‘We’re not done yet:’ Kings vow to keep fighting in Western Conference playoff race
The Kings have beaten the Oklahoma City Thunder three times. They’ve beaten the Indiana Pacers, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Portland Trail Blazers. They nearly knocked off the Golden State Warriors and the Milwaukee Bucks — arguably the two best teams in the NBA.
Even in this season of wonderful surprises, there’s one thing they can’t seem to do: Beat L.A.
The Los Angeles Clippers handed the Kings a 116-109 loss Friday night at Golden 1 Center, beating Sacramento for the fourth time this season in a game that could prove pivotal in the Western Conference playoff race. The Kings stormed back from a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit to get within three with 1:16 remaining, but the comeback came up short.
The mood in the locker room after the game was subdued but resolute.
“We’ve got 20 more games,” Kings guard Buddy Hield said. “It’s not like it’s the end of the world. We could go off and win five or six in a row and make this thing fun again. We’re not done yet.”
Landry Shamet scored 20 points for the Clippers (35-29). Danilo Gallinari had 19 points and Lou Williams scored 17.
Hield scored 23 points to lead the Kings (31-31). Willie Cauley-Stein had 16 points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots. Rookie Harry Giles III turned in an impressive performance off the bench, scoring 15 points in 17 minutes.
The Clippers moved a half-game ahead of the San Antonio Spurs for seventh in the Western Conference. The Kings fell 2 1/2 games behind the Spurs for eighth.
“Every game from the (All-Star) break is a playoff game,” Cauley-Stein said. “Every possession matters and everything goes down to the wire. Every game is a playoff game. This is our playoff right here to get to the playoffs.”
The Kings started the month of March in playoff contention for the first time since they made their last postseason appearance in 2006. The crowd seemed to be well aware of the playoff implications, chanting “DEFENSE” on the Clippers’ first possession of the game.
Sacramento fell behind by 10 in the first quarter after point guard De’Aaron Fox went to the bench with two fouls in the first 1:53. Fox finally returned at the start of the second quarter and quickly provided a spark, converting a three-point play and then dishing to Nemanja Bjelica for an open 3-pointer that gave the Kings a 33-32 lead.
The Kings carried a 56-53 advantage into the locker room at halftime, but the Clippers reclaimed the lead on a 3-pointer by Patrick Beverley early in the third quarter. Sacramento briefly regained the lead on a couple of occasions, but Los Angeles was up 87-82 going into the fourth period.
Kings owner Vivek Ranadive nervously glanced up at the scoreboard from his courtside seat when the Clippers extended their lead to 11 early in the fourth. He sprang to his feet when Bogdan Bogdanovic cut the deficit to five with just over five minutes remaining.
Sacramento got within three a couple of times in the final minutes, but some big baskets by Lou Williams helped Los Angeles hold on. The Clippers, who beat the Kings by an average of 11.7 points per game in the first three contests, amassed a 58-46 rebounding advantage.
“Tough team for us to play,” Kings coach Dave Joerger said. “It’s been a tough matchup for us all year. They are very physical and they made a lot of the plays.”
Hield took the loss personally after making just 6 of 19 field-goal attempts, saying: “I’ve got to do a better job of being efficient for my team and get back to my regular self.”
Cauley-Stein, in a moment of introspection, found something of a silver lining.
“We’re learning something to get to the point where we’re at,” he said. “We’re to the point where we’re not stopping in games. It’s coming down to last possessions and those are all learning points, all execution learning points, and that’s our trial. That’s what we’re learning is how to close out games and how to come back ... and that’s playoff basketball, so that’s the little trials and tribulations we’re going through right now, and we need it.”
This story was originally published March 1, 2019 at 9:38 PM.
