The Weekend Wrap: Ilyasonofa…

The Kings wrapped up a tough week on a positive note, beating the Los Angeles Clippers 102-89 on Sunday afternoon at the Staples Center. Beno Udrih had a monster game in Tyreke Evans’ absence as he racked up 20 points and a career-high 17 assists. Carl Landry also had a nice game with 24 points and six rebounds for the Kings.

The Milwaukee game was a heart-breaker as the Kings let one slip away that they really should have had. We have to tip our hat to Milwaukee though. The Kings did everything right from working the clock to hitting their free throws down the stretch, but Milwaukee would not go away. Add in a bad break here or there (or near break in the case of Tyreke Evans’ jaw) and it just wasn’t meant to be. The refs missed a key traveling call as Brandon Jennings moved his pivot foot at least two feet before hitting John Salmons for a key three. The Kings were up five at the time and it would have likely sealed the deal. Everyone in the stadium saw the travel except the ones with the whistles. Erson Ilyasonofa (not a misspelling) will be one of my least favorite players moving forward. He knocked Tyreke Evans out of the game with a errant elbow (not intentional) that resulted in a concussion and a chipped tooth that could keep Tyreke out for a few more games. The Kings dodged a bullet when the x-rays came back negative on his jaw. And then, to add insult to injury, Ilyasonofa hit a game tieing three-pointer that was at least 10 feet behind the line. It just wasn’t meant to be.

The Kings opened the week against the Lakers with a 106-99 loss. Tyreke had a monster game with 25 points, 11 rebounds, and nine assists for the Kings (and one highlight where Ron Artest was left wondering what happened) but got little help from his teammates. The Lakers had Kobe, Gasol, and Bynum going at full speed and it was just too much for the Kings to overcome.

Each week Blake Ellington of bleedblackandpurple tells Kings fans what to watch for in our weekly collaboration between sites. Let’s see how those things turned out this week:

1. Team Chemistry – The Kings are still playing hard and this team is moving in the right direction. They are building chemistry for next season and this is a very good thing. Even other writers are taking notice as Kelly Dwyer points out here. The Kings continue to play hard and are in every game. Expect them to build on this and improve down the stretch and head into next season.

2. Home Cooking – The Kings played well in their two home games, but were unable to win either one and have now fallen below .500 on the season at home. They stuck around with the Lakers for two quarters, but Los Angeles took control in the third and did what championship teams do well and controlled the tempo down the stretch, never allowing the sold out crowd to become a factor late. The deeply concerning part for Kings fans was the multitude of Lakers fans in the stands. Any time there is an MVP chant for Kobe that can be heard, there are just too many Lakers fans in the crowd and this is unacceptable. Come on Sacramento Kings fans, get out there and support the team! The Kings really should have won the Milwaukee game and it was one of the best games played at Arco all season long. The Bucks just continued to hit shots at the end and would not go away even when it looked like the Kings had the game in hand heading into the final minutes. The intensity of the game had a playoff like feel to it as they battled to a double overtime thriller. 

3. Evans vs. Jennings – Well, one rookie showed up big and the other left with a big fat headache. I kept waiting for Tyreke to return after receiving an elbow from Erson Ilyasova and thought he would after they stopped the bleeding from his mouth, but when word came back that he had a concussion and a possible broken jaw, it was pretty evident that he wasn’t coming back in. Things went from bad to worse for the Kings as Milwaukee continued to make a comeback late in the fourth and Brandon Jennings put on a show. He finished the game with 35 points on 12-of-28 shooting and drained eight threes to match his assist total. It was the type of game to get Jennings back into the Rookie of the Year debate as the Bucks are red hot right now and poised to make the playoffs with the fifth seed in the East. Is this where I mention that Jennings still shot just 42.9 percent from the field (not to mention and ugly traveling “no call” in the final moments that would have sealed the game for the Kings) and that Tyreke has never taken as much as 28 shots in a game before?  Ah, sour grapes, yes I know. Okay, I admit it Jennings was amazing in the game.