MIAMI – It was a controversial offensive foul that sent DeMarcus Cousins to the bench for the remainder of the fourth quarter and overtime, resulting in a loss to the Miami Heat 108-96.
Cousins was called for all six of his fouls in the fourth quarter including a technical foul that came early in the first quarter. Cousins’ sixth and game ending foul came when the momentum was with Sacramento and the game was knotted up at 91.
As Cousins drove to the lane he and Hassan Whiteside got tangled up, Cousins made the lay up, the whistle was blown and the foul went against Cousins.
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“Remarkable, isn’t it?,” Sacramento coach Dave Joerger said on Cousins’ six-foul in the fourth quarter.
Cousins finished the game with 30 points on 8-of-16 shooting while also going 14-of-16 from the charity stripe.
The attitude and aurora around Cousins may be what causes the officials to not let the big man plead his case. A two time All-Star, Cousins should get the respect that all other NBA elite stars have in this league, but only time will tell regarding Cousins’ ongoing aggressive demeanor.
Rudy Gay carried a major role in keeping the Kings afloat in Tuesday’s loss. Gay scored 30 points on 11-of-24 shooting, while grabbing 12 rebounds.
Gay is playing in elite form as he is pushing the envelope of getting the ball to the basket. The aggressive play from Gay early on allows him to expand his game to his most comfortable mid range shot as well as the occasional three.
Sacramento kept the majority of the game close and never fell down by more than 12 points. Arron Afflalo provided the third outlet of scoring for Sacramento utilizing his post game, and scored 18 points.
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The Kings went into halftime down 54-50 and let Miami score 16 points in transition in the first half. The Heat started the third quarter hot on an 8-0 run extending the lead to 12.
Sacramento did a great job on closing quarters in this game as they went on a 13-4 run late in the third quarter to bring themselves within six heading into the fourth 73-67.
A strong and witty Kings defense allowed Sacramento to surge on the run outscoring the Heat in a low scoring quarter, 24-18.
The lead was staring the Kings in the face as Gay took over in the fourth scoring six straight with two minutes remaining. A three followed by a steal by Gay resulted in a fast break lay up and one.
Following Cousins fouling out with 30 seconds left, a missed shot on the other end by the Heat gave Gay a chance to win the game at the buzzer for Sacramento. Gay couldn’t convert on a step back three at the top of the key and overtime was issued.
The Kings got outscored in the overtime period 17-5 led by an 11-0 run from Miami.
Takeaways of the Game
The transition defense was not where it should have been against a fast paced Heat team. The Kings looked lost in transition at times, not correctly picking out assignments and running back after a missed shot or turnover.
Some of the easiest baskets come in transition and with the defense being one of the major improvements to this Kings team this season, the room for error is slim.
Matt Barnes and Ben McLemore were nowhere to be found as they combined for three points going 1/14 from the field. Barnes in particular had three personal turnovers on fast break outlet passes. Miami did an outstanding job getting back on defense and in transition picking up assignments on the fast pace runs.
Goran Dragic, Dion Waiters and Tyler Johnson all scored 20 points or more in the game leading Miami in the win.
WOW the NBA is claiming they made the correct call last night… Thoughts Kings fans? pic.twitter.com/8gmrNdmHuL
— Cowbell Kingdom (@Cowbell_Kingdom) November 2, 2016
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Whiteside was in foul trouble for the majority of the first half but was much needed for the second half as he had the best +/- out of all the Heat players. Whiteside finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Sacramento used a different starting lineup, which was Ty Lawson, Afflalo, Barnes, Gay and Cousins. Going a little smaller by bringing Kosta Koufos off the bench seemed promising as Barnes lit up the stat sheet and offered versatility by showing out in their previous game in Atlanta scoring 14 points, four rebounds and three assists.
Sacramento continues its five-game, seven-day road trip tomorrow as they take on the Orlando Magic. Tip off is at 4:00 PM PST.
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