Just as an example: Down the stretch, the Clippers ran an out-of-bounds play, and Rondo twice diagnosed it. The first time, Paul completely bowled over Darren Collison only to get a foul call. “There’s things that we didn’t do, things that we did too much of the past years and we all talked about it a lot this summer and in the preseason and during training camp”. We all have to sacrifice something. “I just like where he’s at”.
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Cousins finished with 32 points and 13 rebounds but added eight turnovers for the Kings, playing the final season opener in their 27-year-old arena.
Not that it should have been so hard to dispatch the Kings in this one because Cousins – Sacramento’s best player – did not play in the second half because of a strained Achilles.
Another component of Griffin’s development has been a more businesslike demeanor that appears to have rubbed off on Jordan, the former team goofball. “Whether it’s practice, shoot-around, games, we know the difference” between good and bad habits.
The Kings, led by head coach George Karl, have impressed despite their 1-2 record. Gay said he was operating off of six hours of sleep in the past two days. But Gay’s 3-point attempt hit the rim and Jordan grabbed the rebound. Sacramento’s Kosta Koufos then fouled Griffin, who made both free throws with 17.7 seconds left to build a 112-107 lead. A lot of them are quiet as well, but for the most part, we continue to encourage each other and play for one another’.
Sacramento took early control. Cousins scored eight points during an 11-5 surge that gave the Kings a 19-14 lead. That makes it hard to discern how often the Clippers team that showed up in the first and second quarters will surface or how concerning it is that the Clippers were never able to close the door despite leading by double digits for nearly three quarters.
Stepping back from the emotions of this game, I think the Sacramento Kings had a very productive outing.
With the visitors leading 48-37, the Clippers made their move.
The battle for the starting point guard position was one of the bigger story lines through training camp. Offensively, they put up 114 points, sure, but it was ugly all the way. “I felt like it would help the team, spreading the floor a little bit more, so I tried to add it to my game this season”.
Reddick scored 15 points on 5-for-11 shooting.
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The Clippers started the season by beating Sacramento 111-104 but it was Rivers who attracted attention after the win when it was revealed that a moment of frustration ended with a cushion striking a female supporter in the face.
