The Sacramento Kings traveled to New Orleans to face the Pelicans, losing 149-129, despite Marvin Bagley III’s career game.
Recap
Marvin Bagley III finally got a chance to play for the Sacramento Kings tonight and despite the lopsided loss, he certainly looked worthy of being the second overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft. Bagley did a little bit of everything, putting up 19 points, eight rebounds, three assists, three steals and one block in a game that got out of hand late
Everything started out well for Sacramento as they were able to keep pace with New Orleans for much of the first half despite neither side playing any defense. The up-tempo play style and excellent passing showed up throughout the first quarter, even with Sacramento going deep into their bench early on.
Bagley was the first man off the bench for the Kings, making an immediate impact. Despite some lapses on defense while checking Julius Randle, Bagley put up 10 points, two steals, one rebound and one block in nine minutes of play on a perfect 3-3 shooting.
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Anthony Davis was big reason the Kings were unable to get out to an early lead as he destroyed the Kings bigs from all over the court, finishing with 25 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, two steals and two blocks.
The poor defense gave the Pelicans easy looks and also allowed the Pels to drive in and draw fouls at an alarming rate. 15 fouls were called in the first quarter alone, though that accounts for both sides.
Sacramento went 11-players deep into its bench in the first half, with 10 of those playing five minutes or more.
De’Aaron Fox did his best to help the Kings claw back in the third quarter pouring in nine points, but things got out of hand quickly for the Kings. They ended the third down 110-89, despite 19 points from Bagley and 16 total from Fox.
The Kings gave up an additional 39 points in the fourth, cementing a second-straight loss to open the season, falling to the Pelicans by a score that looks more like something you’d see during All-Star Weekend.
Takeaways
The Kings youth showed up big tonight despite the loss. Marvin Bagley was lights out shooting 7-10 from the field en route to a career-high 19 points and a team-leading 33 minutes of playing time.
De’Aaron Fox’s ascent continued as well, as he shot 50 percent from the field, scoring 18 points, seven rebounds, and six assists. Buddy Hield put up another 17 points on 7-11 shooting.
Willie Cauley-Stein also kept up his strong play, leading the Kings in scoring with 20 points and adding seven rebounds on 9-14 shooting.
Frank Mason III is doing his best to prove he belongs in the NBA. After a strong postseason, he only played five minutes in an opening-night loss to the Utah Jazz. The script flipped tonight, however, as he played 21 minutes and added 18 points and six assists off the bench for the Kings.
Harry Giles’ foul troubles look like they’re here to stay, for now. After racking up four fouls in 10 minutes of action in the opener, he fouled out of this one, picking up six fouls in 19 minutes of play. While on the floor, however, he struggled to score, but grabbed four rebounds and a ton of excellent passes, making himself a factor despite his struggles.
Defensively this was a nightmare for Sacramento. The Pelicans were scoring from everywhere and in every way as Nikola Mirotic put up a career-high 36 points as every NOP starter ended with double-digits in scoring. They also had three double-figure scorers off the bench and became the first team in over eight years to score 149 points in regulation. Oh, and the 149 points are a franchise record for the Pelicans (previous: 139). Yikes.
Player of the Game
This honor has to go to the rookie Marvin Bagley III. After only playing 12 minutes against the Utah Jazz (a 15-year low for any second overall pick), Bagley proved himself to be worthy of more minutes.
He played 33 minutes and made an impact everywhere. Despite a few rookie mistakes on defense, he more than made up for it on the offensive end. He posted 19 points going 7-10 from the field (0-3 3PT, 5-6 FT), putting up eight rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block.
He, like Giles, also struggle with fouls in this one though. He picked up five fouls but Head Coach Dave Joerger left him out there and he never picked up the sixth.
A strong game like this is exactly what you want to see from your second-overall draft pick, for Kings fans, however, it has to feel good to see Bagley getting some extended run after hardly playing in the team’s first game.
Honorable mentions for the player of the game go to De’Aaron Fox and Willie Cauley-Stein, as both were major contributors for the Sacramento Kings in this one.
Next Up: Sacramento Kings (0-2) at Oklahoma City Thunder (0-1) on Sunday, Oct. 21