Kings at Nuggets
George Karl returns to the city he called home for eight years when the Sacramento Kings visit the Denver Nuggets on Sunday. Karl was 423-257 in the regular season for the Nuggets with three division titles, but the club cut ties with Karl after he won NBA Coach of the Year honors during the 2012-13 season.
Karl spent the last 1 1/2 seasons as an analyst for ESPN before taking over as coach of the Kings on Feb. 11. "I
can't wait to be able to sit down and chat with him prior to the game,"
Denver coach and former Karl assistant Melvin Hunt told reporters.
"He'll have some insightful nuggets to throw out there for us. It's
always good to see him." Karl, who will be attempting to build a winner
around All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins, is 9-18 since taking over the
helm. Coming off a 144-143, double-overtime loss on Friday to Dallas in
the highest-scoring NBA game since 2012, Denver seeks its 19th home
victory in the final game of the season in front of the home folks.
TV: 5 p.m. ET, CSN California (Sacramento), Altitude (Denver)
ABOUT THE KINGS (27-52): Sacramento lost its fifth straight road game
Friday, 116-103 to Oklahoma City with Ben McLemore scoring 20 points and Ray
McCallum and Derrick Williams adding 17 each. Center DeMarcus
Cousins (foot) and Rudy Gay (concussion) sat out against the Thunder and both players will also miss the final three games of the season. The Kings, who need to win two of their final three games
to record their most wins since 2007-08, close the season with a
home-and-home with the Los Angeles Lakers.
ABOUT THE NUGGETS
(29-50): Denver lost for the ninth time in 12 games against the
Mavericks despite a career-high 47 points from Danilo Gallinari,
including 17 in the overtime sessions. The 26-year-old Italian shot
15-of-23 from the floor, drained seven 3-pointers for the second
straight game and was a perfect 10-of-10 from the line. "Could've been
more fun if we had won," Gallinari told reporters. "It was a great game.
I hope the fans enjoyed it."
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. The Kings posted wins in an early-November home-and-home series before Denver broke through 118-108 on Jan. 9.
2. The Nuggets have lost 50 games for the first time since the 2002-03 season.
3.
Gallinari has three straight 20-point outings, has reached 40-plus
twice in the last seven games and has averaged 21.5 points on 47.3
percent shooting, including 40.5 percent from beyond the arc, over his
last 11 games.