Kings unable to spoil Spurs’ night
SAN ANTONIO – Former Kings forward Rudy Gay scored 16 of his 18 points in the second half as the San Antonio Spurs rallied from a 14-point deficit to defeat the Kings, 98-85, on Monday night at AT&T Center and clinch a spot in the Western Conference playoffs.
Gay, who opted out of his deal with the Kings last summer and signed with the Spurs in the offseason, also had six rebounds off the bench.
Willie Cauley-stein led the Kings (26-55) with 25 points and 10 rebounds. De’aaron Fox had 21 points and seven assists, and Buddy Hield scored 17 points.
The Spurs (47-34) didn’t take their first lead until there was 10:18 to play. Still, the Kings led 77-75 with 6:31 left before the Spurs closed the game on a 23-8 run.
Manu Ginobili scored 17 points and Lamarcus Aldridge had 15 points and 14 rebounds for San Antonio.
The Kings needed offense with several players either injured or being held out. Bogdan Bogdanovic would be an ideal player to look to for offense, but it was another rough shooting night for him. He shot just 1 for 8 and scored two points.
The rookie from Serbia has said he’s more mentally fatigued than physically, but he’s shot 13 for 40 (32.5 percent) in his last three games.
Nigel Hayes signed with the Kings on March 31, as the team wanted to get a look at him heading into the offseason. On Monday, his energy stood out.
The Kings announced Monday they intend to relocate their G League team, the Reno Bighorns, to Stockton, pending league approval.
The team will be renamed to reflect its connection to the Kings and will play at Stockton Arena starting next season.
The Kings have been affiliated with Reno since 2008. Having the team closer makes sense logistically, with Stockton being about a 45-minute drive from Golden 1 Center.
That should prevent situations like weather impeding Kings players’ ability to make it to a G League game. That happened to Malachi Richardson last season, when weather made it unsafe to drive.
“With the addition of NBA G League Basketball in the Central Valley, each of California’s NBA franchises have a powerful asset within an hour of their headquarters to help develop their players and expand their fan bases with elite professional basketball at an affordable price in a fun, family-friendly atmosphere,” NBA G League President Malcolm Turner said.