Sacramento Kings get steamrolled in Milwaukee, have five-game win streak snapped
Heading into a matchup with the Milwaukee Bucks on a five-game win streak, he Sacramento Kings couldn’t keep up and got blown out, 144-109.
We all knew this game wouldn’t be easy for the Sacramento Kings, and they just weren’t up to the task against the Eastern Conference-leading Bucks. Midway though the first quarter, it seemed as though the Kings might have a shot to catch the Bucks sleeping, but boy were we wrong.
The Sacramento Kings used a 10-0 run early in the first to take a 14-7 lead before Milwaukee responded with a 16-1 run of their own, which was a sign of things to come for this young Kings team on the road. Buddy Hield led all players with 12 points at the end of the quarter, with the Kings down 39-30.
The second quarter is where things got really ugly. Milwaukee opened on an 8-0 run and kept Sacramento down 20 points or more for most of the quarter, eventually closing the second up 72-50. Hield only scored two points in the second, while De’Aaron Fox added in 10 points and four assists.
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Despite being down 22, the Kings have often used strong second-half play to make games competitive, but that wasn’t the case on Saturday.
The Kings were able to keep pace with the Bucks offensively in the second-half, but a brutal first-half proved too much for the Kings to overcome as they fell by 35.
Takeaways:
Buddy Hield can still score. He did most of his damage in the first quarter, but Hield poured in 19 points on 8-15 shooting and was a big reason things were close in the first quarter at all.
De’Aaron Fox had another solid game, going for 15 points, six rebounds and six assists on 6-14 shooting. His breakout campaign certainly seems like it’s legit and this solid performance against a really good Bucks team is definitely a positive in a sea of negatives for the Kings in this one.
Harry Giles remains in Head Coach Dave Joerger’s doghouse, as he didn’t see a single minute of action until midway through the fourth quarter. It’s hard to understand why the über-talented Kings rookie can’t get any playing time, especially in a game that was a blowout from the first quarter on.
Even more puzzling, is Willie Cauley-Stein and Nemanja Bjelica both struggled immensely in this one and Giles still couldn’t get time in the court. Speaking of those two, Cauley-Stein and Bjelica had a game to forget.
Bjelica shot 2-8 en route to just four points while grabbing only four rebounds. Cauley-Stein, however, shot well (2-3) but only had six points to go with five fouls and three turnovers. WCS did have a pair of blocks, however, his first multi-block game since the season opener.
Justin Jackson played well in what was arguably his best game of the season. He put up 22 points on 9-12 shooting and even shot over 50 percent on threes (4-7). Jackson has been a big negative for Sacramento thus far, so if he can be a positive contributor some nights it could go a long way towards the Kings finishing at or near .500.
dark. Next. How are the Kings finding early success?
Up Next: Toronto Raptors (8-1) vs. Sacramento Kings (6-4) on Wednesday, Nov. 7.