Kings’ win over Spurs shows they’re still fighting as intriguing offseason approaches
What the Kings did Sunday evening in their victory over the San Antonio Spurs was significant and meaningful in many important ways.
Remember the Alamo? This was less bloody and not as historic, but it happened near that historic site and proved the Kings still have some fight in them, too. It reminded us their biggest battles will be waged in the years to come, every move between now and then will shape events of the future, and we should watch closely as they come home this week with an offseason of intrigue fast approaching.
“Just a terrific effort for what we’re trying to build here,” Kings coach Dave Joerger said. “That goes a long, long way to the heart and resiliency that we want to have as a core belief and a character value for our team, our franchise and our program.”
The Kings had every reason to surrender to sobering realities in San Antonio. They were playing the second night of a back-to-back, their third game in four nights and their sixth game in six cities over nine days.
This was the final stop on a five-game, eight-day trip that took the Kings from Sacramento to Los Angeles, Dallas, New Orleans, Houston, San Antonio, and finally, back to Sacramento. They traveled more than 4,000 miles.
Prized rookie Marvin Bagley III didn’t play against the Spurs due to a stomach illness. Rising rookie Harry Giles III didn’t play because of a bruised left thigh. Nemanja Bjelica was just returning from his own stomach illness and De’Aaron Fox didn’t look so good, either, saying he had been congested for a week.
So the Kings were tired, road weary and shorthanded, some of them physically ill, and everybody was crammed into a quaint visitor’s locker room, trying not to get touched or breathed on by anyone.
If those circumstances were not difficult enough, the Kings had just been eliminated from playoff contention 24 hours earlier in Houston, officially becoming the final team to bow out of the race in the Western Conference. You might have expected a lackluster performance thinking these guys had nothing to play for anymore, and what did they do?
They won.
They played like it meant something to them. They went toe-to-toe with a team that had won 11 of 15 to secure its 22nd consecutive playoff berth under legendary coach Gregg Popovich. They beat San Antonio 113-106, completing the first season sweep of the Spurs in franchise history.
“Our guys are exhausted, but they put their heads up,” Joerger said. “When you do something that has never been done before ... those kinds of things stick with guys and you kind of remember those things, I think, throughout the course of your career.”
Those things shape a team’s identity in important and meaningful ways.
“This team’s got a lot of resilience,” Kings small forward Harrison Barnes said. “We’re going to keep attacking in waves. We were kind of down bodies, but everyone stepped up.”
The Spurs recognized and admired the effort from a fun, young Kings team that dared to dream of ending the NBA’s longest postseason drought after 12 losing seasons.
“They’re very fast, very athletic, play well together and shoot the ball extremely well,” Spurs small forward DeMar DeRozan said. “It’s tough. No matter what their record is, they still go out there and play extremely hard.”
Kinds words from yet another NBA All-Star, but DeRozan wasn’t done.
“They’ve got a great coach over there. Those guys — nobody wants to be going home next week, and for them, I think they are still playing with a sense of urgency and trying to get the most out of it. It’s not just for this season but going into the summer and next year, so playing against a team like that is tough.”
Popovich was again impressed after heaping praise on the Kings following two earlier losses in Sacramento.
“It was a back-to-back for them, so they did a great job,” Popovich said. “They’re young guys, they’re talented, they want to keep building for the future and they’re good people. They’re going to come in and they’re going to play.”
In the months ahead, we’ll find out if Joerger and Kings general manager Vlade Divac receive contract extensions, if Barnes and Willie Cauley-Stein stay with the organization, if the team can attract the right free agent.
For now, we know they are still exhibiting pride and growth even at this late stage in the season.
The Kings have talked a lot about a recurring inability to execute and finish in the fourth quarter, usually after letting a late lead become one of the narrow losses that ultimately doomed their playoff hopes. This time, they finished with a flourish, closing out the Spurs with an 8-0 run after falling behind 106-105 with 2:53 to play.
“I wish we could have closed out the games in New Orleans, in L.A. and Houston, games we feel like we could’ve won, too, but, you know, it be like that sometimes,” Kings guard Buddy Hield said. “Like I told the guys in the huddle, if we’re going to be finishing games, let’s try to finish this one.”
So remember San Antonio and the battle the Kings waged here. What they did against the Spurs — what they do at home in a rematch with the Houston Rockets on Tuesday night at Golden 1 Center and everything they do in the months ahead — will shape events of the future.
This story was originally published April 1, 2019 at 5:16 PM.