Kings eliminated from playoff contention and annihilated by Rockets’ Austin Rivers
The Kings played meaningful games into August after the season was postponed nearly four months due to the coronavirus pandemic.
They went to the NBA bubble with an opportunity to end the league’s longest active postseason drought after 13 consecutive losing seasons, but it will feel like any other March or April in Sacramento now that the Kings have been eliminated from playoff contention for the 14th year in a row.
Austin Rivers scored a career-high 41 points to lead the Houston Rockets to a 129-112 victory over the Kings on Sunday at Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando. James Harden had 32 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Rockets (44-25).
De’Aaron Fox had 26 points and nine assists for the Kings (29-41), who have lost five of their first six games in the bubble. Buddy Hield scored 16 points. DaQuan Jeffries had 13 and Harrison Barnes posted a double-double, finishing with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
The Kings led 36-23 after playing a nearly flawless first quarter. They made 15 of 23 (.652) from the field and 5 of 9 (.556) from 3-point range while racking up 11 assists with just three turnovers. Hield came off the bench to score 11 points in three minutes, going 4 of 4 from the field and 3 of 3 from 3-point range.
Some of the Kings’ offense was created by their defense as Fox, Hield and Jeffries came up with steals that led to transition baskets. Gambling on defense gets the Kings in trouble, but they were not overly aggressive.
They were poised, patient and in good position. For the most part, they answered coach Luke Walton’s call to defend without fouling. The Rockets missed 11 of their first 12 shots and finished the first quarter shooting 33.3% with six turnovers.
Then the second quarter began. The Kings reverted to their old ways and Houston got hot, staging a 14-0 run to take a 55-50 lead. The Rockets made 13 of 22 from the field and 7 of 14 from 3-point range in the second quarter. They led 61-56 at the break, stretched the lead to double digits early in the third quarter and eventually went up by as many as 24 points.
“We’ve got to be consistent,” Kings guard Cory Joseph said. “The inconsistency the whole year killed us. We’re a very talented team and that’s why it’s very upsetting that we’re in this position. We’ve just got to learn from it and come back stronger.”
Walton was asked what it means when a team plays so well during some stretches and so poorly in others.
“It just means we’re not there yet,” Walton said. “It’s one of those things you hear people always talk about how much a team gains from making the playoffs and feeling that and experiencing that, and that driving them to push themselves even further because we want to get back to that. Right now, we’re not there as a team. Unfortunately the best and only way to really learn that lesson is to feel that pain and that pain has to mean enough. It’s got to hurt enough that we’re willing to make changes and push further through, and that’s what I’m hopeful that the bubble is teaching us right now.”
Playoff race
The Kings and New Orleans Pelicans were eliminated from playoff contention when the Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 124-121, a game that ended as the Kings and Rockets were nearing halftime.
The Memphis Grizzlies are clinging to the eighth spot in the Western Conference, but their lead over the Blazers is down to a half-game. The Phoenix Suns are one game behind the Blazers and a half-game ahead of the San Antonio Spurs after winning their first five games in the bubble.
The teams that finish eighth and ninth will face-off under the play-in scenario. The ninth-place team must beat the eighth-place team twice on consecutive days to earn the No. 8 seed. The eighth-place team only needs to win one of those two games to advance to the playoffs.
The Kings’ 14-year playoff drought is the NBA’s longest active streak and the second-longest in league history. If they can’t end the drought next season, they will match a dubious record set by the Los Angeles Clippers, who missed the playoffs 15 years in a row from 1977-91.
Guarding James Harden
Harden is an eight-time All-Star and former MVP who has mastered the art of getting to the free-throw line.
Harden is averaging 34.3 points, 7.5 assists and 6.4 rebounds this season. He is an 86.3% free-throw shooter who leads the league in free throws made (10.2) and attempted (11.9) per game.
Walton was asked before the game about the difficulty of guarding Harden.
“It’s probably the most difficult task there is in the NBA, honestly,” Walton said. “I’m not sure if James gets enough credit for what he does, but the best thing we can do is play hard defense without fouling. Because he’s going to make incredible shots, he’s going to score points, but if we put him on the line 10, 12, 15 times, then that’s really limiting our chances. So we’ve got to do everything we can to make him uncomfortable and not foul him when he puts the ball through the lane and guys have a tendency to reach. We’ve got to be disciplined with that part of our defense.”
Injury report
Kings center Richaun Holmes and guard Kent Bazemore were both ruled out for Sunday’s game.
Holmes appeared in Friday’s game against the Brooklyn Nets but left the in the second quarter and did not return due to right hip soreness. Bazemore was held out for the second game in a row with left calf soreness.
Russell Westbrook (quad), Eric Gordon (ankle) and Bruno Caboclo (ankle) were out for the Rockets.
Up next
Sacramento will face New Orleans for the second time in six days Tuesday. The Kings handed the Pelicans a 140-125 loss on Thursday. Bogdan Bogdanovic scored a career-high 35 points and De’Aaron Fox recorded a double-double with 30 points and 10 assists. Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram scored 24 points apiece for the Pelicans.
Kings schedule/results
Spurs 129, Kings 120
Magic 132, Kings 116
Mavericks 114, Kings 110 (OT)
Kings 140, Pelicans 125
Nets 116, Kings 103
Rockets 129, Kings 112
Aug. 11 vs. Pelicans, 6 p.m. (NBCS, TNT)
Aug. 13 vs. Lakers, TBD (NBCS)
This story was originally published August 9, 2020 at 7:30 PM.
