Spurs at Kings
The DeMarcus Cousins-less Sacramento Kings threw a scare into the Golden State Warriors before falling short on Saturday and will test their luck against another Western Conference contender when the San Antonio Spurs visit on Monday. Cousins missed his fourth straight game on Saturday and remains day-to-day with an Achilles injury.
Sacramento fell just short against one Western Conference finalist from last spring with a 116-110 loss to the Houston Rockets on Friday before falling off the pace late against the other in a 103-94 loss to the Warriors on Saturday. “It’s a lot of good to take out of it as a team, but I think we’re overdue for a win,” forward Rudy Gay told reporters. “We need one bad.” San Antonio was briefly having some trouble getting on the same page offensively but seemed to solve a few of those issues while shooting 55.6 percent and totaling 35 assists in a 114-94 win over Charlotte on Saturday. The bench carried the Spurs in the second half of the victory while LaMarcus Aldridge logged a season-low 17 minutes.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, FSN Southwest (San Antonio), CSN California (Sacramento)
ABOUT THE SPURS (4-2): Aldridge managed 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting in his short stint with his new team and got a front-row view of the kind of chemistry he is trying to find with the starters while the reserves were in the game. Patty Mills and Manu Ginobili totaled 28 points while newcomer David West, who has had his own struggles fitting in with tight-knit San Antonio, went for nine points, nine rebounds and six assists in a season-high 29 minutes. Aldridge and West will be given ample time to adjust to the Spurs offense while Tim Duncan and Kawhi Leonard surround them in the frontcourt.
ABOUT THE KINGS (1-6): Rajon Rondo recorded his 23rd career triple-double and first since joining the Kings in the offseason with 14 points, 15 assists and 12 rebounds while holding Stephen Curry below his season averages in Saturday’s loss. “I thought our leader was Rondo,” Sacramento coach George Karl told reporters. “Rondo was incredibly into the game, incredibly intense. His defense on Curry was first-class. I just wish we would have had a little more gas in the tank to finish out the game.” Rondo added four steals in the performance while logging a season-high 44 minutes.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Kings G Darren Collison (hamstring) will not play on Monday while G Seth Curry (ankle) is questionable.
2. Spurs G Danny Green is shooting 21.4 percent from 3-point range.
3. San Antonio has taken three straight and 12 of the last 13 in the series.