SACRAMENTO – Despite a fevered effort in the fourth quarter, an eight-point deficit after the first proved too much to overcome as the Sacramento Kings dropped its season opener 111-104.
“I liked the flow of the whole game except for the first quarter,” said a disappointed George Karl.
Sacramento was led by DeMarcus Cousins who had 32 points, 13 rebounds and showed a much-improved outside shot by making 4-of-5 from beyond the arc.
The Kings’ bench unit outscored the Clippers 37-29. They were led by the guard tandem of Darren Collison (13 points and six assists) and newcomer Marco Belinelli (nine points and five assists) but ultimately couldn’t keep the Clippers’ dynamic duo of Blake Griffin (33 points and seven rebounds) and Chris Paul (18 points and 11 assists) from coming up with the victory.
“I saw us playing our first game. Usually your first game guys are a little anxious to get out there on the court,” Collison said. “Not really in sync as far as continuity. We’ve just got to put this one behind us but we do have to learn from our mistakes, the small things, things that we can control.”
Down by 10 at the half, the Kings used a tremendous fourth quarter push to swap leads multiple times down the stretch before they ultimately succumbed to Los Angeles by seven.
The Kings next play the Los Angeles Lakers at home on Friday.
Beyond the Box score
- The starting unit of the Kings seemed to have spacing issues, and never really got into a rhythm, evident by the 25-17 deficit the team faced at the end of first.
- Ben McLemore continued to be invisible for most of the night. He hit a 3-pointer and had a breakaway dunk in the third quarter, but those were the only five points he scored.
- Marco Belinelli isn’t shy. He shot seven 3-pointers in 32 minutes (making three). He struggled from the field going 3-of-12 but was a key player in the fourth quarter run the Kings made.
- Cousins seemed to really struggle passing out of the double-team tonight turning the ball over eight times.
- Due to the birth of his second child, Rudy Gay showed up right before the tip-off. He was solid with 16 points and six rebounds.
- Rajon Rondo was quiet in his Kings debut, playing 25 minutes and only handing out four assists while making 2-of-8 from the floor for four points.
- The team showed a much-improved 3-point shot, making 11-for-24 on the night.
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