Tonight the Kings would take on the San Antonio Spurs. I spent some time walking around the concourse area before the game and ran into the SportsClips guy. It's always fun to take a round trip to see all the happenings before the start of the game.
It was military appreciation night at the game, so much of the festivities centered around the amazing folks who served in the military. The Kings honored all who served or who are serving tonight in a variety of ways. Both the team and the fans got a chance to thank our troops!
All of the on-court games were played by military personnel. Here's the popular tricycle race. Slamson is helping this particular young man get ready by... ummm... I'm not sure what he's doing. But I'm sure it was meant to help!
The Kings had to face a fierce opponent in Tim Duncan tonight. Duncan and the Spurs won the NBA Championship last year and have been a great team for many years now. Tonight's game would be a huge challenge. I was definitely nervous for the team as they were coming off two heartbreaking losses away from Sleep Train.
The Kings showed a lot of maturity tonight. They did not have a 20-point lead in this game, but they scrapped and worked on every possession. You could really tell that the players were not giving up or lying down. They could have been demoralized after coming back from the difficult road trip, but the team instead had a strong spirit about them.
DeMarcus Cousins had a slow first half and got into a bit of foul trouble, but he came out very strong in the second half of the game. He ended up scoring over twenty points and having a very nice stat line!
At one point in the game the Big Cuz got a nasty elbow to the head. It was so severe that it opened up a wound. I can attest to this because it happened right in front of me, and DeMarcus was on the court in obvious pain. They took him to the bench and cleaned him up a bit. He actually had to go back to the locker room for a while as well.
Getting a bit hurt would not stop the Big Cuz. He came back from the locker room with a band-aid on ready to finish off the game. The fans loved seeing DeMarcus re-enter the match and show the toughness that he has.
The arena was filled to the brim for this game and the fans were extremely loud. It was awesome to see Sacramento on their feet and cheering on their team. The players could definitely sense the crowd's energy!
The Kings Dancers got into the spirit by wearing military themed outfits for their first performance. I love the look they sported here. They looked beautiful, and the green hat with the white star was just perfect for this night.
You definitely want to stay around the game in the second half. It's during these latter stages of the game that the SKD bring out a ton of items to give away. Mini balls are one of the most popular give-away items at the arena. The dancers throw or launch them into the seats!
It ended up being a very close game, but the Kings prevailed and held out for the victory. The entire arena went nuts... and they also went home with free Jack-in-the-Box taco coupons. It was amazing to see the Kings beat such a quality group of players.
Military night was a huge success. Lots of military personnel were honored and given gifts... and the Kings provided an amazing basketball experience to witness. Next Tuesday the Kings will take on the Pelicans on Tuesday. See you then!
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