by James Ham and Jonathan Santiago
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86a3RpVUc0w]Play hard.
That’s all new Sacramento Kings head coach Keith Smart emphasized to his team following an abysmal 37-point first-half.
The Kings went on to score 66 total points after the intermission, overcoming a 21-point deficit to topple the Milwaukee Bucks 103-100 in the final game of their lone back-to-back-to-back set this season.
“I didn’t going in with a rah-rah speech,” Smart said postgame. “I just said play hard and things will start to happen.”
Notes and Analysis
- Tyreke Evans notched his first double-double of the season, scoring 26 points and grabbing a season-high 10 rebounds.
- Marcus Thornton struggled in the first half, scoring two points while hitting just 1-for-8 from the field. He came back in the second, scoring 25 points on 9-of-15 shooting.
- Donté Greene was not with the team Thursday, missing the game for personal reasons.
- The Kings outrebounded the Bucks 55-31, with 23 boards coming off the offensive glass.
- Because of their rebounding efforts, it’s no surprise the Kings outscored the Bucks 20-13 in second chance points.
- After struggling early in the season, the Kings continued their hot shooting from the free throw line, scoring 25 points tonight from the charity stripe. They knocked down 83.3 percent of their 30 attempted free throws.
- Brandon Jennings played extremely well tonight, scoring 31 points while hitting 6-of-10 from three-point range.
- The Kings had 91 field goal attempts, while the Bucks had just 76.
- Stat of the night: In the second quarter, the Kings shot a horrendous 25 percent from the field, connecting on just 5-of-20 attempts. Compare that to the fourth, where they shot a torrid 61.9 percent on 13-of-18 shooting.
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