Atlanta Hawks lose to Kings for 1st time in 8 years, 91-88
By John Buhler
The Atlanta Hawks dropped their first game to the Sacramento Kings since February 2008, falling in Sacramento 91-88 Thursday night at Sleep Train Arena.
The Atlanta Hawks had a pair of winning streaks snapped Thursday night in Northern California when they fell to the Sacramento Kings, 91-88. Not only did the Atlanta Hawks have their three-game winning streak snapped in Sleep Train Arena, but it marked the first time in nearly eight years that the Atlanta Hawks lost a game to the Sacramento Kings.
Atlanta last lost to Sacramento in February 2008. That was Al Horford‘s rookie season with the Atlanta Hawks and the team would go on to make the Eastern Conference Playoffs for the first time in nearly a decade, taking the Boston Celtics to seven games in the first round.
Sacramento is a playoff caliber basketball team this season under head coach George Karl. Center DeMarcus Cousins is an immense talent (literally) and point guard Rajon Rondo is a perfect pick and roll partner for Cousins, as Rondo absolutely prefers to distribute than shoot the basketball.
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Neither team shot the basketball particularly well, but it was the five starters for the Kings that were the difference. All five were in double figures scoring and Rajon Rondo had a triple-double for Sacramento (11 points, 11 assists, 10 rebounds).
Atlanta did most of its damage with guys coming off the bench. 39 of Atlanta’s 88 points came from its five-man bench rotation, with Dennis Schroder leading the second unit with 12 points and four assists.
The starting frontcourt for the Atlanta Hawks all had at least 11 points of offense. Paul Millsap led the trio in his double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds. Millsap also had five steals, four blocks, and three assists going against DeMarcus Cousins and Willie Cauley-Stein down low. He wasn’t voted in as an All-Star, but he will certainly represent the Atlanta Hawks in Toronto this February.
Al Horford had 11 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Kent Bazemore had 11 points, four rebounds, two assists, and a steal.
Atlanta didn’t have great play from its point guard duo of Dennis Schroder and Jeff Teague, who combined to shoot 7-22 for 16 points and nine of Atlanta’s 19 turnovers against the Kings. Schroder was pressing it tonight going against his idol Rajon Rondo and that proved costly, as the Hawks drop a rare game to the Kings.
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The Atlanta Hawks will have Friday night off before venturing to the Valley of the Sun to take on the Phoenix Suns Saturday evening. Tipoff for the game at Talking Stick Resort Arena is at 9:00 PM ET and the game will air on Fox Sports Southeast.