Ranking The 5 Best Wins Of The Kings Season So Far
by Andrew Pasquini, Sports 1140 KHTK
The Sacramento Kings, currently standing at 21-35 and only 2.5 games behind the 8th seeded Denver Nuggets, have had an interesting stretch of games the past several weeks. Tough losses like games at home against Indiana and on the road in Indiana (giving up leads of 22 and 16 respectively) while also playing their best games of the season against teams like Cleveland and Golden State have all come in the past month.
Looking at this stretch of games, including the most recent victory against Boston, here are the five best wins of the Kings season so far:
5. Nov. 6 at Toronto Raptors, 96-91
In what was the first marquee victory of the Kings season, they went up to the Six without starting point guard Darren Collison, holding the Raptors off at the end of the game. Tied 88-88 with three minutes to go, the Kings finished the game on an 8-3 run and were able to keep the Raptors offense from answering.
The key to winning this game was the Kings defense keeping DeMar DeRozan at bay only allowing him to score 23 points on just 7-20 shooting from the field. Up to that point of the season, DeRozan had scored at least 30 points in the first five games of the season prior to the loss against the Kings.
4. Dec. 20 vs. Portland Trail Blazers, 126-121
One of the more emotional games for the Kings this season came against the Trail Blazers at Golden 1 Center which saw the two teams combine for four technical fouls and one rescinded technical as the Kings held on late to beat the team from the Northwest.
DeMarcus Cousins was the focus of this game, falling one point short of his career-high with 55 points while also pulling down 14 rebounds.
Where this game became memorable was in the last minute of a tie game when Cousins was assessed his second technical foul of the game for spitting his mouthpiece at the Portland bench. After Cousins ran to the locker room after the ejection, the referees got together and rescinded the technical foul. Cousins was then seen running down the hallway from the locker room just like the Ultimate Warrior ran down the ramp for his match at Wrestlemania 6 against Hulk Hogan. Cousins then made a lay up and got fouled with 35 seconds remaining and converted the and-1 free throw to give the Kings a late lead they wouldn't relinquish.
3. Feb. 4 vs. Golden State Warriors, 109-106 (OT)
In what is most likely the fan favorite win of the season, the Kings were able to hold off the rival Golden State Warriors in a drama filled affair which featured four technical fouls and Warriors head coach Steve Kerr being ejected in the third quarter.
The Kings did catch a few breaks throughout the game like Warriors star forward Kevin Durant finishing the game with 10 points on 2-10 shooting from the field.
The biggest break of the game however came late in overtime where reigning back-to-back MVP Stephen Curry missed a wide open lay-up with seven seconds remaining that would have given the Warriors a one point lead. The Kings were able to hold on to the lead after a pair of free throws and Draymond Green missing a potential game tying three point shot at the buzzer.
2. Jan. 25 at Cleveland Cavaliers, 116-112 (OT)
The Cavaliers were entering this game with a 22-4 record at the Quicken Loans Arena when the Kings came to town. They were also in a slump losing five of their previous eight games but a win against the defending NBA champions on the road is always something to be happy about.
Cousins and Collison lead the way for the Kings in the overtime thriller that saw the Kings come back from a 10 point deficit with a little less than eight minutes remaining in regulation. Cousins scored eight of the Kings last 10 points in the 4th quarter, getting the Kings into overtime where the Kings fell behind by five with two and half minutes left. The Kings then finished the game on an 9-1 run capped off by an Arron Afflalo three-point shot with 17 seconds remaining to give the Kings the victory.
1. Feb. 8 vs. Boston Celtics, 108-92
The story for this game began in the Kings previous game against the Chicago Bulls. Cousins was given two technical fouls which put Cousin at 16 on the season and an automatic one game suspension for the game against the Boston Celtics.
Without their star big man, Matt Barnes took charge for the Kings finishing the game with 14 points and 11 rebounds in 31 minutes off the bench and Collison lead the way in points with 26 on 12-21 shooting.
The Kings defense is where the Kings dominated where they held the Celtics, who shoot 45.3% from the field and average 108 PPG to 39.7% from the field and only 92 points.
The game also featured former Kings draft pick Isaiah Thomas, who finished the game with 26 points.
