The Sacramento Kings (19-35) couldn’t make it two in a row for new head coach George Karl tonight in Los Angeles, falling to the Clippers (37-19) by a final of 126-99. After leading by five to end the first quarter, the Kings were outscored 42-18 in the deciding second quarter. Sacramento couldn’t buy a basket on one end of the court and let the Clippers fire away from long range on the other end.
DeMarcus Cousins led the way with 21 points, but shot just 6-of-19 from the field, turned the ball over five times and grabbed just four rebounds in 26 minutes. Rudy Gay added 15 points and six rebounds in the loss.
Join James Ham and Rui Thomas for the Road Reaction Postgame Show on Google+ after the game. The show can be watched on the video player embedded below. You can also join the discussion of tonight’s game by leaving a comment at the bottom of the page.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-4n3nOga7I]What to watch
1. Hawes in, Griffin out
Without franchise face Blake Griffin (right elbow surgery), ex-King Spencer Hawes starts at power forward. He’s averaged 10 points on 47.2 percent shooting in the four games since taking over but only 2.3 rebounds. Sacramento doesn’t seem close to Hawes’ heart, so they can’t let him go off.
2. Curbing turnovers
The George Karl era kicked off with a 24-turnover embarrassment in Friday’s win against the Boston Celtics. The Kings ranked 28th in the NBA in discarded possessions per game before hiring Karl, so limiting spills may coincidentally save their season.
3. Maintaining downtown
The Kings forgot their 3-point struggles for a night when they shot 8-of-22 from behind the arc on the Celtics. The Clippers allow the sixth-most triples per contest and lack a true stopper beyond Chris Paul, so it’s worth a try.
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