The Bird is the Word (And the Word is "Ouch")
The Bird is the Word (And the Word is "Ouch")
ATLANTA — If you tuned in to watch the Sacramento Kings on Saturday night, I hope you brought a blindfold and a sturdy emotional support animal. In a game that started as a basketball contest and ended as a glorified cardio session for the visitors, the Atlanta Hawks dismantled the Kings 123-113.
I’d tell you the score was closer, but I took an oath to tell the truth, and the truth is that Sacramento’s defense had the structural integrity of a wet paper towel in a hurricane.
The Milestones and the Mountain Men
The night was a historic one for Hawks coach Quin Snyder, who secured his 500th career victory. To celebrate, his players decided to stop playing defense for a brief window in the fourth quarter just to see if Quin’s heart was still ticking. It is.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker led the charge with 27 points, while Jalen Johnson continued his season-long campaign to be the most productive human in Georgia, dropping 26 points and 10 assists. Not to be outdone, Jock Landale—a man whose name sounds like a rugged theme park for athletes—racked up 19 points and 13 rebounds. It was Landale’s first double-double since his debut in February, proving that patience is a virtue and rebounding is mostly about being taller than the other guy.
The "Hospital Ward" Kings
To be fair to Sacramento, their injury report currently reads like the cast list for Grey’s Anatomy. With Sabonis, LaVine, Eubanks, and Hunter out for the season, and Russell Westbrook nursing a toe injury (presumably from carrying the weight of the world), the Kings showed up with a roster held together by athletic tape and prayer.
DeMar DeRozan did his best to play the hero with 22 points, and rookie Maxime Raynaud chipped in 18 points and 10 boards, but you can only plug so many holes in a sinking ship before you run out of fingers.
The "Oops, We Won" Surge
The Kings actually managed to tie the game at 97-97 with about eight minutes left, likely causing Quin Snyder to reconsider his career choices. However, the Hawks remembered they were playing the 19-56 Kings and promptly went on a 26-16 run to close it out. Atlanta hit eight 3-pointers in the final frame, essentially turning the rim into a vacuum cleaner for leather balls.
Stat of the Night: The Kings have now lost 56 games. On the bright side, they are very, very close to being eligible for a really nice draft pick and a very long summer vacation.
Up Next:
Kings: Taking their talents (and their ice packs) to Brooklyn on Sunday.
Hawks: Hosting Boston on Monday, where they’ll need significantly more than Jock Landale’s charm to survive.
