Kings catch a break by hosting Nets
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The Sacramento Kings and Brooklyn Nets are trying to keep their spirits up despite all of the losing that's already occurred this season and all the losing that may still happen.
Maybe it's because both teams know they have a great chance to get a one-day respite from it.
The Kings and Nets square off at the Golden 1 Center on Wednesday in a game that matches one team that seems destined for a lower location in the standings and one that has no where to go but up.
Sacramento (25-35) dropped two in a row after winning the first game without former franchise superstar DeMarcus Cousins, and it hasn't scored 90 points or produced a 20-point scorer in either of them.
A 102-88 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday turned on a 24-minute stretch in the second and third quarters during which the Kings scored only 40 points. They scored only 58 points in the first three quarters of a 99-85 loss to Charlotte on Sunday.
"It just takes time for us with the young guys that we have and the young guys that we have coming this summer," Kings coach Dave Joerger said. "We just need to go plug away night after night and day after day in practice and try to get better."
The Kings used center Willie Cauley-Stein to get a bulk of minutes in Cousins' absence, and the second-year forward from Kentucky averaged 15.0 points and 6.0 rebounds in the three games without him. Backup Skal Labissiere averaged 8.0 points and 11.0 rebounds.
Cousins' presence has been missed when the Kings' offense has bogged down, and they've spread the scoring around without him but had long stretches without a basket. They surrendered runs of 13-0 and 10-0 while going without a field goal for more than 3 minutes twice against Minnesota.
"We have to be scrappy," Kings guard Darren Collison said. "We have to get out and play with a lot of energy on the defenseive end, and that's going to create more opportunities for our offense."
The Nets (9-49) bring a 16-game losing streak into the contest and lost 27 of their previous 28. They haven't won back-to-back contests all season and haven't stopped a losing streak at one since early November.
Brooklyn needs to go 4-22 down the stretch to avoid tying the franchise record with 70 losses.
But they aren't giving off a losing vibe.
"We have such positive guys who come in and really, truly put their work in, giving it their all," center Brook Lopez told Newsday. "We're leaving it on the floor. It's a completely different situation. I think we're happy that guys aren't quitting. You can definitely see there is no quit in us."
The Nets did decide it was time to quit needing veteran forward Luis Scola, 36, who they waived Monday. Scola, a 10-year veteran, averaged 5.1 points and 3.9 rebounds in 36 games for Brooklyn.
