Kings Weekly 3-Pointers
November 30, 2009 by kingsconnect ·
KINGS MAKING STRIDES
The Kings are currently 8-8, having won three straight and seven of their last 11 games overall. Last season, Sacramento did not win its eighth game of the season until Game 32 on December 30th. Coach Paul Westphal’s squad has been especially strong at home with a 7-2 mark at ARCO Arena. Last season, the Kings only won 11 games total at home, going 11-30. Sacramento finished 8-5 for the month of November, which was the team’s most wins in a month since recording a 9-6 mark in January of 2008.
Postgame Recap: Kings vs Hornets
November 30, 2009 by Darryl Arata ·
SACRAMENTO 112, NEW ORLEANS 96
November 29, 2009 – At ARCO Arena, Sergio Rodriguez scored a career-high 24 points and Jason Thompson recorded his sixth double-double of the season with 22 points and a game-high 14 rebounds to lead the Kings their third straight win, a 112-96 victory over the Hornets. The Kings used a 10-0 run, capped off by a driving lay-up by Rodriguez, to turn an 86-83 lead into a 96-83 advantage with 5:46 remaining in the fourth quarter. New Orleans used consecutive baskets to pull within nine before the Kings scored eight unanswered to put the game out of reach. Tyreke Evans tallied 14 points and Andres Nocioni and Beno Udrih each contributed 13 points. Omri Casspi added 12 points off the bench. New Orleans received 24 points from David West and 20 from Emeka Okafor. Okafor and Devin Brown each grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.
NOTES: Rodriguez eclipsed his previous scoring high of 23 points, tallying 13 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter. The Kings outshot (61.1-50 percent), outrebounded (12-1), and outscored (30-22) the Hornets in the fourth quarter. Sacramento has scored 100 or more points in 12 of the last 13 games, including the last six. Kenny Thomas started in place of Spencer Hawes (bruised right knee), making his first start since Nov. 12, 2007, at Utah.
Postgame Quotes: Kings vs Hornets
November 30, 2009 by kingsconnect ·
Head Coach Paul Westphal
“I was glad to see us come out and beat a hot team who has been playing really well. I think that we did it with our defense and rebounding, as well as cutting down on the turnovers. Really, everybody that played gave us a big contribution. It was interesting that they set their whole defense to stop Tyreke (Evans) – your 16th game into your career, that’s quite a tip of the hat to what he’s been doing for us. We had a lot of open players because of that and we found them and knocked the shots down. So it was another good team win and I really like the way we’re playing defense, rebounding and moving the ball.”
“We’ve been finding different ways pretty much every game. Our team is getting to know each other and I think they have confidence in each other. Some nights it’s one guy; another night it’s someone else. It’s really something good happening.”
“Sergio (Rodriguez) has just been playing better and better all the time. For awhile there, we were trying to figure out a way to get him into the game. Lately we’ve been playing two small guards together because Beno (Udrih) has been playing great, and obviously Tyreke has been playing great. So playing two point guards and sometimes three, we’ve done that the last couple of games. As long as we can get the rebound, that’s a great way to play. The way Jason (Thompson), Kenny (Thomas) and (Jon) Brockman were rebounding the ball it let us have that kind of lineup and kind of unleash Sergio. So he’s got that in him. He’s very, very quick and creative; guys love playing with him.”
Tyreke Evans
“I look for the open guys, and if I see the double team then I would kick it out to guys like (Andres) Nocioni, Sergio (Rodriquez) and Donte (Greene) and look for the open pass. It was just going well for us tonight. I said that if we got a “W”, I would be happy.”
On his confidence:
“Chris Paul had a talk with me tonight about my game. A lot of teams are starting to watch a lot of film on me now, so I just need to keep playing the way that I am playing. I need to look for the open guys and just let the rest come to me. I thought about that before the game started.”
Sergio Rodriguez
“Tonight was successful for me and the team. I am really happy and enjoyed playing here tonight. I am very comfortable on the court.”
On how gratifying it is being in Sacramento:
“The most important thing, and what makes me so happy, is when I get to play. That is all that I ask. When I didn’t play a few games ago, it was tough. I knew that when I got in (Coach Westphal) would let me play and that is the whole thing. I am enjoying playing here and I am enjoying playing for him.”
On if he was frustrated not playing:
“Practicing kept me in shape, my mind right and I knew when my opportunity would come I was going to take advantage of it.”
Jon Brockman
“We always have to get our hand on the ball. When everyone crashes like that it forces them to box out more people. When it is one-on-one sometimes things get mixed up, it is a lot easier to get our hands on the ball, get offensive rebounds and as soon as you get a offensive rebound that is when the defense is scattered. I couldn’t find the shooters as you saw, but we had some guys spot up and make some shots.”
On Spencer being out:
“Whenever you have someone out like that, it’s terrible. You can sit and be sad about it, but really the fact of the matter is, people have to step up and we have to find a way to fill his shoes. You can’t exactly fill his shoes the way he does, but you can do it in other ways. Tonight, I think Sergio stepped up huge. You never know whose night it is going to be.”
Hornets Head Coach Jeff Bower
On the defense not getting it done
“We had stretches where we had a really hard time getting their pick and roll under control. A lot of it is due to the speed and quickness of the Kings’ players. (Sergio) Rodriguez was really effective and (Beno) Udrih with his shooting. It was a hard cover for us. They did a real good job keeping the pressure on us.”
On turning the ball over
“There were stretches where our turnovers were the variety that was hard to understand like the ball being thrown away. We would rather they be turnovers of aggression. Tonight we had a couple of them that got away from us. We would like to have those back.”
On playing a confident team
“We watched them score 61 and 59 points in the first half in their last two games. We know they have a lot of confidence playing at home. In order for us to come out of here with a win, we were going to have to keep their pick-and-roll game under control. And we weren’t able to do that.”
Hornet Forward David West
On the Kings’ pick-and-roll offense
“We just couldn’t contain them. We didn’t figure out a way to deal with it. They were turning the corner too fluidly. To their credit, they just stuck with it.”
On the Kings pushing ahead in the second quarter
“I just don’t think we got into a good rhythm. We didn’t play together. We didn’t work the game as a unit. Guys tried to do too much individually.”
On getting back in the third quarter
“We were sharing the ball. Again, we stopped doing it. I thought we worked the ball well. We really attacked them and defensively we were attacking them. We have to change our attitude as far as having more of a team approach to this thing. We can’t start thinking about I, I, I. A team like Sacramento is sharing the ball and everyone is touching the ball and moving it around. Conversely, we are not doing the same. It is something we haven’t been doing the past few games.”
Open Net: Kings vs. Hornets
November 28, 2009 by Carly Montoya ·
The Kings face the Hornets tonight at 6 p.m. at ARCO Arena.
Beno, 6th Man Helping Kings Silence Doubters
November 28, 2009 by Andrew Nicholson ·
The Kings completed their last home stand with a successful 3-1 record and two games into their current four-game stay at ARCO Arena, they are 2-0, proving pundits wrong and showing continual improvement on the defensive end.
Postgame Recap: Kings vs Nets
November 28, 2009 by Darryl Arata ·
SACRAMENTO 109, NEW JERSEY 96
November 27, 2009 – At ARCO Arena, Tyreke Evans and Beno Udrih each scored a team-high 21 points as the Kings kept the Nets winless this season in 16 tries. The Nets are one loss away from tying the NBA mark for losses to begin a season. Sacramento led from start to finish, leading by as many as 22 points in the second quarter. The Kings held a 15-point lead, 84-69, to begin the fourth quarter, but the Nets trimmed the lead down to six, 86-80, with 8:10 remaining. A Kenny Thomas lay-up and an Evans’ three-pointer pushed the lead back to 11 and the Kings kept at least a seven-point cushion the rest of the way. Spencer Hawes recorded a double-double with 16 points and a team-high 10 rebounds before leaving with a bruised right knee in the third quarter. Udrih scored 17 second half points, making all six of his field goal attempts (including one from three-point range) and all four of his free throw attempts. Omri Casspi finished with a career-high 18 points. Devin Harris, who led all scorers with 25 points, tallied 21 in the second half. Brook Lopez recorded a double-double with 24 points and a game-high 11 boards. Chris Douglas-Roberts tallied 21 points.
NOTES: Sacramento outrebounded (45-39) and outshot (54.9-38.3) New Jersey. After the first quarter, the Kings held a 14-4 rebounding edge. Tyreke Evans has scored 20 or more points in eight of the last nine games he has played in. The Kings recorded a season-high 11 blocked shots.
Postgame Quotes: Kings vs Nets
November 27, 2009 by kingsconnect ·
Head Coach Paul Westphal
“We feel for them. I think they have a class group of guys and I know they’ll turn it around when they get healthy. So, first of all I said that, (but) we needed that win too. I was really pleased with the performances – particularly Spencer Hawes was excellent battling (Brook) Lopez. It hurt us when Spencer had to go out of the game with a bruised knee. I thought that Kenny Thomas came off the bench along with Beno (Udrih), of course, and Omri (Casspi) to really give us great production. I think you could say Kenny was probably the difference in the game for us because Lopez is a handful. So it’s a good win for us; move on to the next game.”
“I’d been more concerned about New Jersey than our approach. I thought we would be ready to play and we were. When a team had been kicked around like New Jersey, you know that they’ve got some good performances in them and I was just hoping that tonight wasn’t the one where they came in and put it all together.”
“We have some guys that were really laying it on the line defensively. They’re not really a strong three-point shooting team, (so) our plan was to keep them out of the paint and make them take tough shots in the crowd if they did drive. We did a pretty good job of that.”
Beno Udrih
“We expected them to come back in the second half. They are very hungry for a win. We kind of expected they were going to make a run. We were just trying to play our game and move the ball, play hard on defense and that is what we did. They made a couple of easy fastbreak points and we tried to keep the lead by 10-15 points. We just didn’t want them to get very close.”
“When everyone asks me why do I not dunk and I go for the lay-up, I say a dunk is a lay-up for me. When I lay it in that is a dunk for me and when I have a jump shot, which is basically a lay-up for me. I just make fun of it. I have always been a pick and roll player and making those types of shots. I hope that I can keep doing this.”
If anything has changed coming off the bench
“No, nothing changed. Donte had a good game last game and coach told me that he was playing really good and he is going to keep him going and keep his confidence going. I totally understand it. I am just going to come off the bench and play the game and help my team win basketball games.”
Jason Thompson
On his fall
“It is feeling better than it did. I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to go after halftime. I just had to stretch it out a little bit. I just had to show the dedication that I have for this team. I think some guys could have just sat out even though we were up by 20. I just told coach that I was ready to go anytime he needed me. I was able to get in there and get some key blocks and a few rebounds. I am glad I was able to help out.”
On the team this year
“I feel like we have a really talented team. Some guys get hot early on, like last game (Andres) Nocioni was really hot. Some guys are just hot early on and some guys get hot when the game is on the line. It is really good to see everyone gelling.”
On if he can relate to Nets losses
“We can relate a little bit. We didn’t have it (last year) as rough as they do (this season), but it isn’t good to lose. We don’t have the best record in the league, but we are just trying to keep going and move on and keep our streak going.”
Nets Head Coach Lawrence Frank
On the falling behind in the first half
“Defensively, if you think about what they got on run outs, dribble penetration and postups, their first 10 points were right in the paint and they made a living there. We made a point to establish that all their points were coming in the paint. We started to put effort into the in the second half, but then every missed shot at the rim is magnified, every pick and roll mistake is magnified. We had a hard time in the first half with (Tyreke) Evans and (Beno) Udrih. I think we got 23 more shots than them, but it was our inability to convert. You can’t win basketball games playing 24 minutes of basketball.”
Is the team pressing
“I don’t think we are. We had good shots that weren’t falling, but defensively we didn’t have it going.”
On Devin Harris
“In the second half he started to assert himself and attack. He got to the free throw line and tried to get himself going. He fought through some fatigue. But this is a team thing. I take full responsibility that we can’t play 48 minutes and have the intent from beginning to end.”
Nets Center Brook Lopez
“There is no sense of urgency, especially defensively. Shots weren’t falling and we were not really getting back in transition stopping the initial fastbreak. They have a lot of talent, guys who run the floor, one through five. You see Spencer (Hawes) out there getting a few easy dunks. We can’t let things like that happen.”
Why is there is no sense of urgency
“If I had the answer, it wouldn’t happen.”
Nets Guard Devin Harris
On falling behind early
“We had a pretty emotional halftime. The first half did not go the way we wanted. Defensively we were kind of lackadaisical. They could get wherever they want on the court without any resistance. We tried to come out aggressive and establish paint presence.”
Open Net: Kings vs. Nets
November 27, 2009 by Carly Montoya ·
The Kings face the Nets tonight at 7 p.m. at ARCO Arena.
Postgame Recap: Kings vs Knicks
November 26, 2009 by Darryl Arata ·
SACRAMENTO 111, NEW YORK 97
November 25, 2009 – At ARCO Arena, Donte Greene matched his career-high in points with 24 and set new career marks in assists (4) and blocks (6) and Tyreke Evans just missed a triple-double with 19 points, a team-high and career-high 11 rebounds, and seven assists in guiding the Kings to a 111-97 win over the Knicks for Sacramento’s first home win over an Eastern Conference team since March 16, 2008. The Kings had dropped 18 straight at ARCO Arena to Eastern Conference teams, last defeating Toronto (106-100). With a 19-6 spurt to open the game and extending the lead to as many as 24 points in the fourth quarter the Kings made sure that streak would end. Another streak ended as Evans fell a point shy of extending his 20-point streak to eight games, remaining tied with Lionel Simmons for the most consecutive 20-point games by a rookie in the Sacramento era. Seven Kings scored in double-figures. New York’s David Lee recorded a double-double with a game-high-tying 25 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Nate Robinson added 25 points off the bench.
NOTES: In the second quarter, Donte Greene blocked Al Harrington consecutive three times in one sequence. The Kings outshot (48.3 – 38.5 FG%), outrebounded (50-43) and recorded more assists (22-19) than the Knicks. Besides Greene and Evans, five other Kings tallied double-figures in scoring: Spencer Hawes (16), Sergio Rodriguez (15), Omri Casspi (11), Jason Thompson (10), and Andres Nocioni (10). Greene made his third start of the season because Beno Udrih was out due to a virus.
Postgame Quotes: Kings vs Knicks
November 25, 2009 by kingsconnect ·
Head Coach Paul Westphal
“Well that’s the way to bounce back from a disappointing game. I just thought that we got some great professional performances from pretty much everybody that played. Sometimes the numbers reflected it and sometimes it didn’t, but it was what a coach likes to see – how a team can respond. I thought that we played good defense, limited them to one shot quite a bit, pounded it in inside on them and just took advantage of a lot of situations in a real professional way.
“You can’t really talk about this game without talking about some of the individual performances. Donte Greene has continued his string of good play. He was just amazing tonight; forget the fact that he was shooting the ball well; his decision-making and his defense were what was so outstanding from where I sat. (Jon) Brockman came in and really pretty much restored order out there – he was very much of a presence. I thought that Sergio (Rodriguez) did a really good job off the bench, so did Ime (Udoka) and Omri (Casspi). All of the guys off the bench did what they were supposed to do.
“One of the things I’m most impressed about is Tyreke (Evans). He had 19 points – he needed 20 to get some kind of record for rookies and he would have liked to have gotten it, but he wasn’t going to stay in the game and pad his stats. We’re there to win the game and he understood that if he twisted his ankle trying to pad his stats, that isn’t professional. The attitude that these young guys have about putting the team first rather than trying to get famous or get records, it’s very impressive and I’m so pleased to see that that’s how these guys roll. So I’m very pleased.”
Jason Thompson
“It was good. We set the goal and we are just trying to take care of that home cookin’. It is fitting tonight since tomorrow is Thanksgiving. We have a couple of home games coming up here and once you win at home, it should make the road a little easier if we don’t put as much pressure on ourselves. We just have the mentality to take it one game at a time.”
On New Jersey
“I think we have the mentality of not looking at records. It is obviously early in the year. I don’t know how they did tonight, but we obviously don’t want to be their first win. They are a talented team, but they are just not gelling and playing well. We are going to keep playing our game; we aren’t going to change. We are just going to attack from the start.”
Donte Greene
“It was good. It was a good felling and a lot of hard work. We are a young team, but we are very talented.”
On his hard work
“It is all hard work. It was staying after practice late and getting to practice early and putting in the work. I had to prepare myself for nights like this.”
On how much fun it was tonight
“I think I showed all the Syracuse fans back in New York why I left school early. It is the reason why I am here. We just had to beat the Knicks.”
On his working with coach Mario Elie
“It has been great and I have learned a lot. I am getting better. It isn’t just with Coach Elie, it’s also with Truck (Robinson) on the defensive end, Shareef (Abdur-Rahim) on the offensive end and Mario chimes in on both. They have all got me well adjusted on this team. I am just trying to get better everyday.”
Tyreke Evans
“Toward the end of tonight I was thinking to myself, just one more point. I knew I had 19. I was also trying to go for the triple double. I had seven assists, but I just couldn’t get there.”
On if he was disappointed when coach took him out
“I wasn’t disappointed, but I was just trying to get the record. I understand where coach is coming from though. He said I am a good player and I will have a lot of records to break. He just didn’t want me to get hurt, so I had to rest my ankle. He took me out and I thought that was the best idea.”
Mike D’Antoni, New York Knicks Head Coach
The team’s offensive game…
“It wasn’t just the offense. Our defense was very poor. You have to give them credit. They played very well. They played better than we did. We just have a lot of problems. We just can’t get anything going. We have guys that are shooting extremely bad.”
Searching for something in the second half…
“They were really the only one scoring at a clip. I was searching and am still searching. We’ll see what happens Friday night (at Denver). Obviously everything is and should be up in the air. We’re just trying to find six, seven or eight guys that can bring it every night and have some kind of level of consistency.”
Incorporating Danilo Gallinari…
“You have to incorporate yourself into it. He plays and he’s up and down like second year guys and rookies. He’s more or less a rookie. He’s learning like everyone else. He gets calls a little bit here and there. We’ll keep on working and he’ll keep improving.”
Chris Duhon, New York Knicks Guard
Tyreke Evans’ performance…
“He’s good. I watched him in college. Just his size and the way he handles the ball. He just walks with a swagger and plays with a swagger. He’s going to be really good.”
Tonight’s game…
“It went down hill from the beginning. We gave up a lot of open shots. They knocked down shots. It kind of just escalated throughout the game. We have been making strides. Now we have to remember that we’re capable of doing it. Just have to forget about it and get ready for the next one.”
Nate Robinson, New York Knicks Guard
Struggles in the second half…
“Not limiting them to one shot. They got a lot of loose balls, rebounds, put backs, steals here and there. They were a scrappy team tonight and that’s something we have to do as well.”
Tyreke Evans’ performance…
“He’s so aggressive going to the basket. From the outside he didn’t really hurt us but he’s getting to the basket and getting guys shots. He’s going to be a good player in this league. He’s tall and he knows how to play the game of basketball. I’ve seen him play a couple of times in high school so I kind of knew his game. Greene knocked down a couple of big shots. They played hard and it’s something we have to do as well.”
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