‘Good to be home:’ Kings conclude long trip and confirm All-Star Weekend invitees

Justin Jackson misses his wife. De’Aaron Fox misses his dogs. Marvin Bagley III wants to see his brothers.

There might be other issues to address in the days and weeks ahead, but the Kings were just happy to be headed home after ending a 12-day trip with a 122-108 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday afternoon at Staples Center.

“It’s going to feel real good to get in my own bed again,” Bagley said.

The Kings (25-25) left Sacramento on Jan. 16, traveling through rain, sleet, snow and sub-zero wind-chill temperatures. They made stops in Charlotte, Detroit and Brooklyn, ventured into Canada and made another cross-country trek to Memphis and, finally, Los Angeles.

“You definitely feel it,” Jackson said. “By the end of it, you’re just kind of drained. You’ve got to lock in a little bit more and try to get yourself going.”

That was the problem early in Sunday’s game. It took too long for the Kings to get going.

They looked lethargic. They missed 17 of their first 25 shots, fell behind by 16 in the first quarter and trailed by 25 with just over seven minutes remaining in the first half.

The Clippers (28-22) came out sizzling. Led by an early barrage from Patrick Beverley, they shot 54.2 percent and made 6 of 7 from 3-point range in the opening period.

“We got off to a slow start,” Kings coach Dave Joerger said. “They made a lot of shots in the first half, and especially the first quarter ... so they got away from us.”

Some Kings fans believe there’s a reason for the slow starts lately. A vocal faction of the team’s fan base has taken to social media urging Joerger to start Bagley instead of Nemanja Bjelica and Bogdan Bogdanovic in place of Iman Shumpert.

Bjelica and Shumpert have struggled with their shots in recent weeks after playing major roles in Sacramento’s surprising success earlier in the season. Bjelica had a big game in Friday’s win over the Memphis Grizzlies, but he got into early foul trouble Sunday and barely made a mark on the game with three points on 1-of-6 shooting.

Shumpert made a couple of big 3-pointers as the Kings stormed back to cut the deficit to five in the fourth quarter, but he finished 5 of 13 from the field and 3 of 9 from 3-point range.

Joerger said he has not considered moving Shumpert to the bench. He said Shumpert has been “a big part of what we do” and Bjelica, when shooting well, provides vital court spacing. But Joerger acknowledged their struggles have contributed to the team’s lower scoring and slower pace over the past month.

“We’ve played some teams that play a little bit slower this month and we’ve had a couple of guys who aren’t shooting the ball great, and they’ll be better,” Joerger said. “Nemanja and Iman are both having a couple of weeks where they’re not shooting the ball great, but that stuff always evens itself out and we like the space.”

Shortly after the game, Shumpert tweeted a few words of wisdom that could be beneficial for a young team that has lost four of six while trying to stay in playoff contention.

“Have to stay the course and be the same team win or lose,” Shumpert wrote. “If your character dwindles in defeat, you were never who you thought you were.”

A couple of fans snapped back, replying that Shumpert should “stop thinking (you’re) Steph Curry” and “taking 3s as if you’re Buddy Hield.”

These are the waters Joerger and the rest of the organization will have to navigate in the days and weeks ahead, but Sunday evening, they were looking forward to flying the friendly sky back to Sacramento.

The Kings begin a season-long, six-game home stand Wednesday against the Atlanta Hawks at Golden 1 Center. The Kings won’t go on the road again until they play at Denver on Feb. 13, right before the All-Star break.

Fox confirmed Sunday he will compete in the Skills Challenge, and Hield will take part in the Three-Point Contest on All-Star Saturday Night, Feb. 16, in Charlotte, N.C. Fox, Bogdanovic and Bagley are expected to receive invitations to the Rising Stars game, but the league has yet to make those notifications.

Fox said he’s looking forward to competing at All-Star Weekend, but first he wants to enjoy the comforts of home.

“Just being in my own bed, being in my own home; I’ve got my dogs,” he said. “Just not having to get on a plane all the time — that’s probably the biggest thing. It’s always good to be home.”

This story was originally published January 27, 2019 at 6:57 PM.