The DeMarcus Cousins Administration Is 0-5 In Retro Uniforms, LeBron James Dishes Out 15 Dimes in 12
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Sacramento, Calif. – Sacramento Kings forward Omri Casspi said after a Jan. 12 practice that the Cleveland Cavaliers were a “Wild beast that has been bitten twice in the past few days.”
In reference to the Cavaliers’ consecutive road losses to the Utah Jazz and Portland Trail Blazers before arriving in Sacramento, LeBron James and his wolf pack were bloodthirsty and the Kings were the prey.
Yes, it was a light slaughter of sorts. But the wild beast showed its sharp teeth and bit right back as the Kings coiled around their fourth home loss in five games.
In a 120-108 victory, James had 16 points and 15 assists in a little over 41 minutes of floor time for the Cavaliers Cleveland Cavaliers (29-10, 11-7 road). Cleveland is now 3-2 on West Coast swing.
Thanks to Kings James looking for the open players to feed all night, the Cavaliers were able to make 44 of 87 shots from the floor at 50.6 percent. Cleveland was 15-for-37 shooting behind the 3-point line against the Kings.
“It’s just how I play the game,” James said of dropping dimes for the Cavaliers. “However the game is dictated I take an advantage of it. My guys made shots. I just try to put it there on time and on target. All they have to do to finish is catch and shoot.”
Sacramento Kings point guard goes hard in the paint against Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving. Lawson had 17 points in a 120-108 losing cause. The Kings are also 0-5 while playing in the throwback uniforms on Flashback Fridays at Golden 1 Center. Publicity Agents photo art by T. Ray Harvey. Jan. 13, 2017.
Kyrie Irving had 26 points, five assists, and three rebounds and Kevin Love added 15 points and 18 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who win their third game on a six-game road trip. The last game before heading back to Cleveland is on Dr. Martin Luther King Holiday against the Golden State Warriors.
The Kings were downs as many as 24 points in the first half, but they did have a little fight left in them to cut Cleveland’s lead to eight in the third quarter. The Kings messed around and turned the ball over 14 times in the first half that lead to 18 fast break points. The Cavaliers finished with 24 fast break points to the Kings’ six.
“We got off to a slow start,” said Kings head coach Dave Joerger. “We cut it down in the second half a little bit. I’m happy the way we battled. But they are a good team. They present a plethora of problems to try to solve and that was a good experience for our guys.”
DeMarcus Cousins had another all-round game with 26 points, 11 assists, and eight rebounds for the Kings. Sacramento Kings (16-23, 8-11 G1C). Rudy Gay had a strong second half to end up with 23 points, 10 rebounds, and two assists.
The Kings held their own against the NBA Champions despite Cleveland seeking some kind of revenge for the last two losses. The Kings are now 1-4 on this homestand. For this one, they have to point it all at those turnovers in the first half. They only had seven in the second half.
“When you play a team of this caliber you just can’t spot them points the way we did tonight,” Cousins of the Kings who were outscored 32-15 in the first quarter. “You have to be discipline and fundamental as we can be when you play a team this good. We made it hard on ourselves.”
LeBron James helped his team stopped a two-game losing streak. Publicity Agents photo art by T. Ray Harvey. Jan. 13, 2017.
Kyle Korver made it hard on the Kings, too. Korver, who was traded from the Atlanta Hawks to Cleveland earlier this week, had his best game since joining the team Jan. 10. He had 18 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals. He also made four 3-pointers.
‘Hopefully, it just keeps getting better,” Korver said.
What positive the Kings can take to the bank from their matchup with the Cavaliers is the 52.5 percent shooting from the field. The Kings made 42 of 80 shots from the floor, but once again, mishandling the ball in the first half leads back to the negative side.
“I would have to look at the film for all of them 14,” said Kings guard Garrett Temple. “I think it’s just a lack of focus. We didn’t stay in tune.”
By T. Ray Harvey | PA Public Information Officer and Photographic Artist
Publicity Agents’ PRESS INFORMATION:
The DeMarcus Cousins Administration – Cousins is closing in on Peja Stojakovic second-place position for the most points in the Sacramento Kings-era. Cousins now has 9, 423 points. Stojakovic has 9,498 and follows leader Mitch Richmond (12,070 points).
The Law Firm of Lawson and Lawson – Point guard Ty Lawson had 17 points off the bench against the Cleveland Cavaliers. In the last five games he is averaging 15 points per game. Most of it is credited to his ability to get in the paint for layups. DeMarcus Cousins, “When Ty is in the game he takes a lot of pressure off me. I can get back into a scoring mode when we need it. It’s just a different look. When I’m with DC (Darren Collison) I am more the playmaker and I need DC to score. (Ty) is just a different look we have for this team.
The Kings are 0-5 while wearing the retro, powder-blue uniforms this season. In celebration of the team’s 1985 uniform, the Kings have lost to the L.A. Clippers (Nov. 18), Houston Rockets (Nov. 25), New York Knicks (Dec. 9), L.A. Clippers (Jan. 4) and Cleveland Cavaliers (Jan. 13). The throwback uniforms is part of the Kings “Flashback Friday” routine.
T. Ray (Antonio) Harvey is a Public Information Officer and Photographic Artist for Publicity Agents. Harvey is also the author of The HOMICIDAL HANDYMAN OF OAK PARK: MORRIS SOLOMON JR.
