by Jonathan Santiago & James Ham

Chippy play between DeMarcus Cousins and Blake Griffin highlighted a 93-85 loss for the Sacramento Kings against the Los Angeles Clippers Thursday evening.

“I thought that was a great football game tonight,” said head coach Keith Smart of the match-up between Cousins and Griffin during his postgame comments.  “It was two big guys playing and these guys are physical.  It’s going to be a great rivalry as we develop this team to be consistent at winning.”

After posting a career-high 41 against Phoenix , Cousins was limited to just eight points in under 20 minutes of play.  Foul trouble plagued the Kings big man throughout the contest.  Griffin, meanwhile, scored just 14 points and finished one rebound shy of a double-double.

The Kings fall to 19-35 overall and 14-13 at home.  They head to Los Angeles for a re-match with Clippers on Saturday.

Read more…

Despite seemingly wavering commitment from the Maloofs, Sacramento continues to move forward in its effort to build a new downtown arena.

Last night, the Sacramento City Council voted to approve critical pre-development work toward the construction of a new entertainment and sports complex. The city will use two-weeks’ worth of funds provided by the NBA to proceed on the work which begins today.

Above is video of the question and comment portion of last night’s meeting by city council members and officials.

Follow @Cowbell_Kingdom

by Jonathan Santiago & James Ham

The Sacramento Kings climbed back from a 17-point hole, but Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns pulled away late in the final period to win 109-100 at Power Balance Pavilion.

“They could’ve rolled over and said we won’t catch-up,” said Kings head coach Keith Smart of his team after the game.  “But I thought they did a good job, held their composure, chipped away (at) the score, got back into the game and two blown coverages at a critical moment got them down to four points.”

Nash rested in the first six minutes of the fourth period while Phoenix traded the lead with Sacramento.  But in a matter of minutes after he re-entered the game, the Suns ballooned a five-point advantage to 12.

Scoring 41 points, DeMarcus Cousins surpassed a career-high 38 he set last week in Houston.  He also grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds in the nine-point defeat.  Isaiah Thomas scored 25 points tallied seven assists in the defeat.  And lastly, forward Terrence Williams played an all-around productive game, recording six rebounds, five assists, two blocks and a season-high 16 points off the Kings’ bench.

The Kings fall to 19-35 overall and 14-13 at home.  Their next game is Thursday when they host the visiting Los Angeles Clippers.

Read more…

by Jonathan Santiago & James Ham

Providing a spark off the bench,  Jimmer Fredette and Terrence Williams combined to score 31 points for the Sacramento Kings, who defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 116-108 at Power Balance Pavilion.

“Pushing the basketball,” said Kings head coach Keith Smart after Monday night’s win.  “We needed to do that and we did.”

Fredette scored 19 points, finishing just one point shy of his career high.  Meanwhile, Williams recorded his first double-double as a King, scoring 12 points and grabbing a game-high 12 rebounds.  Three additional Kings players scored in double-digits in the victory.

Sacramento improves to 19-34 on the season and 14-12 at home.  They wrap up a stretch of four games in five nights against the Phoenix Suns tomorrow evening.

Read more…

by Jonathan Santiago & James Ham

Coming off a road win in Salt Lake City, the Sacramento Kings were unable to capitalize at home, losing 111-99 to the New Jersey Nets Saturday evening.

“Tonight was one of those nights where they kept us in a bind trying to find the right group to match up to their guys,” said Kings head coach Keith Smart, who used 11 players tonight.

The Kings started the game hot, scoring 35 points and shooting roughly 60 percent from the field in the first quarter.  But the Nets came scorching back, with the final three minutes of the third quarter proving to be the difference.  Playing a lineup consisting primarily of reserves,  Sacramento was outscored 12-4 by New Jersey, who win their second game in as many nights.

The Kings fall to 18-34 overall and 13-12 overall at home.  Sacramento continues a stretch of four games in five nights with a match-up against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday.

Read more…

by Jonathan Santiago & James Ham

The Sacramento Kings fought back from a 10-point deficit, but costly mistakes and poor free throw shooting were the difference in a 103-102 loss to the Utah Jazz Thursday evening.

“They didn’t give up,” said Kings head coach Keith Smart of his team post-game.  “We had a group on the floor that did some pretty good work with each other and we did a much better job defensively in the second half; even though we broke down a few times.”

With 30 seconds remaining, Marcus Thornton scored a three-point basket out of a timeout that gave Sacramento a 100-99 lead.  The Jazz’s Alec Burks answered back, scoring a quick lay-up on the other end, leaving 12.3 seconds for the Kings.

On the ensuing possession, Sacramento called Thornton’s number again and he scored on a hard take to the basket.  But with 4.1 seconds remaining, Al Jefferson grabbed his seventh rebound and scored the eventual game-winning lay-up off of a runner missed by Devin Harris.

The win is the Jazz’s fifth-straight victory.  The Kings, meanwhile, finish a franchise record nine-game homestand with five wins and four losses.   Thursday’s defeat snaps a three-game win streak as the Kings fall to 17-30 overall this season.

Read more…

by Jonathan Santiago & James Ham

Matching a season-high three straight victories, the Sacramento Kings had an answer for every Memphis Grizzlies run and defeated them 119-110 at Power Blanace Pavilion Tuesday evening.

“We’re just going to keep playing how we’re playing right now,” said Kings head coach Keith Smart during his postgame comments.  “We’re not changing anything that we do.  We had a win streak, but we’re not taking a day off.”

Five Kings players scored in double-figures.  Leading the charge was Marcus Thornton, who finished with 31 points, six assists and three steals.  The Kings guard has scored at least 30 points in two of Sacramento’s last three games.

All of Memphis’ starters reached double-digits.  All-Star big man Marc Gasol nearly recorded a triple-double, finishing with 15 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.

The Kings improve to 17-29 overall and 13-9 at home.  They wrap up their nine-game homestand with a against the Utah Jazz Thursday.

Read more…

by Jonathan Santiago & James Ham

From  Jason Williams to Dirk Nowitzki, shooting coach Keith “Shot Doc” Veney has worked with some of the NBA’s best.  Now he’s taken on a new project – Sacramento Kings guard/forward Tyreke Evans.  Veney joins us on this week’s Cowbell Kingdom Podcast.

Highlights

• Veney is one of the most decorated shooters in college basketball history.  ”When I left college, I had that record of the most (threes) in a game, the most in a season and most in a career when I graduated.”

• Veney arrived in Sacramento last week to start working with Evans.  In addition to training players in the off-season, is it common for Veney to help players midseason, too?  ”I go around and make my rounds during the season.  It’s almost like an oil check or a check-up with the doctor.  They call and I just come out for a couple days and we just go over our mechanics and things we need to correct – just little adjustments they might need to make during the season.”

• Has the focus been on improving Evans’ mid-range or three-point game?  ”We haven’t shot any three-pointers since I’ve been here.  It’s been all mid-range.  And if you look at any great scorer in the NBA, they master the mid-range.  From a Kobe Bryant to Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant – these guys mastered the mid-range.  Can they shoot threes?  Yeah of course they can, (like) a Lebron James, but when their game takes off, they’ve mastered the mid-range game.  And Michael Jordan, he shot 17 percent from the three-point line (his first three seasons).  So the whole thing is, if you can master that mid-range, you’re putting yourself in position to be a great scorer.

• How far away is Evans from becoming a solid jump shooter?  ”Oh, he’s right there.  I mean, the thing is when he was growing up, he could shoot the ball pretty good, so, it’s not like he’s an awful shooter.  Right now it’s about the repetition, getting his confidence back and doing the things that he did when he was a youngster.  And I’ve been watching Tyreke since he was in high school and he was scoring 30 points a game back then and he could really shoot the ball.”

Listen after the jump…

Read more…

by Jonathan Santiago & James Ham

The Sacramento Kings played unselfishly for 48 minutes and were greatly rewarded.  Six Kings players scored in double figures and Sacramento rolled to a 115-99 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves Sunday at Power Balance Pavilion.

“These guys are a unique group,” said Kings head coach Keith Smart after the win.  “They’re showing us, everyone, myself, that the potential is there.  Now we just have to keep growing and eventually it’s going to be the right thing for us.”

On par with Friday’s performance against the Boston Celtics, Marcus Thornton had another outstanding game.  The Kings guard posted 16 of his 24 points in the second half to once again lead the Kings in scoring.

Kevin Love led the Timberwolves, who’ve lost four of their last five games, in scoring  and rebounds with 21 points and 11 boards.  Five other T-Wolves  also scored double figures in the loss.

The victory improves the Kings to 16-29 overall and 12-9 at home.  The 12th win at PBP tops last season’s home victory total of 11.
Read more…

by Jonathan Santiago & James Ham

After combusting in the third quarter of the previous two games, the Sacramento Kings put together a third period masterpiece of their own Friday. The Kings scored 41 points in the quarter following halftime, beating the visiting Boston Celtics 120-95 at Power Balance Pavilion.

“Everything that went wrong with us a couple of nights ago, well it all went right with us tonight,” said Kings head coach Keith Smart in his postgame press conference.  ”We moved the ball, we shared it, we ran, we passed, we defended.”

Jason Thompson recorded a second consecutive double-double, finishing with 21 points and 15 rebounds.  And after scoring just 18 points total in the previous two games combined, Marcus Thornton exploded for a season-high 36 points, just six points shy of his career-high 42.

Ray Allen led the Celtics with 26 points on 9-for-16 shooting from the field.  Rajon Rondo scored just four points but recorded 12 assists in the blowout loss.

The Kings move to 15-29 overall and 11-9 at home, matching all of last season’s win total at Power Balance Pavilion.

Read more…