Have Kings quit? Winless road trip ends with loss to Knicks; Fox still out with sore ankle
Interim coach Alvin Gentry was asked if his team has quit after the Kings capped a winless five-game road trip with a 116-96 loss to the New York Knicks on Monday night at Madison Square Garden.
Gentry said he doesn’t believe the team has quit despite its current seven-game losing streak, but that’s a question each player would have to answer for himself.
“I think the losses are stacking up and I think that’s something they would have to answer individually,” Gentry said. “I would sure hope not because the opportunity that you have to be an NBA player and the lifestyle that it affords you, I think you’ve got to be crazy to quit.”
Alec Burks came off the bench to score 21 points for the Knicks (24-27), who had lost three in a row and six of their last seven. Evan Fournier had 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting for New York. Julius Randle had 17 points and nine rebounds.
Tyrese Haliburton had 21 points and eight assists for the Kings (18-34), who have lost 12 of 14 dating back to Jan. 4. Davion Mitchell, starting again in place of De’Aaron Fox, added 18 points and six assists.
The Kings were down by nine at the end of the first quarter and trailed by 17 in the second. The Knicks carried a 54-41 advantage into the halftime break and maintained a double-digit lead throughout the second half, going up by as many as 29 in the fourth quarter.
The Knicks shot 50% from the field and amassed a 47-36 rebounding advantage. They outscored the Kings 61-32 in points off the bench.
Haliburton was asked how he’s holding up during the team’s latest losing streak and whether there are any silver linings for his team.
“No, there’s not,” he said. “We’re losing. I think, as a young player, I’m just trying to take it in stride and learn from it, and learn as much as I can, but there’s no silver lining. We’re just losing.”
The Kings were shorthanded again with Fox, Terence Davis and Marvin Bagley III out due to injuries. Davis is out indefinitely with tendon damage in his right wrist. Bagley was held out with a left ankle sprain. Fox missed his fifth consecutive game due to left ankle soreness.
Gentry fielded a fresh round of questions about Fox before the game.
“He’s still day-to-day,” Gentry said. “It’s still sore, but hopefully he’s getting to the point where he’ll return, so we’ll just have to wait and see.”
Gentry maintained the team is not concerned that Fox is suffering from a more serious injury.
“I don’t think anyone’s concerned,” Gentry said. “I think with a guy like him, you err on the side of caution. I think he’s feeling better, much better, but until he feels like everything is there and he can make the cuts and do the things laterally, I don’t think there’s any reason for us to take a chance of putting him out there right now. We’re not concerned, though.”
Gentry acknowledges some concern over the collective level of energy and focus the Kings have demonstrated recently, but he doesn’t believe his players have given up.
“I do think we need to find a way to do something tangible and come up with some wins,” Gentry said. “I think wins are the thing that solves all your problems, so we’ve got to find a way to do that, but in order to do that we just have to compete and play at a really high level and be focused in on what we’re trying to do. I just didn’t think we did that tonight.
“… As the coach, I’m going to try to find five guys that are going to play hard, that are going to play together and compete at a high level. If you’re asking if I think the whole team has quit, no I don’t feel that way at all. I think there are guys who are willing to compete and willing to compete at a high level, and we’ve just got to find those guys and those have got to be the ones who are out on the court.”
