Cory Joseph comes back to haunt Kings as Pistons hand Sacramento fifth consecutive loss
Cory Joseph returned to Sacramento for the first time since being traded and immediately tried to torch the place, leading the Detroit Pistons to a 113-101 victory over the Kings on Thursday at Golden 1 Center.
Joseph had a season-high 24 points, seven assists and four rebounds to help the Pistons (16-36) hand the Kings their fifth consecutive loss. Joseph made 10 of 14 field-goal attempts, including two big baskets in the final minutes.
“Obviously, playing against my former team, you want to get the ‘W,’” Joseph said. “I’m just happy we did that.”
De’Aaron Fox had 23 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for the Kings (22-30), but he went 8 of 19 from the field and 0 of 5 from 3-point range. Richaun Holmes had 15 points and nine rebounds.
The Kings lost to the worst team in the Eastern Conference just 72 hours after suffering a 116-106 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, the worst team in the Western Conference.
“With the way we’ve been playing, it don’t matter who we’re playing,” Fox said.
Sacramento cut the deficit to seven with 2:01 remaining after trailing by 22 in the third quarter, but by then it was too late. Joseph made a couple of midrange jumpers and then dished to Josh Jackson for a dunk to close out the Kings.
Kings coach Luke Walton chose to change his starting lineup after the Kings were outrebounded 54-43, 55-38, 47-40 and 51-42 in their previous four games. Walton started Maurice Harkless instead of rookie Tyrese Haliburton, going away from the three-guard lineup he deployed when Marvin Bagley III broke his hand March 15. The outcome was the same.
The Pistons shot 52.4% from the field and outrebounded the Kings 43-38. The Kings shot 44.2% and made just 7 of 30 (.233) from 3-point range.
“That’s absolutely unacceptable the way we came out and played the game of basketball tonight,” Walton said. “It’s not OK.”
Pistons start CoJo
Joseph made his first visit to Sacramento since he was traded to the Pistons on March 24. He also made his first start for Detroit after Pistons scoring leader Jerami Grant (22.5 ppg) was ruled out due to right knee soreness.
Joseph has played well since the Kings traded him to the Pistons in the deal that brought Delon Wright to Sacramento. He came off the bench in his first eight games to average 10.4 points, 4.9 assists and 3.1 rebounds in 22.4 minutes per game, up from 6.6 points, 2.5 assists and 2.3 rebounds in 44 games for the Kings.
Joseph’s shooting percentages have improved as well. He shot just 44% from the field and 33% from 3-point range with the Kings this season. He went into Thursday’s game shooting 50% from the field and 36.4% from beyond the arc for the Pistons.
Up next
The Kings were fortunate enough to avoid the Utah Jazz over the first 52 games of the season, but these teams will be seeing quite a bit of each other in the weeks ahead.
The Kings will play the first of three remaining games against the Jazz on Saturday when they visit Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City. The Kings and Jazz will meet again in Sacramento on April 28 and once more May 16 in the final game of the regular season.
The Jazz (38-13) has the best record in the NBA despite suffering back-to-back losses to the Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns earlier this week. Utah, led by Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert, Jordan Clarkson, Mike Conley and Bojan Bogdanovic, leads the Western Conference in scoring (116.8) and ranks second in opponent’s points per game (107.4).
Injury report
Pistons: OUT — Jerami Grant (knee); Rodney McGruder (elbow); Mason Plumlee (concussion).
Kings: OUT — Marvin Bagley III (hand).
Kings upcoming schedule
April 10 at Utah Jazz, 6 p.m.
April 12 at New Orleans Pelicans, 6 p.m.
April 14 vs. Washington Wizards, 7 p.m.
April 15 at Phoenix Suns, 7 p.m.
April 18 at Dallas Mavericks, 5 p.m.
This story was originally published April 8, 2021 at 11:00 PM.
