Highs and Lows: Sacramento Kings Get Fried By Nuggets
By Rafe Wong
The Sacramento Kings’ losing streak will increase to five games tonight as they were defeated by the Denver Nuggets 108-96. Listed down below are the highs and lows of tonight’s contest pertaining to the Kings.
HIGHS
Darren Collison: Darren Collison had a solid night shooting the ball as he scored 17 points off shooting 6-11 from the floor. It was encouraging to see Collison get back on track on the offensive end as he has been struggling to score points since All-Star break concluded. In the last two games, Collison has averaged 17.5 points while shooting 56% from the floor. Hopefully, Darren continues his offensive rhythm going forward.
Kosta Koufos: Kosta Koufos had a well-balanced performance tonight on both ends of the floor. Kings fans expect Koufos to be solid on the defensive side of the court, but he also displayed efficiency on the offensive end as well. For the game, Koufos recorded 14 points and 10 rebounds while shooting 7-12 from the floor. Koufos continues to improve on his offensive game, and as a result, he is receiving more scoring reps as the season progresses.
Free-Throw Shooting: The Kings were able to take advantage of making their “free points” tonight. For the game, the team wearing purple were able to make 85.7% (18-21) of their shots from the charity stripe. As a result of their success from the free-throw line, the Kings avoided being blown out completely by the Nuggets in this game.
LOWS
Perimeter Defense: The Denver Nuggets are a top-ten team in the NBA in 3P%, and they proved that tonight against the Kings’ defense. With the help of Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari, the Nuggets were able to make 13 of their three-pointers while recording a success rate of 43.3% from the area. The three-pointers played a part in Denver’s success tonight in beating Sacramento in comfortable fashion.
Turnovers: Turnovers remain to be an issue for the Kings’ offense as they lost the ball a total of 15 times in tonight’s game. Prior to this match, the Kings averaged 14.2 turnovers per game. The Kings’ offense has been pretty solid overall this season, but turnovers remain to be the Achilles heel for the team.
Wilson Chandler: Wilson Chandler had himself quite a game as he recorded 36 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals while shooting 13-23 from the floor and 5-10 from the three-point line. He was clearly the Nuggets’ star player in tonight’s game as he dissected the Kings’ defense when the game was all said and done.