CK Press Box Report: Spurs 107, Kings 96

By James Ham and Rui Thomas

The Sacramento Kings (20-36) fell to the San Antonio Spurs (35-23), but it’s hard to gripe with the effort. The Kings went toe-for-toe with the defending champions until the final moments to end with the final score, 107-96.

“The intensity, the effort, the energy was first-class,” George Karl told the media after the loss.

For the most part, the Kings executed well. They shot 48.1 percent from the floor and held the Spurs to 39.8 percent shooting. Sacramento out-rebounded San Antonio 47-42 and out-scored them in the paint 50-40.

But the home team went only 1-for-4 from behind the arc. Conversely, the Spurs made 8-of-23 3-pointers and won the turnover battle 17-6. The Kings dished no assists and lost eight turnovers in the final quarter.

“My belief in basketball is strong beats weak, talent will be strong, but smarts beat all,” Karl explained. “And the basketball IQ of the fourth quarter…I’m not saying it was bad, but it wasn’t good.”

With DeMarcus Cousins and Darren Collison out due to injuries, the new starting five picked up the slack. Jason Thompson recorded 12 points and 11 rebounds while defending Tim Duncan well, while Carl Landry recorded eight points and five boards in his spot start. Ray McCallum slowed down Tony Parker in the first half and scored 18 of his 20 points in the last two quarters. Ben McLemore chipped in 20 points, and Rudy Gay added 16 but spilled eight turnovers.

For the Spurs, Tony Parker led his club with 19 points, 11 which came in the fourth. Tim Duncan notched 12 points and six rebounds, and Manu Ginobili scored 16 points off the bench.

Sacramento drops to 2-2 under coach Karl. They host the Portland Trailblazers (38-19) on Sunday before embarking on a season-long eight-game road trip.

Notes and Analysis

• Without DeMarcus Cousins and his 23.7 points per night, the Sacramento Kings needed scoring tonight.  Ben McLemore provided the punch, finishing with 21 points on 5-for-8 shooting and an impressive 10-of-12 from the line.  McLemore needs to find a way to do more than just four rebounds and two assists, but he was solid tonight.

• Ray McCallum showed flashes of brilliance in his 36 minutes tonight.  Starting for the injured Darren Collison, the former second round pick finished with 20 points on 10-for-17 shooting and added three assists.

• Jason Thompson got the start at the center position tonight and finished with a solid 12-point, 11-rebound double-double.  The big man added a block and played spectacular defense on Tim Duncan.

• Reggie Evans cleaned the glass again tonight, grabbing 11 rebounds 21 minutes of action.  But the veteran big man was sloppy with the ball, turning it over three times in his limited touches.

• Carl Landry started alongside Thompson in the post, but struggled with foul trouble early.  The veteran forward scored eight points on 4-of-8 shooting and grabbed five rebounds in 18 minutes.

• Stat of the Night: George Karl and Gregg Popovich are No. 1 and 2 in active career wins.  The duo have an astounding 2,135 combined wins.

Quote of the Game

Rudy Gay on the Kings’ miscues

“They didn’t make any mistakes, we made a bunch of mistakes. I made most of them to be honest with you.”