Kings Sunk By Clippers In Home Opener, 111-104
In their final season opener at Sleep Train Arena, the Kings fell short in their quest to jump-start a new era of basketball in Sacramento.
Starting fresh after an offseason of controversy in the national spotlight, the Kings needed a valiant fourth-quarter effort to create some drama in a game that saw the Kings trail by as many as 15, and didn't produce a lead change until a Rudy Gay triple with 4:47 left gave the Kings a 98-97 advantage. J.J. Redick knocked down a three less than a minute later to put Los Angeles up two, and although the Kings would tie the score at 100, the offense stalled out down the stretch.
DeMarcus Cousins did what DeMarcus Cousins does, and then some: Big Cuz delivered 32 points and 13 rebounds, and hit four of his five three-pointers, but the Kings, as teams tend to do against the Clippers, struggled to defend the pick and roll. The result for Los Angeles was a 53% shooting night, spearheaded by Blake Griffin's 33 points on 14 of 20 shooting.
The Kings have now lost six in a row to the Clippers at Sleep Train Arena dating back to 2010 and are 3-17 in their last twenty meetings overall.