Kings at Clippers
The Los Angeles Clippers got a longer break than most teams after the All-Star Game and will return to action when they host the Sacramento Kings on Saturday. The Clippers are hoping the extra time off will allow some players to get healthy and new players time to get acclimated to the system.
Star forward Paul George suffered a hamstring injury in the final game before the break and is a question mark heading into the weekend, and finding some lineup consistency is the goal for Los Angeles over the final 27 games of the regular season. "We’ve got to get healthy,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers told reporters heading into the break. “That's going to be the key for us. And then we’ve got to play multiple games in a row as a group so we can kind of get some continuity. But other than that, I love our spirit, I love how we are. We're good." Sacramento emerged from the break in fine form on Thursday as forward Harrison Barnes matched a career high with seven 3-pointers en route to a season-best 32 points in a 129-125 triumph over the Memphis Grizzlies. The Kings are slowly climbing the standings with wins in seven of their last 11 games but remain a longshot to snap a playoff drought that dates back to 2006.
TIME: 3:30 p.m. ET. TV: NBCS California, FS Prime Ticket
ABOUT THE KINGS (22-33): Sacramento is moving in the right direction behind Barnes and point guard De’Aaron Fox, who looked fresh with 26 points on 9-of-16 shooting Thursday after going into the break 10-of-35 in losses at Dallas and Milwaukee. Fox knocked down a season-high four 3-pointers against the Grizzlies as he and Barnes led the team’s 19-of-39 effort from beyond the arc. Buddy Hield connected on four key free throws down the stretch Thursday and finished with 20 points - the seventh time in 11 games that he has reached the 20-point plateau since moving into a reserve role.
ABOUT THE CLIPPERS (37-18): Los Angeles continues to beat its cross-arena rivals when it comes to player acquisition and landed another player the Lakers were thought to covet on Thursday when they signed veteran point guard Reggie Jackson, who reached a buyout agreement with the Detroit Pistons earlier in the week. "Reggie is a proven playmaker and scorer, and we are looking forward to adding his experience and creativity to our team,” team president Lawrence Frank told reporters. Jackson, who averaged 14.9 points and 5.1 assists in 14 games for the Pistons after overcoming a back injury, joins fellow newcomer Marcus Morris (11 points, 5.7 rebounds in three games since joining the team) in a revamped lineup surrounding George and forward Kawhi Leonard, who was named the MVP of the All-Star Game on Sunday and averages 27.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.3 assists.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Clippers PG Patrick Beverley (groin) missed four games before the break but participated in the skills competition during All-Star weekend and is expected back Saturday.
2. Kings F Jabari Parker (shoulder) made his team debut on Thursday and struggled to four points on 1-of-6 shooting in 15 minutes off the bench.
3. The teams split the first two meetings, with Sacramento earning a 124-103 victory at Los Angeles on Jan. 30 behind a career-high 34 points from Fox.