Second Half Stalls Sacramento Kings In Defeat To Clippers
By Rafe Wong
Due to a tale of two halves, the Sacramento Kings lost to the Los Angeles Clippers by a score of 97-95.
Game Summary
The Kings opted again to start the lineup of De’Aaron Fox, George Hill, Garrett Temple, Skal Labissiere, and Willie Cauley-Stein. As a result, Sacramento’s offense was rolling in the first period as they finished the quarter leading 31-25 while shooting 54.5% from the floor and 80% from beyond the perimeter.
In the second quarter, the Kings’ play remained the same. The offense kept being efficient as the team shot 7/10 from the three-point line while their defense buckled down on the Clippers. Due to their solid first-half performance, Sacramento led 61-47 going into halftime.
After coming off a great first half, the third quarter was not ideal for the Kings. At one time the purple and white had an 18-point lead but the Clippers went on a 17-0 run which eventually resulted in a five-point lead for Los Angeles to end the third. Due to an increase in physicality on defense, the Clippers were able to give the Kings fits offensively, resulting in turnovers and bad shot selections.
The Clippers’ defense remained physical, but the Kings found some new energy to begin the final period. Sacramento had the chance to complete the comeback in the final minute of the game, but Blake Griffin was too much of a monster for Sacramento to handle, resulting in the loss for the Kings.
Final Thoughts
This game demonstrated two different sides from the Kings. In the first half, Sacramento was the more physical and active squad on the court which resulted in fluid offense and stingy defense. But in the second half, the Clippers were the more aggressive team which stalled the Kings big time on both ends of the floor.
Although the Kings were competitive tonight, this was a game that the purple and white should have won. With a lot of optimism surrounding the Kings’ talented youth, there is still long ways to go for this squad as they need to learn how to play effectively for a full 48 minutes of action. When that time happens is when real hope can be reborn around the Kings community.
The next time the Kings will play will be Monday night when they visit the Golden State Warriors.