Highs and Lows: Sacramento Kings Blow Big Lead Against The Spurs

The Sacramento Kings played well tonight, but in the end, they lost to the San Antonio Spurs by a score of 114-104. Listed down below are the highs and lows of tonight’s game pertaining to the Kings.

HIGHS

Fast Start: The Sacramento Kings somehow dominated the Spurs in the first quarter of the game. Lead by Tyreke Evans, the Kings on both ends of the floor had their way with the Spurs, and as a result, they lead 37-15 after the first period. To be fair, the Spurs were without Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge, their two best players, but you have to give Sacramento credit for playing well at the start against a team that is still tough to beat when short-handed.

Tyreke Evans: Tyreke Evans turned into #RekeROY in tonight’s game. For the night, Evans recorded 26 points while shooting 9-13 from the floor, 3-4 from the perimeter, and 5-7 from the free-throw line. Evans definitely played a part, especially in the first quarter, in helping the Kings keep the game close.

Skal Labissiere: Skal Labissiere continues to shine for the Kings. For the night, Labissiere, in only 15 minutes of play, recorded 15 points and 6 rebounds for the game. The more playing time that Skal receives, the more efficient he becomes. He has been a shining spot for the Kings in the last few weeks and has kept Kings fans optimistic about the future of the franchise

LOWS

Perimeter Defense: The perimeter defense was a killer for the Kings tonight as they let the Spurs make 14 three-pointers off a success rate of 48.3%. The three-point shot was especially deadly for the Spurs in the final minutes of the match where they made multiple daggers to put the game away. Sacramento’s perimeter defense hasn’t been the best this season. For the year, the Kings have allowed their opponents to make a whopping 37.2% of their shots attempts from beyond the perimeter. That must change going forward if the Kings want to improve defensively.

Bench Play: The reserves for San Antonio played their butts off in tonight’s game. Compared to Sacramento’s bench, the Spurs outscored the Kings 64-48, and as a result, the bench for San Antonio was the main anchor in their comeback victory. Usually, the Kings’ bench is the one to dominate, but tonight, the Spurs had the upper hand.

Darren Collison: It has been a tough going for Darren Collison since the All-Star break ended. For tonight’s game, Collison only scored 5 points on 2-9 shooting from the floor. It seemed like Collison got out of his slump based off his last two games, but tonight he was just flat. He really hasn’t been himself for the last 7 games as he is averaging 12.3 points per game while shooting 44.8% from the floor. It’s not necessarily that Collison’s numbers are bad, but he is not living up to his expectations as being one of the if not the best scorers on the Sacramento Kings currently.