Sacramento Kings: Player grades from win over Timberwolves
The Sacramento Kings topped the Timberwolves for the second time this season, 141-130, but who stood out the most?
Well, that was an entertaining one. The Sacramento Kings took the win in a seesaw affair against the Minnesota Timberwolves and moved themselves to eighth in the West at 15-12.
Sacramento controlled the first half in this one, ending the first quarter up 35-31, en route to a 13-point halftime lead. De’Aaron Fox paced the Kings early, scoring nine points in the first, while Nemanja Bjelica had 12 for Sacramento at the end of two.
After dominating the first half of this one, the Sacramento Kings came out flat in the second half. Despite being seemingly in control throughout the game, the Kings allowed the Wolves to score 42 points in the third, before ending the third up just 96-92.
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The fourth quarter is where things go really dicey for the Kings. Sacramento opened up a massive 120-103 lead before letting Minnesota go on a 16-6 run to cut the lead to 126-119. Seven, however, is as close as the Wolves would come to regaining the lead, as the Kings high-level clutch play continued and they closed out a 141-130 win.
Game Notes
The Sacramento Kings set a franchise record for made three pointers in a game Wednesday night, making 19/38 from distance.
The Kings bench was electric in this one, as Marvin Bagley III, Bogdan Bogdanovic and Yogi Ferrell combined for 54 points, 17 rebounds and 15 assists in 73 total minutes. They also shot 18/26 from the floor and 6/10 from three.
Around the league, the Sacramento Kings are expected to be active in trade discussions and as Sactown Royalty’s Richard Ivanowski pointed out, Yogi Ferrell getting extra run in tonight’s game could be an effort by the team to showcase him a hit before a potential trade.
Yogi Ferrell came into this game very early, with 3:16 left in the first. He immediately scored.
— Richard Ivanowski (@ivanowskinba) December 13, 2018
I can’t help but wonder if this is a showcase for a potential trade. The restriction to move him is lifted on Dec 15th.
Player Grades
A+. In 26 minutes off the bench, Marvin Bagley III did work. He put up a double-double, going for 17 points, 10 rebounds and three assists on just five (!) shots, as he went an incredible 9-10 from the charity stripe. All in all, Bagley has really started to come into his own lately and this performance is just the latest in his breakout month.. Power Forward . Sacramento Kings. MARVIN BAGLEY III
Revenge game anyone? Bjelica sure thought so, as he went off for 25 points, five rebounds and three assists on 9/15 shooting (4/9 3PT). In two games against his old team, Bjelica is averaging 19.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, two assists and two blocks on 53.5 percent shooting.. Power Forward. Sacramento Kings. NEMANJA BJELICA. A+
Sacramento Kings. BOGDAN BOGDANOVIC. A+. In a game the Kings scored 141 and won by 11, there’s plenty of ‘A+’ grades to hand out and Bogdan is no exception. Bogi went 9-15 from the field for 20 points, five rebounds and six assists and was a +17 in 31 minutes off bench.. Shooting Guard
A+. Where has this Yogi Ferrell been? Well to be fair, he has been buried on the bench all season, but he broke out in a big way tonight. In 16 minutes of play, Yogi went off for 17 points and six assists on 5-6 shooting from the field (4-4 3PT). Ferrell was also a +14 and while tonight he had a big breakout, his role is incredibly uncertain and could change from game to game.. Point Guard. Sacramento Kings. YOGI FERRELL
B+. Buddy Hield had a solid game tonight, going 7-13 from the field for 20 points, but had a zero +/- in this one and only played 26 minutes. Buddy’s 26 minutes were the seventh fewest on the team, behind Iman Shumpert <i>and</i> Bogdan Bogdanovic. While this likely won’t be a regular occurrence, it’s still something worth monitoring in case the Kings look to move Buddy back to the bench in favor of Bogi.. Shooting Guard. Sacramento Kings. BUDDY HIELD
Sacramento Kings. WILLIE CAULEY-STEIN. B-. Willie Cauley-Stein has seemingly fallen back into his old ways. After a strong month to start the season, Willie has reverted back to his inconsistent ways. Willie went 5-9 from the field for 14 points, eight rebounds, three assists, a steal and two blocks. While the stat line is solid, WCS was only a +2 and struggled mightily from the line (4-9) until the closing minutes (go figure). He’s played some amazing games this season, but often falls back and gets outplayed by Bjelica and Bagley.. Center
C. De’Aaron Fox didn’t have his best game tonight. While he started strong, going 4-4 for nine points in the first quarter, but quickly fell into the background going just 1-4 for four points the rest of the game. While he also added in eight assists, he turned the ball over four times and was a -3 (second worst on team) in 32 minutes. Fox has played at a high-level almost all season, so this is likely an anomaly, still, it’s wasn’t his best performance and his grade reflects that.. Point Guard. Sacramento Kings. DE’AARON FOX
31 minutes, 3/8 shooting and eight points. Oof.. Shooting Guard. Sacramento Kings. IMAN SHUMPERT. D-
Next. Sacramento Kings Rookie Report: Recovering from injury. dark
Next Up: Golden State Warriors (19-12) vs. Sacramento Kings (15-12) on Friday, Dec. 14.