At least for tonight, the Kings figured out how to win an ugly game.
They shot just 43.2 percent for the game. They made only 66.7 percent of their free throws. But when a team doesn't turn the ball over (nine turnovers tonight) and holds it's opponent to 37.3 percent shooting, it can pull a win out of those not-so-pretty statistics.
Kings coach Paul Westphal said the Kings "played 48 minutes of first class defense" for second consecutive game.
"We still hung on because of the defense until we were able to make the shots we needed to win the game," Westphal said.
*Having Carl Landry is helping Spencer Hawes' game a lot. When Landry is in the post the opponent has to respect him. It's creating more room for Hawes.
Meanwhile Landry can score from the outside and can still take care of business in the paint.
Landry was also big down the stretch. He had 10 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter.
*Here was Hawes on playing against Chris Kaman:
"He is an All-Star, there are no bones about it. He is so skilled down there and for me it is kind of like playing against myself. He goes left or right, and can really create so many problems when he gets rolling. I think our team did a great job of containing him."
*Ime Udoka's steal when the Kings had a one-point lead was the play that saved the game.
And no, Udoka doesn't practice tossing the ball falling out of bounds to his teammates.
"I knew where my guys were on the court," he said.
*Another note from Westphal's press conference. He said developing young players is a priority but "we won't give young players playing time - they have to earn it."
Too often teams with losing records give playing time to young players who might have not earned it with good practice habits and solid play on gameday.
It sends a bad message: that the players are entitled to play. Yes, they need to play. But if they're not putting in the work, they'll learn more watching a player like Udoka do the right thing.
--Jason Jones
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