CK Press Box Report: Warriors 121, Kings 96

By James Ham and Rui Thomas

With NBA commissioner Adam Silver in attendance, the Sacramento Kings (17-30) were urged to put on a show. Instead they were swept off their feet by the Golden State Warriors (38-8), losing to the final score, 121-96.

“Well, they made some shots,” a frustrated Tyrone Corbin told the media, “they got out, and we got a little stagnant offensively.”

The Kings came out of the tip assertive, and held a 20-10 lead with 6:06 in the first quarter. Ben McLemore carried the offense with 13 points on 4-of-5 shooting in the span.

But Golden State woke up and blew Sacramento away, closing the period on a 15-0 run and extending the streak to 21-0 in the second quarter. The Kings couldn’t score a field goal to save their lives, and it cost them a lead they would never regain.

By the half, the Kings trailed 63-42. They were out-shot 57.8 percent to 36.6 percent from the floor and out-assisted 22-9. Sacramento had lost 10 turnovers to Golden State’s five.

The Kings rediscovered their offensive touch in the second half, but it was too little, too late. DeMarcus Cousins further justified Silver’s All-Star nod, producing 26 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and four blocks. Rudy Gay scored 20 points, with 14 coming in the last third quarter. Darren Collison chipped in 18 points and seven assists, and Ben McLemore finished with 18 points.

“We still have to play with both offense and defense together,” Collison noted in the locker room. “If we had offense, our defense wasn’t there, if our defense was there, our offense wasn’t there. So we didn’t get a chance to do both.”

For the Warriors, Klay Thompson couldn’t repeat a record-setting showing but notched 14 points. Stephen Curry led his team with 23 points and nine assists, and Marreese Speights and Andre Iguodala scored 17 points off the bench each. Golden State’s backups as a whole outscored Sacramento’s second unit 61-12.

With the loss, the Kings were routed in a 0-4 season sweep to the Warriors. Sacramento hosts the Dallas Mavericks (33-17) on Thursday, who they are 0-2 playing this season.

Notes and Analysis

• Ben McLemore came out hot tonight against Klay Thompson, dropping 13 points on 4-of-5 shooting in the first quarter.  The 21-year-old McLemore finished with 18 points while tying his career high with four 3-pointers.  That’s a good way to start a new month after a miserable January.

• DeMarcus started slowly, but got it going in the third quarter.  The big fella finished with 26 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and four blocks in 42 minutes.  Cousins now has 29 double-doubles on the season, including 12 in his last 13 games.

• Rudy Gay caught fire in the third as well, scoring 14 of his 20 points in the quarter.  Gay added three rebounds and two assists, but turned the ball over four times in the loss.

• Darren Collison fought the good fight tonight, but Stephen Curry was just too much.  Collison dropped in 18 points and handed out seven assists, but Curry carved up the Kings defense with 23 points, nine assists and five rebounds in just 29 minutes.

• Tyrone Corbin chose to start Derrick Williams over Jason Thompson and the move was a flop.  Williams scored just two points in 21 minutes and his effort on the defensive end was atrocious.  Thompson scored eight points and grabbed eight rebounds in 20 minutes off the Kings bench.

• Stat of the Night: It didn’t matter what group Corbin pulled off his bench tonight.  As a group, the bench scored just 12 points on 4-for-16 shooting, while the Warriors bench finished with 61 points on 24-of-47 shooting.

Quote of the Game

DeMarcus Cousins on finding more shots for Ben McLemore

“I believe he needs more designed plays. Especially with the way teams are guarding myself, Rudy, even DC (Darren Collison). We have to get Ben involved. He started off hot like you said, and didn’t touch the ball basically any more. So, that’s on me, I can find ways to get Ben the ball more, especially seeing double-teams, and also the guys in the back room.”