The Sacramento Kings came into Friday night’s game against the Golden State Warriors with what should have been a distinct advantage. The Warriors came into the game without their two big men, starting center Andrew Bogut and power forward David Lee. Sacramento starting center DeMarcus Cousins was set to take advantage of mis-matches in the paint with Bogut and Lee out. All the signs pointed to a big night for Cousins. Instead, Golden State brought a very tenacious defense to the game, which left the Kings with no answers as they proceeded to get run out of the Oracle Arena in Oakland.
Spurring what ended up as a route of the Kings, center DeMarcus Cousins found himself in foul trouble early. VERY early. According to San Jose Mercury News , within 1 minute and 18 seconds into the game Cousins had already picked up his second foul of the game, and Sacramento lost the advantage inside that should have been a deciding factor in the game. Cousins had to make his way to the bench as Sacramento head coach Michael Malone drew a technical foul while arguing the foul call. Golden State then proceeded to outscore Sacramento 28-6 in the paint on the night.
The Kings shot a miserable 32.1% from the floor during the game, while also committing 16 turnovers. At the half, Sacramento had 27 points , the same score the Warriors had a little over six minutes into the game SFGate reports. The Warriors went on a 15-4 run shortly after Cousins went to the Sacramento bench in the first quarter, and went on a 12-0 run to end the first half, making the score 59-27 at the half.
Sacramento was never in any danger of being able to make the game manageable. The Warriors scored 16 of the first 22 points in the third quarter, and Golden State led by as much as 42 points. The Warriors’ starters took a rest for the entire fourth.
DeMarcus Cousins did manage to lead all Sacramento scorers with 19 points, but only two other Kings players hit double-digits, as Ray Guy and Jason Thompson both managed 10 points each. Looking at the box score on ESPN , it show that while Sacramento only had those three players reach double-digits , Golden State only had three players who did not.
Golden State’s Klay Thompson led all scores with 21 points, while Stephen Curry , who has come up big in a few recent games, finished with 13 points and 5 assists.
The Sacramento Kings are now 27-49 on the season, and barely above the Lakers and Jazz for last place in the Western Conference.
[Image via ESPN]
