The King sure like to tank in the weirdest of ways. After an overtime loss to the Jazz and hanging around with the Nuggets, Sacramento decided to make things exciting for a half before being thoroughly dismantled in the third and fourth quarters.

Dave Joerger’s veteran starting crew of Darren Collison, Arron Afflalo, Tyreke Evans, Anthony Tolliver, and Kosta Koufos jumped out to a huge first quarter lead of 37-15 behind ‘Reke’s throwback 13 points on 5 shots and Kosta’s always-steady 10 points. The Spurs struggled to find any offense with five players scoring 2 points and Bertans leading with 3.

The Kings unlikely scoring barrage continued into the second period and with 3:53 remaining, they took a 61-33 advantage over San Antonio. Over the next 27 minutes and 53 seconds, the Spurs outscored us 81-43.

The rest of the game saw the Spurs slowly grind their way back into the game and with six minutes left in the game, they took their first lead of 95-92.

The Kings blowing a huge lead and losing their sixth game in a row isn’t really the story tonight as the loss is a good thing for their lottery standing. The main takeaway for fans trying to find hope in this dark, dark timeline is the unexpected explosion of Skal Labissiere and the continued impressive play of Buddy Hield. Ironically, Dave Joerger is refusing to tank, but his reliance on veteran players is actually hurting the Kings on the court as the rookies are outplaying the vets in two positions.

Tolliver + Afflalo (starters)

53 minutes, 13 points (5/14 FG, 1/3 3P), 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 0 blocks

Labissiere + Hield (subs)

32 minutes, 26 points (11/19 FG, 3/5 3P), 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 0 steals, 1 block

Game Notes: