You’re going to go a long time before you find a better basketball game this season than the one the Kings and Clippers played on Friday night.
This was absolutely the best basketball game of the year and it will probably remain that throughout the rest of the season — playoffs included. It’s absolutely nuts how wild this game got.
The Kings won outright, 176-175. And, yes, that score is wild. But it doesn’t even begin to paint the picture of how crazy this game got.
I know most of you missed this because, well, you have a life. The game didn’t end until about 1:30 a.m. on the East Coast. Y’all had Saturday plans, obviously.
But yerboi watched the whole thing to hold it down for you. Let’s just come through a few stats to show you exactly how wild this thing got.
Russell Westbrook is expected to make his Los Angeles Clippers debut Friday against the Sacramento Kings, but this game is bigger than one player.
Supposedly a title contender, the Clippers trail the Kings by 1.5 games for third place in the Western Conference. And while there’s much to be decided in terms of seeding over the next two months, they don’t want to fall too far back with the Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks lurking close behind in the fifth and sixth spots.
LA’s +1000 championship odds remain fifth best in the NBA at BetMGM, but the Ty Lue-coached squad hasn’t consistently played up to the standards of a team with such expectations. If the Clips are truly turning a corner as it appeared they might be before the All-Star break, a game against Sacramento is a good opportunity to show and prove.
LA is favored at home by 6.5 points, but the upstart Kings won’t be a cakewalk. They started their post-break schedule Thursday with a win over the Portland Trail Blazers, and Friday’s game being the second of a back-to-back is the only reason the spread isn’t closer.
Led by all-stars Domantas Sabonis and De’Aaron Fox, Sacramento thrives on the offensive side of the ball where it ranks second to the Denver Nuggets in the entire NBA. It’s just the type of scoring that can exploit a Clippers defense that has slipped from 11th to 21st over an otherwise solid six-game stretch of basketball where they’ve gone 4-2.
Russell Westbrook is expected to start and Terance Mann is expected to rejoin second unit
In that same span, the Clippers have been a top-10 offensive team, which is why they should win Friday. The Kings don’t have anyone to stop Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. This is where Westbrook can help too, as someone who can create offense for others on a bottom-six team in assist percentage.
Ultimately, though, I don’t think a back-to-back should have a huge effect on a young team fresh off of a long break. And Sacramento’s 15-13 road record is identical to LA’s record at home. So, I’ll pick the Kings to cover in a tight 119-118 win for the Clippers.
The #Rockets thought they had a feel-good win over the Kings, but with 0.3 seconds left, NBA official Ray Acosta had other ideas. Here’s how the surreal scene played out in real-time.
The clock at Toyota Center read 0.0, the last-second shot by Sacramento guard De’Aaron Fox was way off, and fans erupted as the host Houston Rockets were up on the scoreboard, 128-127. It appeared to be a rare bright spot during another rebuilding season.
But Wednesday’s happy scene didn’t last thanks to Ray Acosta, whose whistle couldn’t even be heard over the roar.
Acosta, one of three on-court officials, whistled a foul on Rockets guard Eric Gordon. The contact was minimal, and Fox had kicked his right leg backward, in Gordon’s direction, seemingly in hopes of a call. But once the whistle was blown, little could be changed.
The officials went to the monitor, but all that could be replayed was the time on the clock at the time of the whistle. Whether the call was accurate could not be reviewed without Houston using a coach’s challenge, which Stephen Silas could not do since he had already used one. In a rare postgame interview with a pool reporter, crew chief Gediminas Petraitis said he believed the call was correct.
Whatever the case, the whistle was blown at 0.3, and Fox — a great shooter — buried all three free throws to give the Kings a 130-128 victory (box score). Sacramento improved to 31-23, while Houston dropped its fourth straight game to fall to an NBA-worst 13-42.
To no surprise, fans watching the game — and especially those in Houston, partial to the Rockets — exploded upon witnessing the surreal scene. Here’s a real-time look at how it all went down.
Rookie Wire took a look at some of the biggest snubs from the 2023 NBA All-Star Game.
The NBA on Thursday unveiled the seven reserve players from each conference to complete the rosters for the 2023 NBA All-Star Game on Feb. 19 in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James led all players in fan voting to represent the Western Conference as a starter. Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo was the lead vote-getter in the Eastern Conference. The two players will serve as captains and select their teams right before the start of the All-Star Game for the first time.
Joining James as the starters from the Western Conference are Nikola Jokic (Denver), Zion Williamson (New Orleans), Stephen Curry (Golden State) and Luka Doncic (Dallas). From the Eastern Conference, the other starters are Kevin Durant (Brooklyn), Jayson Tatum (Boston), Kyrie Irving (Brooklyn) and Donovan Mitchell (Cleveland).
The seven reserves in each conference were voted on by the 30 head coaches in the NBA. Each selected two guards, three frontcourt players and two additional players from any position, but were not permitted to choose players from their team.
The 14 reserve players that will join the 10 starters:
Eastern Conference
Western Conference
Joel Embiid, 76ers
Ja Morant, Grizzlies
DeMar DeRozan, Bulls
Domantas Sabonis, Kings
Jaylen Brown, Celtics
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder
Bam Adebayo, Heat
Paul George, Clippers
Jrue Holiday, Bucks
Damian Lillard, Trail Blazers
Julius Randle, Knicks
Lauri Markkanen, Jazz
Tyrese Haliburton, Pacers
Jaren Jackson Jr., Grizzlies
With the rosters set, Rookie Wire took a look at some of the biggest snubs from the announcement of the reserves. It should be stated that some of these players could eventually make it as replacement players for those All-Stars who may be injured.
Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey gives his respect to Sacramento Kings guard De’Aaron Fox.
The Philadelphia 76ers pulled off an impressive rally on Saturday when they were down 21 points to a good Sacramento Kings team that was home. Despite playing without both Joel Embiid and James Harden, the Sixers rallied in SacTown.
The game featured a battle between two very good young guards. Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey was terrific. He had 32 points, including 21 in the second half, and six assists. Sacramento’s De’Aaron Fox had 31 points on 11-for-19 shooting and nine assists.
Fox is a worthy adversary and after the win, Maxey gave his respect to the leading man for the Kings.
“When you play against De’Aaron Fox, he’s going to come at you extremely fast,” Maxey told reporters. “The pace is going to be pushed. He was good and it’s hard to stop when he’s moving, especially when we weren’t scoring and they were running downhill on us.”
Combine Fox’s speed and athleticism with the steady play of Domantas Sabonis and Sacramento has a duo that can be tough to stop on their offensive end of the floor.
“Sabonis is a force down there as well,” Maxey continued. “We knew coming in that they were going to play extremely fast. I think their pace at the beginning of the game was because we were turning the ball over and we were taking some quick shots. Because of those two things, they were able to run and get out in transition on us. I think that was a difference-maker in the second half when it shifted.”
Maxey and the Sixers vanquished Fox and the Kings. Now, Philadelphia looks to come home and keep the momentum going on Wednesday when it plays host to the Brooklyn Nets.
Based on what we’ve seen so far, the inaugural winner of the NBA’s Jerry West Clutch Player of the Year should be Kings guard De’Aaron Fox.
After the award was first introduced last month, we ranked the ten most deserving candidates. Unfortunately, however, we omitted Fox from that list. That was a mistake, and as the Kings climb toward the top of the standings in the Western Conference, he continues to prove why.
Even though DeRozan leads the NBA in total clutch scoring, Fox still has a far better case to win the award. The Bulls have a losing record (8-13) during games DeRozan has played that have gone into the clutch while the Kings are winning (12-9) with Fox.
Fox is outscoring DeRozan (and everyone else in the league except for Joel Embiid) in points per 100 possessions in high-leverage or very-high-leverage situations, per PBPStats. He is also shooting a perfect 14-for-14 at the rim on these possessions.
“My official definition only includes the impact of the following: made/missed field goals, drawing fouls, made/missed free throws, and turnovers. This roughly aligns with how we define “usage” in the NBA, and I chose this approach because it felt “symmetric” in that a player could get WPA “credits” (making field goals, drawing fouls, etc.) as well as “debits” (missing field goals, turnovers, etc.).”
Based on this metric, Fox currently ranks second-best behind only DeRozan in clWPA (Clutch Win Probability Added) so far this season.
But his tracker allows you to see isolated scores in the clutch for clutch shooting, drawn fouls, free throw shooting, turnovers, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks.
Fox leads all players in total Clutch Win Probably Added due to field goal shooting:
When the game is on the line, the ball is going to Fox because he is one of the rare players who is more efficient when the game is on the line.
His effective field goal percentage in clutch minutes (63.3 percent) is much higher than his typical minutes (53.8 percent) and the league average in clutch minutes (45.9 percent) as well. His free-throw percentage in clutch minutes (86.7 percent) is also higher than it is during his typical minutes (73.7 percent) this season.
He already had a signature moment on Nov. 5, connecting on the game-winning buzzer-beater taken from the farthest distance in 2022-23. It was a 31-foot, unassisted 3-pointer to seal the deal against the Magic.
Overall, Fox has made 11 shots to take the lead in the final two minutes of the game, which is tied for the second-most of any player in the NBA. He has made 7 shots to either tie or take the lead in the final thirty seconds, which is also tied for the second-most in the league.
Fox is having a phenomenal season and while there is still plenty of season left to be played, he deserves some serious acknowledgements for all of his accomplishments thus far.
With Kevin Porter Jr. out of Friday’s rematch due to injury, that could mean more usage for Alperen Sengun, who became the youngest center in NBA history with a triple-double. #Rockets
Though the young Houston Rockets have lost eight straight games and 13 of 14 overall, they have shown flashes in recent days. They built a 20-point lead early in Sunday’s loss to Minnesota, and they led going to the fourth quarter on Wednesday in Sacramento.
On Friday, with an immediate road rematch looming versus the Kings, the question is whether Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun, and the rest of the Rockets can finally put together a full 48 minutes.
The Rockets will be short-handed. Starting point guard Kevin Porter Jr. (left foot contusion) is set to miss just his second game of the season. That could mean running more offense through Sengun, who had higher usage after Porter’s early exit Wednesday while posting his first career triple-double.
With those numbers, the 20-year-old Turkish big man became the youngest player in Rockets history to accomplish the feat, as well as the youngest center in NBA history to do so.
“We played a different offense because when Scoot (Porter) is in the game, our offense is a little bit different,” Sengun said, as relayed by Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle. “And I knew after (he went out), I’m gonna touch the ball more because everything is changed.”
20-year-old ALPEREN SENGUN is the youngest center in NBA history with a triple-double & the first @HoustonRockets center with a triple-double since Dream in 1997.
But Sengun’s gaudy numbers, which seemed to spark increased ball movement and a faster pace of play, still weren’t enough to win.
Led by rising stars De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis, the Kings should again be substantial betting favorites versus Houston as they seek to end their NBA-leading postseason drought, which dates to the 2006 Western Conference playoffs.
In Wednesday’s loss at Sacramento, Alperen Sengun made history with the first triple-double of his young NBA career while becoming the youngest player in #Rockets history to do so.
The losing streak for the young Houston Rockets (10-31) is a season-high eight games after Wednesday’s 135-115 loss at Sacramento (box score).
With the first triple-double of his NBA career, second-year center Alperen Sengun became the youngest player in franchise history to record the feat.
Sacramento outscored Houston in the fourth quarter, 41-20, to break open what had been a very competitive game. Kevin Porter Jr. left the game in the first half with a left foot contusion and his prognosis was not immediately clear.
Led by De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis, the improving Kings (22-18) have won five of their last eight games as they seek to earn their first berth in the Western Conference playoffs since 2006 — a run of futility that leads the NBA over that span.
Sabonis led the Kings with 25 points (75% FG), 14 rebounds and 9 assists, while Fox tallied 24 points, 9 assists and 1 turnover on 9-of-18 shooting (50%), including 2-of-4 on 3-pointers (50%).
Key statistics for the Rockets in Wednesday’s game included:
Eric Gordon: 19 points, 6-of-12 shooting (50.0%), 3-of-7 on 3-pointers (42.9%)
Garrison Mathews: 12 points, 4-of-6 on 3-pointers (66.7%)
Scroll on for highlights, analysis and postgame interview reaction. Next up for Houston, as its four-game West Coast road trip continues, is Friday’s rematch in Sacramento. Tipoff is at 9 p.m. Central.
Between Jabari Smith Jr. and Keegan Murray, it’s a matchup of two top-four rookies from the 2022 draft class when the #Rockets visit Sacramento for a pair of games this week.
The young Houston Rockets have lost seven straight games and 12 of 13, overall, and the quest to turn things around doesn’t get any easier with a four-game Western Conference road trip.
First on the agenda is Sacramento, where the Rockets will play a pair of games on Wednesday and Friday nights versus a resurgent Kings team that is currently at No. 5 in the West standings and firmly in the mix for a spot in the 2023 NBA playoffs.
Sacramento hasn’t had a winning season or playoff berth since 2006, which represents the NBA’s longest active playoff drought.
Houston native De’Aaron Fox, who leads the Kings in scoring, should relish the opportunity to play two games versus his hometown team. It should also be a fun matchup between rookie forwards Jabari Smith Jr. (Rockets) and Keegan Murray (Kings), who were drafted in consecutive picks at No. 3 and No. 4, overall, in the 2022 first round.
Sacramento Kings guard De’Aaron Fox has Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid as one of the top 3 centers in the league.
Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid is one of the top players in the league regardless of position. The 7-foot big man is one of those players who can just do it all on the offensive end. He can throw the team on his back in a variety of ways on the offensive end of the floor.
On the season, Embiid is averaging 33.2 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 4.6 assists as he is showing off an ability to once again score from all three levels, he can put the ball on the floor and get to the basket, and he gets to the free-throw line at a high rate.
Sacramento Kings guard De’Aaron Fox talked with EuroHoops, mostly about teammate Domantas Sabonis, but he did have Embiid as one of the top 3 centers in the league:
“For me, it’s (Nikola) Jokic, (Joel) Embiid, and (Sabonis). Those are the top three centers in the league“, Fox added.
In Saturday’s win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, Embiid had 16 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists, and four blocks as he was able to show off his full game. There is so much that he can do in order to help his team win and the Sixers are benefitting greatly from it.
