In what was a tight, exciting game, the Sacramento Kings were able to hang on against the San Antonio Spurs who were without Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Boris Diaw, 95-92, to improve their preseason record to 2-1.
However, the main story of this game was never really going to be about the score, but about the highly anticipated debut of free agent acquisition LaMarcus Aldridge. Aldridge didn't have the best of starts to his Spurs career in 23 minutes of play, as he recorded just eight points and three rebounds on just 30 percent shooting from the field.
The match got off to a slow and sloppy start, shown by the two minutes it took to get a solitary David West free throw to open the scoring. The first stanza of play was dominated by fouls, missed shots and turnovers of which the two sides accumulated 13.
The first quarter was a low scoring affair, headlined by the great play of the starting small forwards. Kawhi Leonard showed that he is ready to take another step in his improvement and Rudy Gay proved that his 30-point performance yesterday against the Phoenix Suns was no fluke. Both were able to grab nine first quarter points.
Those two were essentially the only positives for the Spurs and Kings as neither team were able to get going. Both teams suffered from poor ball movement and horrible shooting, shown by their field goal percentages of 27 percent for the Spurs and 35 percent for the Kings. Due to a couple of late baskets in the period, the Kings led 19-14 heading into the break.
The second quarter started off a whole lot better, mainly through sophomore Kyle Anderson. The Spurs went on a lightning quick 7-0 run. The bench unit of the Spurs was able to take control of the contest, as they were forcing even more turnovers and capitalizing in transition. Meanwhile, the Kings just couldn't make the most of their opportunities. Sacramento had a bunch of open looks, but just could not put the ball in the basket.
San Antonio's second unit was able to give their starters a seven-point lead, one that sadly for Spurs fans, they were not able to hold on to. The lead that the bench built slowly came tumbling down due to great play from Rudy Gay (who scored nine more points in this quarter) and DeMarcus Cousins. The Kings were able to tie the game up on a Cousins buzzer beater before the end of the half to make the score 47-all.
Coming out of the halftime break, Sacramento looked to build on their late second quarter comeback. That started with a beautiful pass from Rajon Rondo to find rookie Willie Cauley-Stein under the basket for a dunk. It was also Rondo who was finding Rudy Gay on a lot of his baskets in the third period. Gay was practically unstoppable early in the third, as he was able to do just about anything he wanted to, even with last year's Defensive Player of the Year, Kawhi Leonard, guarding him. Gay would finish the game with 26 points on 10 of 13 shooting from the field.
Gay wasn't the only one scoring either, as the entire Kings team was getting in on the action. This spread out attack allowed George Karl's team to pull away and take a 78-67 by the end of the third.
Many would have expected the Spurs to roll over since it was just a preseason fixture, but the 2014 NBA champions got right back into the game with a 10-0 run to open the fourth period, before former Spur Marco Belinelli ended that spurt with a jumper. A back-and-forth affair ensued from that point forward. Through mainly Belinelli, the Kings attempted to gain some separation. But, the Spurs bench lineup once again kept them in the contest, with Ray McCallum and Kyle Anderson leading the way.
With seconds left and the Spurs down by just three points, Reggie Williams had a chance to tie the score at 95, but the shot was way off and so it was the Kings who walked out as winners in their third pre-season matchup.
The Spurs will be happy with the way their bench played, especially Kyle Anderson, who finished the game with 15 points, four rebounds and three assists. Sacramento won't be very happy with their 23 turnovers, but Rudy Gay's second straight great performance will be sure to put a smile on coach Karl's face. The vision and passing that Rondo displayed was also a bright spot, with the former All-Star recording 10 assists.
Next up, San Antonio travels to South Beach to play the Miami Heat on Monday. While on Saturday, the Kings will play the Portland Trail Blazers in a rematch of their first pre-season game.