What we learned as Kings lose behind abysmal 3-point shooting

What we learned as Kings lose behind abysmal 3-point shooting originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

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SACRAMENTO – Domantas Sabonis recorded his eighth consecutive double-double and sparked a late rally that fell short in the Kings’ 107-98 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night at Golden 1 Center.

Sabonis racked up 23 points, 12 rebounds and six assists – the 341^st double-double of his NBA career. Sabonis scored eight points over the final five minutes when the Kings trimmed a 16-point deficit nearly in half.

De’Aaron Fox had 31 points but was a minus-11. Malik Monk added 17 points while DeMar DeRozan had 13 points, ending his streak of eight consecutive games with 20 or more to begin his Kings career, a franchise record.

The loss prevented Mike Brown from capturing his 100^th victory as Kings coach.

Sacramento fell to 5-4 on the season following their second loss in seven games.

The Clippers took an early lead and a 34-28 advantage following James Harden’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the first.

Los Angeles maintained its six-point lead through the first half before the Kings made a strong push in the third quarter. Fox and DeRozan teamed up for 15 points, helping cut the Clippers’ lead to 78-73 heading into the fourth.

Then came the frantic final five minutes.

Here are the takeaways from Friday’s game:

Keon Clamps Down On Harden

James Harden was busting the Kings earlier on, nailing open threes and getting to the free-throw line repeatedly, but that all changed when Sacramento switched things up and put Keon Ellis in to defend the 10-time NBA All-Star.

Harden, who had 12 points before Ellis checked in, got stymied after that and struggled to get much to fall. He was limited to three points in the second quarter and finished the game shooting 5 of 16.

The Kings used multiple defenders against Harden, though Ellis – who played while in foul trouble – was the most effective.

Free-throw Foolery

Ellis wasn’t the only Kings player who kept drawing the attention of referees. Sacramento was whistled for 19 fouls, opening the door for the Clippers, who went 21 of 23 from the stripe.

Conversely, the Kings didn’t get many calls to go their way early but did a better job of drawing fouls and getting to the line as the game went. Sacramento finished 21 of 23 off 21 fouls by Los Angeles.

The situation was very lopsided in the first quarter when the Clippers attempted 11 free throws, while the Kings took just three.

3-point Predicament

The biggest weakness on the Kings’ defense has been their inability to contain opposing 3-point shooters, an issue that once again cropped up.

Nearly half of the Clippers’ shots in the first half were 3s, several of them on wide-open looks. Three Los Angeles players drained at least three 3s, while the Clips shot 14 of 30 as a team behind the arc.

On the flip side, Brown’s squad was terrible shooting from distance. The Kings made just 3 of 26 attempts, a horrible 11.5 percent.

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