San Antonio -- Despite failing to reach their ultimate goal of reaching the postseason, the Sacramento Kings aren’t cashing in the season just yet. The San Antonio Spurs learned that the hard way Sunday evening at the AT&T Center.
The Kings hung around in the third and then took a double-digit lead in the fourth. San Antonio rallied to go up late, but Sacramento responded with an 8-0 run to finish the game and complete a season series sweep of Spurs for the first time in franchise history.
The 113-106 victory moved the Kings back to within a game of the .500 mark at 38-39. It wasn’t perfect, but here are some positives and negatives from the win.
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POSITIVE
The Finish
When the Kings blew a late lead, they easily could have cashed it in and let the playoff-bound Spurs steal the game. Instead, they hit back.
Sacramento played stunning defense down the stretch and multiple players stepped up to the challenge.
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Harrison Barnes hit a 10-foot jumper and followed it up with a driving layup to retake the lead with a 1:32 remaining on the clock. Willie Cauley-Stein hit a pair of free throws with just over a minute left to extend the lead.
De’Aaron Fox grabbed three rebounds in the final three minutes and hit a 12-foot floater in the lane to put the game away and Buddy Hield finished off the game with a pair of free throws.
The Kings turned up the intensity, played defense and stuck together down the stretch.
POSITIVE
The Next Step
Someone has to take control in late-game situations. The Kings have played hero by committee all season long, but in the future, there needs to be a single stabilizing figure.
Fox is that player. He’s made incredible strides this season for Sacramento and he’s come up big in more than a few games. But next season, the Kings need to become his team.
Against the Spurs, he ran the show. He played incredible defense, distributed the ball around the court, hit the glass hard and when Sacramento needed a dagger, he attacked the key and hit the floater.
Sunday’s win was a glimpse into what Fox is capable of doing. If he can be this player for a full 82 games next season, the Kings will win plenty of games.
POSITIVE
Team Win
The final three minutes were just a sampling of a larger effort for the Sacramento Kings. Seven of the nine players who stepped on the floor scored in double-figures.
Hield led the way with 26 points on 4-of-6 from long range. Cauley-Stein scored 17 points and grabbed six rebounds. Barnes and Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 15 each and Nemanja Bjelica and Yogi Ferrell each added 10.
In addition to the scoring, Corey Brewer and Kosta Koufos each made a tremendous impact on the outcome of the game. Brewer was a disruptive force and ran a plus-19 for the game. Koufos hit the glass, leading the team with 11 in 18 minutes.
To beat a team like the Spurs, you need balance. The Kings pulled together, overcame adversity and won as a team.
NEGATIVE
The Schedule
When looking over the final 20 games of the season, the focus was on strength of schedule and the volume of winnable games. A closer eye should have been paid to the actual layout of the games.
The game against San Antonio was the six game in nine nights in six different cities at the tail end of a very long season.
By comparison, the Spurs played just four games over the same stretch. The Rockets, who the Kings played on Saturday and will play again on Tuesday, also played just four games.
[RELATED: Kings draw high praise from Spurs' Gregg Popovich, win in San Antonio]
When Houston drops by Golden 1 Center, they will be well rested and coming off a two-day break. It will be the third game in four nights in three different cities for Sacramento.
The Kings put themselves on the playoff radar with their play this season. Hopefully their schedule won’t look so daunting down the stretch next year.