After Gay and Thomas, no Sacramento King scored in double figures. We often talk about this team having a "big three". And while the Kings' big three may not necessarily stack up to some other big threes around the league, games like this show just how crucial Sacramento's big three are for the Kings to have a shot at winning.

Despite all this, the Kings found themselves within striking distance as the game drew to a close. With 23 seconds remaining, the Kings trailed 102-100. The Kings failed to foul immediately, as was the obvious plan. Instead, the Kings scrambled about, not wanting to foul Dirk Nowitzki. Given his perfect night from the line, that's a perfectly reasonable train of thought. But the Kings allowed precious time to tick away, finally fouling Monta Ellis. Unfortunately, Ellis was fouled while making a layup as the clock ticked away to 12 seconds.

The Kings allowed 10 seconds off the clock, fouled a good free throw shooter, and gave up a three point play as Ellis made the free throw. It was a painful sequence to watch. Reviewing it now I can hardly believe it was only 10 seconds. It felt like an eternity.

The Kings are a young team, and they are going to make mistakes like this. Growing pains are never fun to watch, and they're even less fun when the team doesn't seem to be learning from the mistakes.