Aftermath: Sacramento Kings Get Blown Out Of Oracle Arena
By Rafe Wong
Another night, another loss for the Sacramento Kings, this time to the Golden State Warriors. The Kings showed some fight in the first half last night in Oracle Arena, but after that, the Warriors ran the table the rest of way to seal the victory 122-103.
This loss is the second consecutive for Sacramento in as many nights, and their record has now fallen to 12-19. Top performers for the purple and white yesterday were Darren Collison with 13 points and 11 assists, Rudy Gay with 17 points, and Omri Casspi with a whopping 36 points as a result of making 9 three-point shots.
The Kings remained competitive with the Warriors in the first half, and thanks to Casspi’s outburst of seven three-pointers made, Sacramento had the lead at the end of the half 61-58.
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However, things went downhill quick for Sacramento to start the third quarter, as DeMarcus Cousins was ejected due to snapping at a referee for calling him for his 5th foul. Expect Cousins to receive some sort punishment from the league office for his actions. A fine or even a suspension is highly plausible.
When Boogie left, so did the momentum for the Kings. As a result, Golden State had their way with Sacramento in the third quarter outscoring them 32-14. This quarter ended up costly for Sacramento, as the Kings had no motivation in the final period due to their large deficit.
This game was an unusual one to watch for Kings fans. DeMarcus Cousins and Rajon Rondo faced early foul trouble in the beginning of the game, therefore not being much of a factor in the first half. The bench though played solid, and without their best players on the court were able to handle the league-leading Warriors outscoring them into halftime.
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The Kings are prone this season, and others before, to play a lot better against higher competition. Although they are a better team against these opponents, it doesn’t always result in wins. Last night was an epitome of that.
The Kings, compared to playing the inferior Trail Blazers the night before, played more clean and with more energy, but again were playing a team that is so much better than them resulting in the loss.
It’s excruciating because the Kings do bring their A-game against tough opponents, but fail to do so against teams that they should beat. Because of this, it has hurt mightily for Sacramento in the NBA standings. Until they can start to play efficiently against every opponent, the hopes of the team returning back to the postseason will remain a dream.