Rewind: Three Areas Doom Kings in Loss to Hawks

The Sacramento Kings haven’t won in Atlanta since March 3, 2006 and Monday night’s battle at Philips Arena continued that streak. Maybe it’s cross country travel or the nightlife of a big city, but the Kings came out sluggish from the start and looked like they were playing catchup all night. They were in the game through three quarters, but like the previous nine matchups on the road against the Hawks, the Kings fell, this time by a final of 106-95.

“We started too slow, they were the aggressors,” a raspy voiced coach Dave Joerger told media following the game. “Too many offensive rebounds for them, too many free throws and too many turnovers for us. And those are three areas that are very difficult to overcome.”

Sacramento gave up 17 offensive rebounds to the Hawks and were outrebounded 44-32 overall. Even when they picked up defensive stops, Atlanta seemed to get the long rebound or get the right bounce.

“We can’t make excuses, we have to play through it,” Kosta Koufos said following the game.

Dwight Howard set up a campsite in the middle of the lane and the Kings either let him score or fouled the eight-time All-Star. The Hawks new center finished the night with 18 points and 11 rebounds, but his scoring total was hurt by his Halloween scare worthy 8-of-20 performance from the line.

Flanking Howard was another All-Star in Paul Millsap, who hit the Kings for 13 points, eight assists and and 14 rebounds.

When they weren’t getting rebounds, the Hawks lined up at the free throw stripe like trick-or-treaters waiting for candy. Atlanta took 47 free throw attempts to the Kings' 19. Rudy Gay and DeMarcus Cousins both had to sit in the late third quarter with five fouls. Only Anthony Tolliver finished the night with less than three fouls.

Despite the fouls and the turnovers, the Kings still made a game of it. After trailing by nine at the intermission, they came out firing on all cylinders in the third, outscoring Atlanta 37-26 in the quarter to take a two point lead into the fourth.

“We came out third quarter and we were a lot better,” Joerger said. “We became more aggressive on both ends of the floor.”

But it wasn’t enough. Inefficient offense, poor rebounding and more fouls plagued the Kings down the stretch. Atlanta outscored Sacramento 27-14 in the final frame to come away with the 11 point margin of victory.

“We fell in love with the jump shot and stopped getting into the paint, and then they were able to run out on us,” Joerger said.

Gay continued his torrid scoring pace to start the season, finishing the night with 22 points on 8-of-13 from the field. DeMarcus Cousins dropped in a double-double, but shot just 6-of-16 from the field on his way to 14 points and 12 rebounds.

Ben McLemore continued his resurgence from the bench, scoring 12 points in 26 minutes and Matt Barnes stuffed the stat sheet again with 14 points, five rebounds and three assists in 28 minutes.

The Kings are back at it on Tuesday night, playing the Miami Heat at the American Airlines Arena where they haven’t won since 2001. They currently stand at 2-2 on the season as they work to establish themselves as a defensive-minded club.

“We can’t get too high or too low, we have to stay streamlined,” Koufos said. “We have all the pieces of the puzzle to be successful this season. We know what we can accomplish this season, we know it’s early and we’re still trying to build a foundation.”

After playing the Heat on Tuesday night, the Kings travel to Orlando to take on the Magic on Thursday night followed by back-to-back games on Saturday and Sunday in Milwaukee and Toronto.
 

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