Kings Back in Phoenix for First Time Since Opening Day

Phoenix Suns (22-45) v Sacramento Kings (26-45)

Wednesday 3/15/2017 7:00pm
Talking Stick Resort Arena, Phoenix, AZ
Fox Sports Arizona/Arizona Sports 98.7FM

Season Series – Series tied 1-1
All-Time Series – Phoenix leads 131-89
Last Matchup – February 3, 2017 Phoenix won 105-103
Suns’ Last Game – Loss to the Portland Trailblazers 110-101
Kings’ Last Game – Win over the Orlando Magic 120-115
Suns’ Scoring Averages – PTS/G: 107.6 (8th of 30) Opp PTS/G: 112.6 (29th of 30)
Kings’ Scoring Averages – PTS/G: 103.0 (21st of 30) Opp PTS/G: 106.2 (19th of 30)

Preview

In the two division rival’s first matchup in the post-DeMarcus Cousins era, the Sacramento Kings come in town for the Phoenix Suns’ seventh home game in their past eight outings, and for the second time since their Opening Night 113-94 flogging by the Kings.

The Suns are coming off a difficult loss to the Blazers on Sunday night when they had a lead with just over four minutes left but were unable to hang on as the Blazers subsequently outscored Phoenix by 10 the rest of the way. Devin Booker finished with a team-high 28 points in the loss, while Tyler Ulis led the team in assists with 6, off the bench. For a complete wrapup and interesting stats coming out of the game, read here.

Phoenix has been home for a while, playing eight of nine in the Valley of the Suns, for their longest stretch of home games on the year. Through six, they are 3-3, although they were victorious in their first three which constituted their longest winning streak of the season to date. The Suns are 13-21 at home so far through 34 games currently sitting with a 38.2% winning percentage, their best home winning percentage since 2014-15.

The split difference between the first two games of the season-series is stark. On Opening Night Phoenix shot a mild 46.8% from the field and a forgetful 4-21 from beyond the arc (Dragan Bender made 2-3 of his outside shots), and no Suns even scored 20 points as the Kings built up a solid 18 points lead in the second quarter, and reached as high as 24 in the fourth, despite the rookies and bench nearly bringing the deficit back down to single digits in the third quarter. The second game, in Sacramento, the Suns fared much better. Although the Suns shot even worse from the field, 41.6%, they made 12-29 three-pointers and 29-35 from the free throw line. Devin Booker, who hit the game winning shot (his first of the kind and second for the team on the season), finished with a game-high 33 points, while T.J. Warren finished with 21 points, and Eric Bledsoe 20.

Three Interesting Stats

Phoenix Suns

1. The Suns allow more points per game to the Pacific Division, 116.6, than any other division in the league. They average 109.3 points against the Pacific Division though, second highest only to the 109.4 they score against the Atlantic Division.

2. They average only 99.5 points against the Kings this year through two games, their third lowest against any team in the league. Not surprisingly they score less against the Jazz (97.3) and Spurs (99.3).

3. With two days off between games, the Suns are an abysmal 1-7 this season and lose by an average of 121.0-108.1. Their only victory on two days rest came on November 30 against the Atlanta Hawks, a 109-107 final score.

Sacramento Kings

More from Valley of the Suns

1. Once considered a cancer to the franchise, DeMarcus Cousins was traded immediately following the NBA All-Star game. Prior to his trade, the Kings had won five of seven, including a four-game winning streak. Since his trade, the Kings are 2-8 including an 8-game losing streak, their longest since a streak of the same length from January 13-30, 2015.

2. Since Cousins’ departure, the Kings average 103.2 points per game, but have had two games scoring under 90 points. Their scoring average is just a tick above the 102.9 they averaged prior to the Cousins trade, however, their two of their last ten games scoring under 90 points is a higher rate than they had before the trade, only five times in the team’s prior 57 games.

3. Defensively the Kings have allowed 109.2 points per game since the trade, when allowing 105.7 in their first 57 games.

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