The Sacramento Kings were unable to overcome the absences of Garrett Temple, Skal Labissiere, and Willie Cauley-Stein in a 113-98 loss to the San Antonio Spurs. The game was relatively close throughout, and it wasn’t until the final quarter that San Antonio was able to pull away.
Sacramento got a huge night from rookie De’Aaron Fox, who had a career high 26 points and shot an impressive 6/6 from downtown. Fox has greatly improved as a shooter since coming back from injury earlier this month. Before the injury, he shot 40.2 percent from the field, 28.9 from deep, and 66.7 percent from the charity strip. Since, he’s had an impressive slash line of 42.4/43.2/79.6.
The bench gave a big push for the Kings. George Hill and Vince Carter combined for 40 points as a part of the second unit. However, the Spurs got a total of 68 points from their bench.
The Kings had a strong shooting night with 43 percent from the field, 53 from three, and 91 from the free throw line. They connected on seven more threes than the Spurs, which is surprising considering they still lost by 15 points. This could be because San Antonio made 10 more overall baskets than Sacramento.
There was a scary moment during the first quarter when coach Dave Joerger seemed to lose his balance and fall over. The team said it was just due to light headedness, but he didn’t return to the game and is questionable for the next game. Assistant Elston Turner took over head coaching responsibilities.
Rookie Justin Jackson had an impressive 14 points and five rebounds. Sacramento falls to 15-34 and will finish up the roadtrip in New Orleans against the Pelicans on Tuesday.
