Kings Fall Flat In New Orleans, Take Massive Blow To Play-In Hopes
Mar 2, 2022, 7:31 PM | Updated: 8:08 pm
(Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
(Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
Sacramento is now four games back of the 10th-spot in the West with 18 games to go
If there was a game this season that the Sacramento Kings absolutely needed to show up for this season, it took place in New Orleans on Wednesday night.
Unfortunately for fans of Sacramento, only one team showed up to Smoothie King Center–and it wasn’t the Kings.
The defense continued to look like a train-wreck, the three-point shots didn’t fall and the Kings suffered a very costly 125-95 loss to the 10th-seed Pelicans as they saw their slim postseason chances shrink even further.
With the loss, Sacramento (23-41) falls to four games back of the Pelicans in the standings with just 18 games left in the regular season.
Three-pointers were falling for the Kings during the first quarter as Harrison Barnes (11 first-quarter points) and the rest of the offense shot 50-percent from beyond the arc in the period. Barnes and De’Aaron Fox (10 first-quarter points) both found the bottom of the net early to lead Sacramento to a 33-31 lead heading into the second quarter.
Brandon Ingram absolutely cooked the Kings defense in the first half, scoring 24 points (11-of-15 shooting) before the break, including 13 points over the final four minutes of the second quarter.
Fox was able to counter Ingram’s run by scoring five-straight points over the final minute to cut New Orleans’ lead to 65-61 at the midway point.
Sacramento’s offense ran through Fox (17 points), Barnes (15 points), and Domantas Sabonis (10 points) during the first 24 minutes of play, but the Kings would need some help in the second half.
New Orleans quickly build a double-digit lead in the opening minutes of the third quarter as the Kings defense–as it has looked for the entirety of this season–appeared completely disoriented.
Sacramento didn’t score a field goal for more than five minutes of game time as the Pelicans went on a 13-3 run to take a commanding 17-point lead with 2:48 remaining in the quarter.
Although the Kings were able to cut into New Orleans’ lead and make it 96-82 heading into the fourth, far too much damage had been done for the offense to bring the team back to life–and even more damage was on the way in the final period, as the Pelicans outscored the Kings 29-13.
After shooting just six-of-22 from the floor during the third period, even the Sacramento offense looked lost while the Pelicans continued to hammer a lethargic Kings defense.
New Orleans finished the night shooting 59-percent from the field and 38-percent from beyond the three-point arc. Whatever they wanted, they got on the offensive end–with ease, for that matter.
In the first quarter, it seemed as if the Kings were well on their way to a successful night from beyond the arc after knocking down five of their first six attempts from deep. Instead, Sacramento finished the night three-of-29 from three-point range following the first period.
The Kings needed to prove themselves on Wednesday night. The players–and front office–have made it clear that this team’s goal is making the Play-In game this season.
With 18 games to go, a brutal remaining schedule on the horizon, and a four-game hole to crawl out of, it’s looking as if the Kings will extend that cursed playoff drought to an NBA-record 16th season.
An NBA-record 16th-straight season without a postseason berth is staring the Sacramento Kings right in the eyes right now.
If the Kings want to create a last-ditch effort at redemption, it must start on Thursday night in San Antonio–or else it very well could be curtains on the 2021-22 season.
Injury Report
- Richaun Holmes (back soreness) missed his fourth-straight game and is considered day-to-day. Holmes was nearly ready to make a return on Monday night but was ultimately held out as his back was still bothering him.
- Terence Davis will be re-evaluated in two-to-three months after undergoing successful surgery to repair a right wrist ECU tendon injury.
Coming Up
The Kings will not have much downtime before their next matchup as they will face the San Antonio Spurs in less than 24 hours.
With a win over the Spurs on Thursday, Sacramento can claim the season series and own the tie-breaker against their Western Conference counterpart. If the Kings lose, the Spurs will instead own the tie-breaker.
Each team has picked up a win against one another this season, with the Kings claiming the most-recent matchup that took place back on December 19th behind a career-night from Damian Jones (23 points, eight rebounds).
You can find all of your Kings vs Spurs coverage right here on Sports 1140 KHTK beginning at 3:00 pm PST on The Nick Cattles Show before a 5:30 pm PST tip-off from AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas.
Upcoming Sacramento Kings Schedule
- March 3rd @ San Antonio Spurs
- March 5th @ Dallas Mavericks
- March 7th vs New York Knicks
- March 9th vs Denver Nuggets
- March 12th @ Utah Jazz
