Rise and shine, it's basketball time. Despite a cross-country flight and a very early wake-up call, the Sacramento Kings found a way to snap out of a first-quarter slump to take down the New York Knicks Saturday morning at Madison Square Garden.
Dennis Smith Jr. scored 18 points and DeAndre Jordan dropped in a big 14-point, 15-rebound double-double, but it wasn't nearly enough to stop the Kings from picking up the 102-94 win.
Sacramento's victory moved them one game over the .500 mark at 33-32. Here are the positives and the negatives from the win.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
POSITIVE
Fox Was Ready
With a 9 am PST tip off time, most of the Kings looked a little out of sorts early. The team played with energy, but they trailed by as many as 15 in the first quarter and shot just 28.6 percent from the field in the first 12 minutes of the game.
The lone standout of the starting group was De'Aaron Fox, who hit 3-of-6 from the field to finish with nine points in the opening quarter. He pushed the tempo and forced his teammates to wake up.
NBA
With the game still in doubt late, coach Dave Joerger called on his starting point guard to help finish off the game. Fox went 5-for-5 from the field in the final seven minutes of the game to secure the win and finished with a game-high 30 points and eight assists.
Fox has been really good this season for Sacramento, but his numbers suggest that he's coasted a bit through January and February. With a lot riding on the final 17 games of the season, the Kings need more games like this from their star young point guard.
POSITIVE
Bjelica Earns More Time
When the Kings signed Nemanja Bjelica late in the offseason, it didn't really move the needle. When he stepped on the floor early in the year, he was an incredible surprise and he helped Sacramento pick up more than a few extra victories early in the season.
Whether it was the pace of play or the development of younger players, Bjelica lost his mojo and his spot in the rotation before the All-Star break. With Marvin Bagley on the shelf, Joerger has turned back to the veteran stretch four and he's answered the call once again for Sacramento.
Bjelica is a savvy veteran who stuffs the stat sheet. He might not be the most athletic player on the Kings roster, but he can shoot the ball, rebound, block shots and he plays the passing the lanes extremely well. If he can finish the season the way he started it, he makes the Kings better.
Against the Knicks, the veteran forward finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two steals. His ability to stretch the floor opens lanes for the Kings to guards to move more freely.
NEGATIVE/POSITIVE
Hield Starts Poorly, Recovers Late
Buddy Hield has carried the Kings through plenty of games this season. The third-year guard is having a breakout campaign and should be a front runner for the NBA's Most Improved Player Award.
In the first half, Hield was off. Way off.
Sacramento's leading scorer shot 2-of-12 from the field in the first half, including 0-for-5 from long range. He had plenty of open looks, but nothing was falling.
In the third quarter, Hield returned to form, knocking down 5-of-7 from the field, with four makes from deep. His 14-point outburst in the third helped the Kings build a 12 point lead heading into the fourth quarter.
It wasn't an efficient game for Hield, but he still managed to finish the game with 19 points on 7-of-22 shooting.
NEGATIVE
Playing to the Level of the Opponent
The Kings lost to the Nuggets, Warriors, Bucks and Celtics by a combined seven points. And then they struggled to beat a 13 win Knicks team twice over a six day period.
With a stack of winnable games on the schedule to finish the season, this is an issue that the Kings need to address. It's an overused excuse, but this is a problem that young teams face. It's a reason why young teams often falter and fall short over an 82 game schedule.
Sacramento has nine games remaining on their schedule against sub-.500 teams, many of which will be shutting things down with an eye on the NBA's Draft Lottery. They have another six games against teams that they have either beaten or played extremely close contests with.
If they hope to compete for the postseason, they need to play their best game each night and not worry about the quality of the team they are facing.