Sacramento Kings Outmatched By Spurs, Lose 113-98

The Sacramento Kings fell short to the San Antonio Spurs tonight by a score of 113-98.

The Sacramento Kings’ winning streak ended tonight in the AT&T Center as they were defeated by the San Antonio Spurs.

With this loss, the Kings now have a record of 15-34 which keeps them ranked last in the Western Conference.

Game Summary

The first quarter featured good offense being performed by both squads. For the Kings, they were able to make 53% of their baskets while the Spurs made 50% of their shots.

Despite Sacramento having a better shooting clip than San Antonio, the purple and white failed in securing the ball. For the quarter, the Kings turned the ball over six times while the Spurs did not turn the ball over at all. As a result, the Kings found themselves trailing 29-22 after one.

In the second quarter, the Kings were able to rebound. Although they trailed for most of the period, Sacramento did a good job in keeping the game close and preventing San Antonio to rally on them.

With just a couple minutes remaining in the half, the Kings suddenly made their move. Behind the play of Vince Carter, Justin Jackson, and De’Aaron Fox, the Kings were able to construct a mini-run which put them on top 50-49 going into halftime.

Once the second half was in session, the score remained to be close. But in the final minutes in the third, the Spurs showed why they were the superior team as they went on a 10-0 run to pull away with a 79-69 lead going into the fourth.

Despite the Kings scoring 29 points and shooting 7-13 from three, the Spurs were just too much to handle in the end. San Antonio’s offense was great to conclude the contest as they scored 34 points in the period while shooting 12-21 from the floor. Plus, the offense was not anchored by one specific person for San Antonio. It was truly a collective effort.

First Thoughts

Overall, I thought the Kings had a solid game, but they needed to be great tonight in order to win. It is no secret that the Spurs are significantly better than the Kings from head to toe right now, so a perfect game needed to be played by Sacramento in order for an upset to occur. Unfortunately, that was not the case. It was not even close, in my opinion.

To conclude, listed down below are some key notes to take away from tonight’s contest. 

Key Takeaways

• De’Aaron Fox had himself a game as he scored 26 points while shooting 8-15 from the floor and 6-6 from the perimeter. His 26 points tonight is a new career-high.
• The Kings’ pair of former Tar Heels had solid performances tonight. For Justin Jackson, he was able to score 14 points. For Vince Carter, he turned back the clock as he recorded 21 points and six rebounds while shooting 5-7 from the perimeter.
• The Spurs showed why they are the epitome of team basketball. The team collectively record 33 assists while turning the ball over just seven times.
• Bryn Forbes was outstanding tonight for the Spurs as he led his team in points with 23.
• Buddy Hield had a terrible night as he laid a goose egg in points. He shot 0-5 from the floor and 0-3 from three.
• The Kings were excellent shooting from the perimeter as they made 18 of their three-pointers out of 34 shot attempts.

Next time the Kings play will be against the New Orleans Pelicans Tuesday night.