NORTH NATOMAS — Before the Sacramento Kings played the San Antonio Spurs in a nationally televised game at Sleep Train Arena on Feb. 24, head coach George Karl referred to the southwest team from Texas as a well-oiled “machine.”
The Spurs, for the fifth straight time, showed the Kings just how mechanical they are by beating Sacramento 108-92. The Kings trailed 76-70 after three quarters, but the Spurs outscored them 32-22 in the final quarter.
The Spurs shot 14-for-19, 73.7 percent, from the floor in the fourth quarter to claim the victory. San Antonio has the second-best record in the Western Conference.
“We didn’t do a good job of getting back in transition in those moments,” Kings point guard Rajon Rondo said of the fourth quarter. “It seemed like it happened so quickly. The lead was at 10 and it went to 19. That’s what they do. That’s what they did here the last time and it repeated itself again.”
DeMarcus Cousins was 0-for-10 from the floor in the first half, but managed to finish with 22 points, 10 rebounds, and two assists. Quincy Acy and Darren Collison had 15 point each for the Kings (24-32). Rondo had 18 assists in the loss that stopped a three-game winning streak.
“I actually thought we forced a lot of turnovers from them and forced a lot of bad possessions with our defense,” Karl said following the game. “Without looking at the film, I’d have to blame our offense more than defense on losing the game.”
Back in action from a three-game absence, Kawhi Leonard had 18 points, eight rebounds, and four steals for the Spurs (48-9). Tony Parker added 23 points and six assists in nearly 31 minutes for San Antonio.
The Spurs also had 14 points from reserve Kyle Anderson and 10 points from Jonathon Simmons.
“It was a huge focus to control transition defense,” Parker said. “I think we can do better but overall we held them to 92 points. That’s good against them because they were playing well scoring like 120 points or something like that.”
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By Antonio R. Harvey
OBSERVER Staff Writer