Struggling Kings blow big leads, fall in playoff race during long skid
A statistical look at the Kings since the All-Star break:
1: Victories since trading All-Star big man DeMarcus Cousins during the break, a 116-100 win over Denver on Feb. 23 at Golden 1 Center.
1.5: Games behind Denver for the Western Conference’s last playoff spot at the break. Entering Sunday, the Kings are six games out.
2: Games in which the Kings never led: March 1 in a 109-100 home loss to Brooklyn and March 6 in a 108-96 loss in Denver.
Even the post-Cousins Kings think losing to the Nets is 'embarrassing' and 'inexcusable'https://t.co/xYbx9s1u4S pic.twitter.com/5mUKSnR5sA
— CBS Sports NBA (@CBSSportsNBA) March 2, 2017
2: Overtime games, both home losses – 110-109 to Utah on March 5 and 130-122 to Washington on Friday.
2: Victories for Nuggets coach Michael Malone over his former club. He was 0-5 against the Kings before a March 6 victory in Denver and a 105-92 win Saturday in Sacramento.
3: Double-digit leads blown – March 5 vs. Utah (16), Wednesday in San Antonio (28) and Friday vs. Washington (15).
4.5: Games ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers, who are last in the West at 20-45 entering Sunday.
5.4: Assists average for Kings guards Darren Collison and Ty Lawson.
7: Games played at Golden 1 Center (1-6).
8: Consecutive losses for the Kings, a season-high skid.
Kings sticking with their veterans as losing streak reaches eight https://t.co/8W1s6w9k2e
— Jason Jones (@mr_jasonjones) March 12, 2017
8.1: Rebounding average for Kings center Kosta Koufos to lead the team.
9: Games played since the All-Star break.
13.9: Scoring average for Kings guard Buddy Hield, the main player acquired from New Orleans in the Cousins trade. His average leads the team since the break.
16: Games in a row lost by Brooklyn before they beat the Kings on March 1.
20.8: Cousins’ scoring average in eight games with New Orleans, down from the 27.8 per night he put up as a King. The Pelicans are 2-6 in that span.
DeMarcus Cousins benched in fourth quarter over 'coach's decision' in #Pelicans win https://t.co/6eHTlMZfPz #NBA #KingsTalk pic.twitter.com/C37QxKzEsl
— CSNAuthentic (@CSNAuthentic) March 12, 2017
28: Largest lead blown by the Kings. Sacramento was up 59-31 on Wednesday in San Antonio but lost 114-104 to the Spurs.
29: Career-high point total for Kings center Willie Cauley-Stein on Feb. 23.
102.9: Kings’ scoring average since the break.
This story was originally published March 12, 2017 at 7:28 PM with the headline "Struggling Kings blow big leads, fall in playoff race during long skid."