This is the game that didn’t want to end. The Kings somehow managed to get in Overtime despite being down 8 with 1:10 left to go. A foul on a made three, a steal and And-1 bucket on the inbounds, and a missed free throw by Nick Young all led to the Kings somehow coming back and tying the game.
OT was a back and forth affair as well, but thanks to some timely plays by Kirk Hinrich, the Wizards were able to pull the victory out after a missed three by DeMarcus Cousins at the buzzer.
There was some funny business going on with the game clock in Washington however. On three separate occasions in the extra period, the clock kept running for a few more seconds while the play was dead. Nobody on the court seemed to notice, even the referees, who are supposed to keep an eye on things like this. At one point, at least 3-4 seconds were shaved off. Rewinding the game, it looks like at least 8 seconds were shaved off. Considering the Kings had to resort to a DeMarcus Cousins desperate three with only 2 seconds left to make a play at the end, they could’ve used that 8 seconds.
Regardless, the Kings had other chances to win this game and failed to do so. They would’ve won if Cousins had managed to hit just one of his many missed layups in regulation. He ended up having possibly the worst shooting night of his young career, going 4-19 from the field, and only 2-6 from the line. Many of those shots were right by the basket. They could’ve won had they not picked up 3 technical fouls. They could’ve won if they had played better defense in the first and third quarters.
Beno Udrih (26 points, 6 assists) and Carl Landry (23 points) led the way for the Kings in regulation, and Francisco Garcia (26 points) was huge down the stretch, especially helping to force OT. But it wasn’t enough for the Kings, as they couldn’t put the clamps down on Washington.
Nick Young had a career high in points (43) and three pointers (7) and is probably feeling very happy that his team managed to hold on and win, considering it was he who missed the free throw at the end of regulation that gave the Kings the chance to tie the game. John Wall made the most of his intentional foul opportunities, hitting 10 Free Throws, most of them down the stretch as the Kings tried to prolong the game.
For the Kings, they drop to 8-27 and now face a much tougher Boston team tomorrow. It’s a bad time for Tyreke Evans to be injured, as the Kings might’ve been 2-0 on this road trip with him healthy. But injuries are something you have to battle through, as are homecourt timekeepers. On to Boston.