Well, the Sacramento Kings finally lost. After five straight victories, they dropped a 120-105 road decision to the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday.
This came after beating the Spurs on Monday. But their is no reason for panic. Sacramento’s playoff hopes and ongoing lessons are still marching on.
“We assumed that’s the type of game they were going to play after we beat them the first game,” Kings coach Luke Walton said. “What to be learned from that is how much higher the intensity has to be in this type of setting.”
In the first matchup vs. the Spurs this week, the Kings sizzled to the tune of 56 percent shooting, including 50 percent on 3-pointers. Things were considerably different Wednesday, when they went 42 percent from the field and 31 percent on threes.
“I have to give the credit to the Spurs,” Kings center Richaun Holmes said. “They really controlled the tempo and the pace of the game.”
On the bright side, the Kings (22-26) are still just 3.5 games behind the Spurs for the final playoff spot. That includes a solid 10-14 mark on the road.
They also got their first taste of how good new acquisition Delon Wright can be. The trade-deadline arrival scored 16 points in defeat — after combining for just six points in the first two games after the deal with the Detroit Pistons.
Still, the Kings have won seven of 10 and feeling good about their new acquisitions, and how they fit with the players who remained.
It’s been 14 years since the Kings qualified for the playoffs. Even in defeat, things tend to be looking up.
“It feels like we’re building something,” forward Harrison Barnes said recently.
