Sacramento Kings’ Veterans Hang On In Dallas, Win First Game
By Rafe Wong
The Sacramento Kings played their second game of the season tonight against the Dallas Mavericks. Scroll down below to see how the purple and white fared this evening.
The Sacramento Kings won tonight’s game against the Dallas Mavericks by a score of 93-88, winning their first contest of the 2017-2018 campaign.
Similar to their season opener, the Kings were able to keep the score close throughout the majority of the match. In fact, Sacramento was able to control the lead for most of the second half this evening.
To start the game, Dave Joerger decided to call upon George Hill, Buddy Hield, Justin Jackson, Zach Randolph, and Willie Cauley-Stein for tonight’s starting five. As a result, players like Hill, Randolph, and Hield were able to uplift the Kings throughout the game.
Top performers from the starting lineup were Hill who finished with 21 points and 5 rebounds, Cauley-Stein who recorded 10 points and 11 rebounds, and Randolph who scored 13 points and grabbed 6 rebounds.
Although the starting lineup for Sacramento played solid tonight, it was the bench which helped the team big time in the fourth quarter. Due to the play of the reserves, specifically De’Aaron Fox, Skal Labissiere, and Garrett Temple, the Kings were able to hang on to the lead in the final period of the game until Joerger called upon the starters to close.
For the game, Fox finished with 9 points and 10 assists. For Labissiere, he scored 8 points. And for Temple, he recorded 8 points and 6 rebounds while playing suffocating defense for the entire night.
The game was tight-knit all the way to the end of the game, and fortunately, the purple and white were able to close out with the help of their veterans. Key plays from Hill and Randolph definitely assisted the Kings when crunch time was in session.
The Kings now have a record of 1-1 for the year, and will have the opportunity to get over .500 in their matchup against the Denver Nuggets tomorrow evening.