millionaires in tank tops. I love CJ McCollum as a player, but he would have had his world ROCKED by the enormous human that is Alex Len.

Kings Hold On for the Win!

The game was never in question, and the Kings held on for the win 123-111.

With this win, Sacramento held it’s ground in the race against the 8th place Grizzlies and extended their ‘lead’ in the ‘in-conference’ win category against the Blazers, in case of a ‘tie-breaker’ for the 8th seed in the NBA west.

Sacramento has been looking great recently. Besides a minor hiccup against the Thunder and the 76ers, the Kings are 7-2 since the All-Star break and looking to make it a contest against the Raptors in the second game of a back to back on Sunday!

Individual Stats and Thoughts

Bogdan Bogdanovich was the Kings offensive leader in the win against the Blazers. Bogi scored 27 points, 10-15 FG, 7-11 3pt FG, 8 assists and only 1 turnover!

Buddy Hield came off the bench and scored 26 points on 6-9 from 3pt range.

Richaun Holmes played 19 minutes, scored 10 points and grabbed 8 rebounds in his first game back after missing over a month due to a shoulder injury.

Harrison Barnes also had 20 points, on 7-13 FG, 5-7 3pt FG.

Fox didn’t shoot well but still scored 14 points, while dishing out 11 assists.

Team Stats and Thoughts

The Kings dominated from behind the 3 point line.

Sacramento made 21-39, 54% compared to Portland who was 10-39, 25% from deep!

Sacramento shot well from the free throw line, going 20-23 for 87%.

The Kings won the assist battle, 30-22.

Matchup	Kings	Blazers
FG	41-85	42-89
Field Goal %	48.2	47.2
3PT	21-39	10-39
Three Point %	53.8	25.6
FT	20-23	17-26
Free Throw %	87.0	65.4
Rebounds	53	50
Offensive Rebounds	11	10
Defensive Rebounds	36	31
Assists	30	22
Steals	9	9
Blocks	3	3
Total Turnovers	15	11
Points Off Turnovers	20	11
Fast Break Points	20	16
Points in Paint	34	54
Fouls	23	16
Technical Fouls	1	1
Flagrant Fouls	0	0
Largest Lead	26	2

ESPN GAME STATS

Heartbreak at Home

Coming off a win the previous night in Portland, the Kings traveled back home to play the 44-18 Toronto Raptors.

The Kings played well for 47 minutes and 47 seconds against the Raptors… It was those damned last 13 seconds that left the Kings fans shrugging their shoulders and pounding their fists on the coffee table.

Up until the heartbreaking, head scratching, gut punch that was the final 13 seconds of the contest, this was one of the best Kings games I have watched all year!

This was a game of runs.

As the legendary Chico State men’s basketball coach Greg Clink would say, “It’s going to be a game of runs! We are going to go on runs, they are going to go on runs.”

That’s exactly what this game was, hot streaks and cold streaks, but overall solid, exciting NBA basketball!

Game Recap

Sacramento Kings Weekly Recap

Sacramento started the game off a bit slow, starting 0-5 from 3pt range, falling down 20-9 early.

The Kings went on multiple scoring runs and capped off the first quarter with a 12-0 run, punctuated by a Richaun Holmes block with a few seconds remaining.

The Kings fought back to end first quarter tied at 22.

Sacramento’s bench played well and made an impact in the 2nd quarter.

Alex Len came in and controlled the paint on defense and was effective on offense, scoring 11 first half points. Buddy Hield also had 11 points off the bench.

The Kings were moving the ball well, making extra passes and being unselfish.

Sacramento had a lead of as much as 8 points in the 2nd quarter, but Toronto caught fire towards the end of the quarter to end the half up by 1 point, 51-50.

Second Half Action

The Kings came out of the locker room flat and the Raptors built up a lead of 10 points, helped out by an 8-0 run, with 8 minutes left in the 3rd quarter.

Sacramento ended the 3rd quarter down 4 points, 78-74.

Exciting and Deflating 4th Quarter

The Kings were full of energy and vigor as the 4th quarter began.

With just under 11 minutes left, Kent Bazemore received a pass, drove the lane, took off from Raley Field (Go Rivercats!) and threw down a monstrous left handed slam that gave the Kings the lead, 80-79. That slam capped off a 16-4 Sacramento run!

The Kings took advantage of multiple scoreless droughts throughout the game to comeback or build a lead against the Raptors.

The Kings run and lead grab prompted the Raptors to call a timeout.

After that timeout, it was the Kyle Lowry show.

Lowry scored 7 straight points out of the timeout, and put the Raptors up 86-82 with 9:00 to go.

The Kings were plagued in the 4th quarter by their inability to pair stops and baskets together. Sacramento seemed to be able to get baskets, but not stops, or get stops but not get baskets.

After trading buckets, Sacramento strung together 3 stops in a row on defense. This was punctuated by multiple Fox 3 point makes!

That put the Kings up 99-100 with 3:45 left!

Last Minute Excitement!

Sacramento needed stops and they just couldn’t seem to get them.

With 34 seconds remaining, and the Kings down by 3 points Bogi took a good look from DEEP behind the three point line… no good… Fox grabs the offensive rebound, drives to the bucket draws the foul… ‘And 1’! He converts the free throw!

111-111 with 34 seconds remaining!

The Kings trade baskets, free throws and found themselves down 116-113 with 13 seconds remaining.

LOL WUT?! Kings Make Bonehead Decisions Late

With 13 seconds left, the Kings had a chance to tie or go down by one and play the steal/foul game.

Fox gets the ball, gets to ‘his spot’, which is the elbow extended 3 point shot. De’Aaron is well defended but has a little space… let’s the 3 pointer fly…. looks good…. nope! Off back iron.

The Kings have one more chance…. with 7.5 seconds left Sac in-bounds the ball… they look discombobulated…. Buddy Hield is not on the court… Bjelica dribbles right… throws up a deep three with more than 5 seconds left on the clock… airball!

The Kings lose in saddening, confusing fashion 118-113.

Individual Stats and Thoughts

Fox scored 28 points on 8-16 FG, 2-6 3pt FG and 10-10 FT! Fox was clutch down the stretch when it came to free throw shooting and helped keep the Kings in this game!

Alex Len had a big impact, in just 15 minutes Len scored 16 points, 6-9 FG, and grabbed 7 rebounds and blocked 2 shots.

Bazemore scored 15 points, on 6-11 FG, and grabbed 6 rebounds.

Team Stats and Thoughts

Sacramento shot terribly from the three point line, going 8-31 for 25%.

The Kings bench outscored the Raptors bench 51-7!

Sacramento shot well from the free throw line, 21-23 for 92%.

Sacramento dominated points in the paint, 60-36.

Both teams did a good job taking care of the ball, with the Raptors committing 9 turnovers and the Kings 11.

Matchup	Raptors	Kings
FG	39-82	42-90
Field Goal %	47.6	46.7
3PT	19-48	8-31
Three Point %	39.6	25.8
FT	21-27	21-23
Free Throw %	77.8	91.3
Rebounds	46	53
Offensive Rebounds	2	10
Defensive Rebounds	34	40
Assists	27	24
Steals	10	5
Blocks	3	7
Total Turnovers	9	11
Points Off Turnovers	13	15
Fast Break Points	23	17
Points in Paint	36	60
Fouls	22	22
Technical Fouls	0	1
Flagrant Fouls	0	0
Largest Lead	12	8

ESPN GAME STATS

Looking Ahead

Sacramento Kings Weekly Recap

The Kings finished the week 2-2, 7-3 in their last 10, and 28-36 overall.

Sacramento is tied with the New Orleans Pelicans for the 9th seed in the west, and are 4 games back of the 8th place Memphis Grizzlies, who are 32-32.

The Kings play only 2 games this upcoming week.

On Wednesday, 3/11, Sacramento faces off against Zion Williamson and the Pelicans in Sac-Town, on PRIMETIME! This will be the Kings only nationally televised game of the regular season.

Sacramento will then have 3 days off before playing the Brooklyn (I started typing New Jers…) Nets on Sunday in Sacramento.

With 18 games remaining the Kings will need to play over .500 basketball, get some head to head wins and get help from some other teams!

I still have hope and think the Kings will go 2-0 this week!

Thank you for reading SpikeballTom’s Sacramento Kings Weekly Recap!

GO Kings!
-SpikeballTom