No minutes, no problem for Ray McCallum. The second-year guard made his first appearance with 4:11 left in the game and scored seven points, including the game-tying and the go-ahead bucket, as the Sacramento Kings beat the Los Angeles Lakers 93-92 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
The Kings led 49-48 at halftime before a 15-28 third quarter made the deficit appear insurmountable. Sacramento shot 48.5 percent from the floor before the intermission, but finished 41 percent for the game after an abysmal second half. The Lakers played without Kobe Bryant, Jordan Hill and Carlos Boozer.
Four Kings scored in double-figures, led by DeMarcus Cousins’ 21. Five Lakers reached double-digit points, highlighted by Jeremy Lin’s 19.
Sacramento finishes the preseason with a 3-4 record and they open the season on Wednesday night against the Golden State Warriors at Sleep Train Arena.
Notes and Analysis
- Pain was a theme for the match as Rudy Gay and Ben McLemore left to the locker room early with head injuries. Gay was elbowed in the cheek by Julius Randle on the Lakers forward’s fast break in the second quarter. He’ll be examined when the team returns to Sacramento. In the fourth, McLemore collided with Wayne Ellington and came away with a gash over his right eye that required stitches.
- DeMarcus Cousins took advantage of an Ed Davis/Robert Sacre frontcourt as he bullied his way to 21 points and 10 rebounds in 26 minutes. He also drew 13 free throw attempts and made seven. Cousins earned 11 points and five boards in the first quarter alone.
- Derrick Williams came out tonight with something to prove, aggressively driving to the lane to score 11 points in the first half. The forward connected on two 3’s and scored only three points in the second half, but his effort was well-timed.
- The starting backcourt struggled mightily. Darren Collison shot 0-of-3 from the field for three points and two assists in 22 minutes, while Ben McLemore misfired 1-of-7 field goals for three points and two steals in 24 minutes. Ramon Sessions picked up the slack with 13 points, eight assists and zero turnovers in 27 minutes.
- Ray McCallum’s sparkplug effort may earn him some minutes consideration with Michael Malone to open the regular season. In addition to his 3-of-4 shooting, he hit a 3-pointer and ended the game with a +14 differential. His game-clinching shot left his hands with literally a millisecond on the clock.
- Reggie Evans dominated the glass with 16 rebounds (seven offensive) in 23 minutes of action. Malone will look past his 0-of-6 shooting.
- Omri Casspi, Ryan Hollins and Eric Moreland did not enter the game. Trey Johnson recorded four minutes.
- Stat of the Night: The Kings made it a point of emphasis to cut down on turnovers and delivered. Sacramento only surrendered nine turnovers and DeMarcus Cousins lost two.
Tweet of the Night
Dunk by Cousins on Sacre was so nasty I wish he could have saved it for a game that counts.
— Jason Jones (@mr_jasonjones) October 25, 2014
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