A Royal Pain
Fansided

Recap: Sacramento Kings Unable To Keep Up With Spurs

By Rafe Wong

The San Antonio Spurs' Dejounte Murray (5) chases the ball after he blocked a shot by the Sacramento Kings' Kosta Koufos, not pictured, as the Kings' Frank Mason III (10) trails the play on Saturday, Dec. 23, 2017, at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, Calif. (Hector Amezcua/Sacramento Bee/TNS via Getty Images)
The San Antonio Spurs' Dejounte Murray (5) chases the ball after he blocked a shot by the Sacramento Kings' Kosta Koufos, not pictured, as the Kings' Frank Mason III (10) trails the play on Saturday, Dec. 23, 2017, at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, Calif. (Hector Amezcua/Sacramento Bee/TNS via Getty Images) /
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The Sacramento Kings were unable to keep up with the San Antonio Spurs tonight which resulted in a 108-99 loss for the purple and white.

The Sacramento Kings were looking to extend their two-game winning streak tonight against the San Antonio Spurs. Going into the game, both teams would be shorthanded due to injuries. For the Kings, De’Aaron Fox would be sidelined because of a quad injury he suffered against the Brooklyn Nets. For the Spurs, Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard were unavailable to play.

Game Summary

The contest started as an offensive shootout. Both teams were in their zones shooting the ball which resulted in a tied score of 33-33 after 12 minutes. For the Spurs, they made 61.9% (13-22) of their shots from the floor and 75% (6-9) from the perimeter. For the Kings, they shot 58.3% (14-25) from the field and 100% (5-5) from the perimeter.

In the second quarter, both team’s offenses cooled off, especially Sacramento’s. The Spurs’ defense buckled down in the second which resulted in just 16 points on 5-16 shooting from the purple and white. Going into halftime, the Kings trailed 62-49.

The Kings were able to bounce back once the second half started. The team’s offense started to pick up once again and their defense was solid. As a result of an efficient period, the Kings found themselves down by single digits as the quarter ended.

Sacramento had momentum when they entered the fourth, but they were unable to take advantage of it. The Spurs showed in the final 12 minutes why they are considered one of the stronger teams in the NBA as they kept the Kings in check. When Sacramento showed any signs of a rally, San Antonio dialed in on defense while they remained effective offensively. They kept this trend until the final buzzer sounded.

Takeaways

  • Buddy Hield was granted a starter tonight and he responded well by scoring 24 points on 9-17 shooting.
  • Willie Cauley-Stein had a solid performance as he was active on both ends of the floor. He ended his night with 22 points and 11 rebounds.
  • Frank Mason III struggled tonight as he scored just 3 points on 0-6 shooting. One of the first times he has had a terrible performance at the NBA level.
  • The Kings failed to stop the Spurs’ offense, especially LaMarcus Aldridge who scored 29 points.
  • Tonight was the first time Rudy Gay played against his former team in Sacramento since signing with San Antonio last summer. He finished the game with 7 points and 4 rebounds.
  • Bogdan Bogdanovic had a nice night scoring the ball as he scored 16 points on 6-6 shooting. Bogi’s shooting continues to look more efficient by the game as he is starting to get more comfortable with the NBA playing style, in my opinion.

The next time Sacramento hits the hardwood will be in Los Angeles as they face off against the Clippers Tuesday night.

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