Leonard, Spurs spoil Kings' arena-opening party
Send a link to a friend
[October 28, 2016]
SACRAMENTO -- After five
championships and 1,091 regular-season victories, San Antonio Spurs
coach Gregg Popovich doesn't impress too easily. Neither is he big
on superlatives.
However, after watching Kawhi Leonard sway a contest in his team's
favor for the second consecutive game, the future Hall of Fame coach
couldn't help himself.
"He's ridiculous," Popovich said after Leonard sparked the Spurs to
a 102-94 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Thursday, spoiling the
regular-season opening of the Kings' new Golden 1 Center. "The stuff
he does, it changes games."
Leonard scored 30 points and showed the Kings during one 100-second
stretch that the more things may be changing for them, the more San
Antonio's success against them would stay the same.
Leonard stole the ball three times over four Sacramento possessions,
turning one of them into his own layup, another into two free
throws, and the third into a layup for teammate Dewayne Dedmon. On
successive possessions, he swiped the ball straight out of the hands
of Sacramento guard Ben McLemore.
That flurry highlighted a 24-5 run for San Antonio that bridged the
third and fourth quarters and led to San Antonio's seventh
consecutive victory against Sacramento. It also gave the Spurs their
first 2-0 start since 2013.
"He just grabbed it and took it twice in a row," Popovich said. "You
don't see too many people doing that."
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2016/Oct/28/images/ads/current/maskeauction_sda_022614.png)
Leonard is starring on offense, too. He scored 35 points and made
all 15 of his free throws in San Antonio's season-opening, 129-100
rout of the two-time defending Western Conference champion Golden
State Warriors. His 65 points in the Spurs' first two games have
come on 21-of-42 shooting.
"He took over on defense," Dedmon said. "He's the two-time Defensive
Player of the Year. That's what he does."
What the Kings have done mostly over the past decade is lose. But a
113-94 road rout of the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday and the opening of
their sparkling 17,500-seat arena seems to have changed the outlook.
The Kings led for most of three quarters and responded to San
Antonio's game-changing run by using a 12-2 surge to momentarily tie
the contest 83-83 in the final quarter.
In the end, the Kings failed in their bid to open the season with
consecutive victories for the first time since 2003. Still, they
seemed much improved from the 33-49 squad a season ago that missed
the playoffs for the 10th consecutive year.
Center DeMarcus Cousins scored 37 points and pulled 16 rebounds for
Sacramento. Forward Rudy Gay added 17 points, and McLemore added 10
off the bench for the Kings.
"It's early in the season, and it was a great team," Gay said. "It
was a good test for us. We just need to stick with it."
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2016/Oct/28/images/ads/current/ldn_business_directory_small_2016.png)
[to top of second column] |
![](../images/102816pics/sports77.jpg)
Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard (2) passes the ball against Sacramento
Kings forward Rudy Gay (8) during the third quarter at Golden 1
Center. The Spurs won the game 102-94. Mandatory Credit: Sergio
Estrada-USA TODAY Sports
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2016/Oct/28/images/ads/current/dd_spec_BD_lda_wpic_2016.png)
The opening of the $557 million stadium stirred up emotions for fans
who nearly watched the Kings leave for Seattle in 2011, and it
brought out several dignitaries.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver was in attendance, as was the man he
replaced, former commissioner David Stern. Mayor Kevin Johnson, also
instrumental in saving the Kings for Sacramento, also was on hand.
So was Chris Weber, a stalwart in the team's glory days of late
1990s and early 2000s.
The Kings made the home crowd happy early, jetting to a 54-43
second-quarter lead en route to a 57-53 halftime advantage. However,
a 3-for-17 shooting effort in the third quarter ultimately doomed
them.
NOTES: Kings F DeMarcus Cousins played 37 minutes despite stepping
on a sneaker and turning his left ankle in the first half and taking
an elbow to the nose and jaw while defending underneath the basket
in the second half. ... San Antonio finished as the top NBA team in
ESPN's annual "Ultimate Standings" for the third straight year. The
standings rate all 122 sports franchises the four major sports. The
Spurs were second overall behind the Tampa Bay Lightning of the NHL.
... Sacramento's season-opening victory over Phoenix put the Kings
above .500 for the first time since they were 11-10 on Dec. 8, 2014.
They hadn't won a season opener since 2013. ... Spurs coach Gregg
Popovich, who is nine regular-season wins shy of 1,100 in his
career, will move past Larry Brown (1,098) for seventh on the
all-time list when San Antonio wins its ninth game this season. The
Spurs must win 66 this season for Popovich to tie Phil Jackson
(1,155) for sixth. ... The Kings played the second of 11 games that
dot their schedule in the first 17 days, a typical early season for
them. They opened with 11 games in 19 days last season and 11 in the
21 days in 2014-15.
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2016/Oct/28/images/ads/current/sonnys_lda_102416.png) |