Shorthanded Kings No Match For Grizz
Dec 17, 2021, 9:31 PM | Updated: 10:10 pm
(Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
(Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
Memphis erased an early 15-point Sacramento lead en route to a blowout win at Golden 1 Center
The Sacramento Kings are not alone in being bit by the recent COVID-19 Health & Safety protocols bug.
Almost every team in the NBA has been affected by the recent outbreak, meaning that nobody is going to feel sorry for you–or take it easy on you, for that matter.
Desmond Bane and the Memphis Grizzlies did not take it easy on the Kings in any way on Friday night, outscoring the Kings 66-49 in the second half during a 124-109 blowout win at Golden 1 Center.
With the loss, Sacramento falls to 12-18 on the season and has their three-game home winning streak snapped.
The shorthanded Kings would get off to a strong start in the first quarter, mounting an 18-11 run to open things up in the early going. Harrison Barnes picked up right where he left off on Wednesday night by scoring eight points in the first to lead Sacramento to a 31-29 lead after 12 minutes of play.
On the day of his 29th birthday, Buddy Hield got his offense going in the second quarter.
Hield knocked down back-to-back triples, the second coming on receiving end of a pretty shovel pass from Tyrese Haliburton to give the Kings a 45-33 lead with 7:37 remaining in the half. Sacramento led by as many as 15 points during an electrifying early run in the second quarter, but Memphis ended to half on a 23-6 run to regain a 58-56 lead at the break.
As fun as the beginning of the second quarter was for the Kings, the fun would end there as Memphis took control in the third quarter. After trailing by 15 points in the second quarter, the Grizzlies outscored Sacramento 56-25 en route to taking a commanding 91-75 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Grizzlies turned up the defensive intensity and honed in on scoring threats Harrison Barnes and Buddy Hield to bottle up the Sacramento offense while finding their own rhythm on both sides of the ball.
Besides Hield’s back-to-back triples in the second quarter, the guard struggled to get free on offense while being covered by Memphis guard Desmond Bane.
A decimated Kings team that looked fun, energized and fluid during the first 18 minutes of play was nowhere to be found from the end of the second quarter on, and the Grizzlies took complete advantage. Bane and Dillon Brooks turned on their offense, Sacramento was unable to get anything going on offense and the Kings had their three-game home winning-streak snapped.
It’s currently unknown if any of the Kings that were missing due to Health & Safety protocols could become available for Sunday’s game against the San Antonio Spurs. In order to return, a person in protocols must register successive negative tests 24 hours apart in order to return to basketball activities.
The ongoing outbreak of COVID-19 cases in the NBA continues to mount, leaving situations like Friday night’s game between Sacramento and Memphis in its wake.
Nobody is going to feel sorry for the Kings, of course. Several teams have played games without seven or more players from their active rosters.
For Sacramento’s sake, the hope is that some of those players can return sooner than later. We’ll know more on Sunday afternoon.
Olá, Neemias!
Rookie center Neemias Queta made his NBA debut on Friday night. The 22-year-old became the first Portuguese player to ever log minutes in an NBA game.
Queta provided Golden 1 Center with some excitement as the seven-footer swatted a shot within seconds of entering the contest.
“It’s a great accomplishment just to be able to be on the floor,” Queta said postgame. “I have been dreaming of this day since I started playing basketball.”
“He’s a legend for his country,” Tyrese Haliburton added.
Queta collected five boards and blocked a shot over eight minutes of action.
Kings Of The Night
Tyrese Haliburton continues to do Tyrese Haliburton things.
The young guard posted his fourth double-double of the season during the loss, scoring a season-high 21 points (nine-of-16 from the field) to go along with six rebounds and 10 assists over 38 minutes of action.
Haliburton has been Sacramento’s primary distributor this season, having racked up nine games with eight assists or more.
Chimezie Metu tallied new career-highs in points (18) and rebounds (11) during the losing effort.
Injury Report
Unfortunately for the Sacramento Kings, the injury list is quite full at the moment.
De’Aaron Fox, Davion Mitchell, Alex Len, Marvin Bagley III, Terence Davis and head coach Alvin Gentry are all in the NBA’s COVID-19 Health & Safety protocols.
Those that are in protocols will need register successive negative tests 24 hours apart in order to return to basketball activities.
Richaun Holmes (eye) missed his fifth-straight game due to recovering from a right eye laceration. Holmes is considered day-to-day moving forward.
Tyrese Haliburton (back soreness) and Chimezie Metu (knee soreness) were both originally listed as questionable leading into Friday night’s game, but both players were active and in the starting lineup.
Coming Up
Sacramento will play a home-away back-to-back beginning on Sunday afternoon when they face the San Antonio Spurs in a matinee showing at Golden 1 Center.
The Spurs easily routed the Kings during their only meeting this season on November 10th, as Sacramento never held a lead during a 136-117 loss at AT&T Center in San Antonio.
You can find all of your Kings vs Spurs coverage right here on Sports 1140 KHTK beginning at 2:30pm PST on Kings Live Pregame prior to an early 3:00pm PST tip-off from Golden 1 Center.
Upcoming Sacramento Kings Schedule
- December 19th vs San Antonio Spurs
- December 20th @ Golden State Warriors
- December 22nd vs Los Angeles Clippers
- December 26th vs Memphis Grizzlies
- December 28th vs Oklahoma City
