All Spurs: San Antonio Cruises To Relatively Easy Win Against Sacramento

For more on the Kings, head on over to Sactown Royalty.

Sports Network | February 5, 2011

Sacramento, CA (Sports Network) – Tony Parker totaled 25 points and the Spurs kept rolling with a 113-100 win over the Kings, beating Sacramento for the 10th straight time.

Richard Jefferson added 16 points, and Tiago Splitter came off the bench to score 16 to pare with nine rebounds for San Antonio, which won its second in a row since losing the opener of its nine-game rodeo road trip. The 42-8 mark for the Spurs is their best through 50 games in franchise history. That is tied for the fifth-best start through 50 games in NBA annals.

The Spurs dominated the Kings just one night after Antonio McDyess tipped in a missed Tim Duncan jumper at the buzzer for an 89-88 victory over the Lakers.

DeJuan Blair tallied 10 points and 12 rebounds for San Antonio, which shot 57.1 percent from the field. Duncan ended with 12 points.

“To come here, against a team that has beaten the Lakers and New Orleans, that has played well, that’s big,” Jefferson said. “Young teams always get up for good team. And on a Friday night at (their) home, this was a situation where we knew we were coming into a difficult situation. We answered that call.”

Tyreke Evans scored 25 for the Kings, losers of two consecutive games. Beno Udrih had 18 points, one more than Carl Landry.

Unlike Friday, the Spurs took complete command in the opening quarter, shooting 14-of-24 from the field. Parker led the way with 12 points. Jefferson opened the game by drilling a three-pointer on the first possession and soon after, a triple from Parker and a Duncan jumper provided a 12-2 bulge.

Splitter tacked on a layup, which turned into a three-point play with 2.3 seconds left for a 34-19 lead after one period.

The difference continued to grow in the second with McDyess knocking down a jumper for a 49-26 cushion with nearly eight minutes left.

“I thought they put on a clinic in the first quarter against us,” Kings coach Paul Westphal said. “We tried to play catch up. We did do better as the game went on, but in the first half they shredded us.”

The Spurs, who never trailed in the game, carried a 61-43 lead into the half. The margin reached 25 at 82-57 on a Jefferson four-point play with 5:40 to go in the third.

Holding a 91-75 edge after three, the decision for the Spurs was never in doubt in the final stanza.

The Spurs have won 15 of the last 16 meetings. They’ll continue the extended road trip Tuesday against Detroit…The Spurs forced 13 turnovers, leading to 22 points…George Hill had 10 points for the visitors.

Brutal Stretch For Sacramento Kings Continues Against San Antonio Spurs

(Sports Network) - Coming off an exciting win over the two-time defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers last night in Hollywood, the San Antonio Spurs look to carry the momentum into Friday's showdown against the Sacramento Kings at Arco Arena.

The Spurs literally got a major lift from veteran big man Antonio McDyess, whose tip-in off a missed Tim Duncan jumper at the buzzer sent San Antonio to its 12th win in 14 tries. Tony Parker had 21 points and Richard Jefferson posted 18 for the Spurs, who are 1-1 on their annual rodeo road trip.

"I happened to be in the right place at the right time and it bounced right to me," said McDyess, who had eight points, eight boards and five assists.

Manu Ginobili scored 14 points and handed out eight assists, while Duncan was credited with eight points and eight rebounds. San Antonio shot just 41 percent from the floor and will also visit the Pistons, Raptors, Sixers, Wizards, Nets and Bulls on the lengthy trek.

The Southwest Division-leading Spurs are 16-6 away from the Alamo City this season and have compiled a 45-21 mark in the eight rodeo road trips since moving into the AT&T Center. This year's version will last 17 days and encompass 8,965 miles.

Meanwhile, Sacramento will continue a six-game homestand Friday night and fell to 1-1 on the residency following Tuesday's 95-90 loss versus the Boston Celtics.

Rookie DeMarcus Cousins and reigning Rookie of the Year Tyreke Evans both had 20 points for the Kings, who entered the game with three wins in their last four contests. Donte Greene and Beno Udrih had 15 and 12 points, respectively, in a losing effort.

"We're obviously not as good a team as the Celtics are but that's where we want to get," Kings coach Paul Westphal told NBA.com.

The Kings will also host Utah, Dallas and Oklahoma City, and are 7-18 in California's capital this season. Seven of their last nine games have been decided by six points or fewer, while Cousins has scored in double figures in five of the last six games.

San Antonio and Sacramento are meeting for the first time since the Spurs swept a four-game series a season ago. The Spurs have won nine in a row and 20 of the past 23 matchups with the Kings, losers in five straight and 12 of 15 bouts with San Antonio at Arco Arena.

Boston Celtics 95, Sacramento Kings 90: DeMarcus Cousins and Tyreke Evans Fall Short

Despite a huge second quarter for the Sacramento Kings, the Boston Celtics dominated the second half and led comfortably for most of the fourth quarter. Sacramento turned the ball over 20 times and were outrebounded 43-36. For more coverage, check out Sactown Royalty and Celtics Blog.

Sacramento, CA (Sports Network) – Ray Allen scored 22 points while Rajon Rondo posted 17 points and 10 assists as Boston topped Sacramento, 95-90, at ARCO Arena.

Paul Pierce had 15 points, five assists and five boards for the Celtics, who finished a four-game western road trip going 3-1 and saw one of their more impressive wins of the season when they defeated the Los Angeles Lakers, 109-96, on Sunday in a rematch of last year’s NBA Finals.

Kevin Garnett added 12 points and seven rebounds, while Nate Robinson netted 14 points in a reserve role.

DeMarcus Cousins and Tyreke Evans each had 20 points as the Kings had a two- game win streak snapped. Donte Greene and Beno Udrih had 15 and 12 points, respectively, in defeat.

Tyreke Evans and DeMarcus Cousins to Play in Rookie Challenge During All-Star Weekend

It was announced today that Sacramento Kings players Tyreke Evans and DeMarcus Cousins were selected to play in the Rookie-Sophomore game during All-Star Weekend.

Tyreke Evans is the reigning Rookie Challenge MVP after totaling 26 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals and leading the Rookies to a thrilling 140-128 victory over the Sophomores last year. Evans was joined on that team by fellow teammate Omri Casspi, who was not selected this year.

Cousins, who is third among rookies in points per game (13.5) and second in rebounds per game (7.7), was an easy selection and will join former Kentucky teammate John Wall.

The Rookie Team will be coached by Amar’e Stoudemire, and besides Cousins and Wall will include probable Rookie of the Year Blake Griffin, Derrick Favors, Eric Bledsoe, Wesley Johnson, Gary Neal, Landry Fields and Greg Monroe.

The Sophomore Team will be coached by Carmelo Anthony and joining Evans will be DeJuan Blair, Stephen Curry, Jrue Holiday, DeMar DeRozan, Taj Gibson, Serge Ibaka, Brandon Jennings and Wesley Matthews.

The Rookie Challenge will take place Friday, Feb 18th at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Schedule Just Gets Tougher as Best of East and West Come to Town

Sure, the Kings are off to a good start on this brutal 12 game stretch of playing just playoff teams, having beaten the Lakers and Hornets. But if anything, it simply gets tougher from here on. Both Boston and San Antonio lead their respective conferences and also are among the top road teams in the league.

Boston is coming off a big nationally-televised win against the Lakers that saw them dominate the 4th quarter with great team play and solid defense. The Big Three all were huge, led by Paul Pierce’s 32 points. Boston also had Kendrick Perkins come back from his knee injury this week, and they’re slowly but surely reintegrating him into the rotation.

Boston has had a bad habit this year of being a bit complacent when facing below .500 teams, with losses against Phoenix and Washington recently, as well as to Detroit, Toronto and Cleveland. If Sacramento hopes to win they’ll need to continue to play at their best while also hoping for some complacency by the Celtics, who easily beat the Kings in Boston a few weeks ago 119-95.

On Friday the Kings face the Spurs for the first time this season. San Antonio is off to its best start in franchise history at 40-7, on pace to win 70 games. Unlike the Celtics and Lakers, the Spurs have done a much better job at winning the games they are supposed to, only losing to one team below .500 all year (a 90-85 loss to the Clippers Dec. 1st). The Spurs are still a good defensive team as they’ve always been, anchored by Tim Duncan, but the biggest change has been how great their offense has become. San Antonio has the 3rd highest Offensive Rating in the league, the best they’ve ever done in the Popovich-era.

Even just one win this week would be an impressive feat for Sacramento. They’ll need DeMarcus Cousins to continue playing at a top level and the defense to stay as strong as it was last week to even remain competitive. But hey, like Kevin Garnett says, “Anything is Possible”

Sacramento Kings NBA Scores, Schedule, News: DeMarcus Cousins Getting Better, Kings on a Roll

Who are these guys?

After winning just 6 games from October to December, the Kings added 6 more wins in January, including 3 last week alone.  These weren't just fluke victories either as Sacramento beat the Portland Trailblazers by 15, the defending champion Lakers on the road, and also snapped New Orleans' 10-game winning streak.  The only loss came to the Charlotte Bobcats in an ugly game that saw 59 fouls called.

Nobody was more impressive than Rookie Big Man DeMarcus Cousins.  Saddled by foul trouble against Portland and Charlotte, he came out with a new energy starting on Friday against the Lakers.  He got a little motivation from Lakers Assistant Coach Brian Shaw.

Nate Rose Reports:

"I kind of got mad before the Lakers game," No. 15 said. "I was just warming up and (Lakers’ assistant coach) Brian Shaw came up to me and said, ‘I know who Andrew Bynum is going to eat for dinner tonight.’ It inspired me, and it has carried over."

Cousins would go off for 22 points in the first half alone, and finished with 27 points, 10 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 blocks and 2 assists in the upset victory against the Lakers.  He also only committed 1 Personal Foul and 1 turnover, both areas that he's struggled with all year.  DeMarcus followed it up the next night with another impressive performance, this time against New Orleans.  He had a near triple double with 25 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists, as well as drawing a huge charge on Marcus Thornton during crunch time.

The Kings defense has also been coming along well.  In each of their games this week, opponents were held to 96 points or below, and the highest percentage any opponent shot was the Charlotte Bobcats at 45.1%.  The Kings are now 16th in the league in Defensive Rating, the lowest they've been since the 2005-06 season when they first employed Ron Artest.  They finished 12th that year.

Samuel Dalembert has definitely been a big part of the defensive improvement.  Against Portland he helped hold LaMarcus Aldridge (who played a game-high 42 minutes and had just been named Western Conference Player of the Week) to only 9 points on 4-14 shooting.  Surprisingly though, it was Dalembert's offense that helped the Kings win the other two games.  He scored a season high 18 points against the Lakers and followed it up with 16 against the Hornets.  He had a huge tip-in basket during the Hornets game that helped seal the victory.  Coach Paul Westphal has been playing Dalembert and Cousins together a lot more lately and it seems to be paying dividends.

Big man Jason Thompson sprained his ankle at the end of the first half against the Hornets Saturday night.  He will not play Tuesday against the Celtics and is listed as day-to-day after that.  Dalembert will take his place in the starting lineup until he returns.  Swingman Francisco Garcia is still out with a sprained calf and is probably a few weeks from returning.