Guard Isaiah Thomas reacts following the Kings' 108-100 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers at Power Balance Pavilion.
Kings head coach Keith Smart said he thought rookie guard Isaiah Thomas may have become flustered after committing some early turnovers against the Clippers on Thursday night.
Thomas admitted as much following his least productive game since he cracked the starting lineup on Feb. 17.
Thomas, who was named the NBA's Western Conference rookie of the month earlier Thursday, had 10 points and four assists in the Kings' 108-100 loss but committed six turnovers. The Kings turned the ball over 18 times as a team.
"At the beginning I had a couple turnovers and it kind of had me thinking out there," Thomas said.
"As a point guard I'm not supposed to take a lot of shots, but I only took four shots, so that says it all," he .said "I wasn't aggressive -- not just looking for mine, but getting shots for my teammates."
Thomas said he felt like he could have tried to establish a faster pace when the Kings had the ball.
Said Smart: "He's growing, as all young pros do."
Center DeMarcus Cousins addresses media following the Kings' loss to the Clippers.
* Smart said that while the Kings questioned some non-calls after they appeared to draw contact under the basket in the third quarter, it's up to them to "attack the basket with a serious purpose."
"Our guys have got to be strong with the ball, that's the bottom line," Smart said. "We lost a lot of balls right in traffic. You have everyone converging on the penetration. You turn that ball over, and they're out on the other side going down the floor."
* Kings center Hassan Whiteside scored the first points of his NBA career on a dunk with 10.9 seconds left in the game.
Whiteside had appeared in two games for the Kings this season and gone 0-for-2 from the field.
The 7-foot center also pulled down two rebounds.
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.