Mitchell Shines, But Kings Falter Late Against Dubs In California Classic Opener
Aug 3, 2021, 10:02 PM | Updated: Aug 4, 2021, 8:58 am
(Chris Watkins/Sports 1140 KHTK)
(Chris Watkins/Sports 1140 KHTK)
The ninth-overall pick finished with a game-high 23 points in his summer league debut
Christmas in August? Close enough–Sacramento Kings basketball is back.
The Kings opened up the third-annual California Classic on Tuesday night against the Golden State Warriors in front of a lively crowd that was hungry for some NBA basketball.
Thousands of fans filled into the Golden 1 Center on Tuesday afternoon, filling up the entire lower bowl of the stadium to see new Kings rookie guard Davion Mitchell make his NBA Summer League debut.
Mitchell got off to a strong start against Golden State, scoring five points in the first quarter on two-of-four from the field and hitting one three-pointer to help pace the Kings to a 16-13 lead through one quarter of play.
The ninth-overall pick dished his first assists of the summer on an impressive lob to forward Robert Woodard II for a thunderous alley-oop slam.
Mitchell finished the first half with a game-high 12 points on five-of-nine shooting from the field (two-of-three from three-point land) to go along with two rebounds, one assist and one steal over 15 minutes of action to lead the Kings into the break with a 41-40 lead.
Forward Emanuel Terry made his presence known in the first half for Sacramento, as the 24-year-old picked up nine rebounds in the first half to go along with four points over 12 minutes.
Sacramento and Golden State would trade baskets in the third as things would head into the final period with the Kings holding onto a 62-61 lead.
Even though it was a summer league game, the atmosphere in Golden 1 Center was in prime form as the Kings and Warriors came down to the wire in the fourth quarter. After Warriors guard Jeff Dowtin drilled a midrange jumper to tie things up at 80-80, the Kings had a chance to seal a win with 16.3 second remaining.
Out of the timeout, Mitchell’s pass to Louis King was tipped out of bounds by Golden State with 1.7 seconds remaining, giving Sacramento a bonus opportunity for the game-winner. Robert Woodard’s fadeaway attempt at the horn was short, sending the contest into overtime.
Golden State would outscore the Kings 9-2 in an abbreviated two-minute overtime to win by a final score of 89-82 and steal the game away from Sacramento.
Mitchell was very impressive in his debut, finishing with a game-high 23 points, three rebounds, one assist and three steals over 32 minutes of action. The 22-year old shot nine-of-18 from the field and two-of-six from three-point range in the loss.
After leaving the overtime period holding his leg/quad area, the rookie guard told the media after the game that he experienced some cramping, but that he was going to be fine.
As for his status in Wednesdayβs California Classic finale against the Los Angeles Lakers, Mitchell said he was unsure of his status and that it would depend on how he feels physically in the morning.
Robert Woodard II finished with eight points on four-of-14 from the field to go along with seven rebounds over 29 minutes. The athletic forward wowed the Golden 1 Center crowd on multiple occasions with rim-rattling dunks, the most emphatic being a put-back slam in the third quarter.
Terry finished with nine points and 14 boards in the loss, while Matt Coleman added 14 points off of the bench.
Injury Updates
- Rookie center Neemias Queta will not participate in the California Classic this week due to ankle soreness. Kings Summer League and Stockton Kings head coach Bobby Jackson told the media on Monday that Queta is expected to play in the Las Vegas Summer League later this month.
- Sophomore guard Jahmiβus Ramsey was listed as questionable an hour prior to tip-off on Tuesday, with the Kings later downgrading his status to out shortly before tip-off. Ramsey is considered day-to-day for Wednesday’s contest against Los Angeles.
Coming Up
Sacramento will conclude its California Classic slate with a matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night.
The Lakers narrowly dropped their first game of the Classic on Tuesday night after Miami Heat rookie Omer Yurseven dropped 27 points and 19 rebounds in a game that game down to the wire. Los Angeles was unable to convert at the buzzer, falling 80-78 in front of an energized Golden 1 Center.
Be sure to catch all of the action right here on Sports 1140 KHTK, with tip-off coming from Golden 1 Center at 8:00pm PST with the G-Man, Gary Gerould on the call.
