CHICAGO – Kenny Natt has been walking a fine line in his new coaching gig, trying to reinforce the positive while not being afraid to speak his mind when it comes to the negative.
Yet as his Kings fell yet again Tuesday night, 99-94 to Chicago, Natt found himself unable to emphasize what went right because this situation has grown so terribly wrong.
Ten losses in 12 games since Reggie Theus was fired means that nothing regarding the on-floor product has changed in the eyes of most. The latest made for the Kings' third 0-4 trip this season, their 12th consecutive road loss overall and an 8-28 record that extended their status as the slowest-starting Kings team in the Sacramento era. In the process, Natt has developed a mantra that he would be elated to change if only he had the chance.
"We are our own worst enemy," he said once again after this one.
That destructive theme was on full display with 9.1 seconds left in the game, when the Kings came out of a timeout down three and – one would assume – looking to tie the score. The assumption would be accurate, as Natt said the designed play called for Kevin Martin to take the ball and pick one of two options.
A) Shoot a three-pointer.
B) Penetrate to draw the defense and find a shooter for the three.
But Martin opted for "C," pump-faking when a defender closed on him and – much to the shock of his teammates and opponents – shooting a layup. Making matters worse, he missed the shot as Thabo Sefolosha grabbed the rebound and a fourth-quarter Kings comeback was averted by the Kings themselves.
"Kevin knew that we were down three, and he decided to take the ball to the basket," Natt said. "For whatever reason, we thought that he had some looks but he drew some other guys in and it was just a situation where he just decided to go for the two. … Again, decision-making down the stretch has hurt us, and we have to continue to get better at it."
Martin started for the first time since returning five games ago and had 29 points, but the finish left him as confounded as the rest.
"It's a play where I come up the middle, and if the three is open, take it," said Martin, who scored 16 fourth-quarter points. "I think we needed a three. I just felt pressure and took it to the hole and missed it.
"This loss had nothing to do with (the Bulls). It was all us tonight."
In all the wrong ways.
The Kings had made it interesting late despite being down 84-70 early in the fourth quarter. Martin sparked a 10-0 run with a three-pointer. Then Beno Udrih scurried through the lane for a layup, Bobby Brown buried a three, and Francisco García took a backdoor pass from Brad Miller for a dunk that cut the Bulls' lead to 84-80.
Drew Gooden put an end to it, hitting a layup that was just part of his strong outing. The forward, who has drawn the Kings' interest for years, returned from an eight-game absence (left ankle) to tally 18 points and 10 rebounds off the bench. He hit six free throws in the fourth quarter alone, part of a charitable night for the Kings as Chicago hit 33 of 36 from the line.
That was precisely how the Bulls won despite an awful shooting night, as their 38.6 percent outing marked just the second time the Kings had held a team below 40 percent all season.
Read the Kings blog at www.sacbee.com/kingsblog.
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