The loss stung, but the effort was very impressive. In one of their better games of the season, the Kings hung tight with the elite Cleveland Cavaliers for 48 minutes, before falling 117-104 in overtime. The Kings were outscored 13-0 in the extra frame but overall played one of their cleaner games of the year, turning the ball over just nine times. In front of a nearly full house, Sacramento put on a good show, playing with maximum effort on both ends of the court.
1 – Tyreke Evans may have made his first late game mistake of the season. With 11 seconds left and the game tied, Paul Westphal elected not to call a timeout and instead let Evans go to work. Evans dribbled himself into a corner and was unable to get a shot off before time expired. Evans should have the green light in those situations but with the Cleveland defense so focused on stopping him (evidenced by James guarding him down the stretch), it looked like a great time to distribute the ball. Omri Casspi did have a good look at a three with the clock winding down. It’s hard to fault Evans, especially in this game, where he scored 28 points and tied the game at 104 with 40 seconds left. Late game decision making is one thing that will improve with experience.
2 – The Kings tried a number of defenders against James and none looked overmatched. Donte Greene, Omri Casspi and Ime Udoka spent the majority of the night on the Cavs superstar. James did finish with 34 points on 14-30 shooting, but most of his damage came from the outside. The Kings did all they could to make sure James stayed out of the paint. Tonight, it didn’t matter, as James caught fire in the 2nd quarter and continued to the finish, posting his 2nd triple double of the season.
Quick hits – The Kings starting lineup changed again and featured five players 23 years old and younger: Evans, Casspi, Greene, Jason Thompson and Spencer Hawes … Hawes and Thompson both delivered big time. Hawes outscored (17) and outrebounded (12) Shaq and also contributed 3 blocked shots. Thompson put up 18 points and 9 rebounds while leading the Kings with 50 minutes played … Andres Nocioni played a season-low 7 minutes ... O'Neal spent a few extra moments with Casspi before tip-off and according to Casspi, O'Neal spoke some words to the Kings rookie in Hebrew.
Be sure to follow me on Twitter (@KingsExaminer) or subscribe above for the latest updates.
Comments