Well taken by Chet Holmgren and the help of Luguentz Dort under the circle, Domantas Sabonis seemed to be off to a bad start. But the interior of the Kings did not panic and found an angle of pass which broke the Thunder defense: a marvel of small pass on the ground towards Kevin Huerter cutting to the circle.
The Kings shooter will finish in the circle, after having done so for the first time a few minutes earlier on the counter-attack, at the very start of the match. “ I missed a lot of lay-ups this year, you have to persevere. It’s nice to see several of them coming back. “, displays the 25-year-old after the meeting.
We feel a little relief in his speech. Before tonight’s game against the Thunder, the back was struggling. He only averaged 9 points with poor percentages (34% including 29% from afar). A production incomparable to that of last year, his best career season with 15 points each night.
Keep the ball moving
“ I was talking about energy and rhythm, playing within the framework of our offense. Offensively, we did better tonight than in the last three games. So it’s not surprising. My game developed over these three matches. Feeling the energy and rhythm in what you do, spinning the ball quickly, cutting without hesitation and knowing that the ball will come back to me… », lists Kevin Huerter about his beautiful evening.
What he describes has a lot to do with his technical relationship with Domantas Sabonis. The latter was not content to serve him in the action mentioned above. On several occasions, the pivot found his shooter coming from the post to raise his racket head, with transmissions, sometimes under the legs, at the right timing.
“ It’s something that worked a lot for us last year, we’re trying to build on that. If I hit shots and he cuts to the rim (at the same time), These are two complicated things to defend. The opposing team is going to have to put more than two guys on the ball. Our willingness to make the extra pass, get the ball out and keep it alive… I hope we stick to that », Continues Huerter, who benefited from the majority of the balls distributed by the Lithuanian.
A record for Sabonis
The latter signed his 15th triple-double in the Kings jersey (17 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists), equaling a record belonging to Chris Webber during the Sacramento era (Oscar Robertson holds the franchise record, the Cincinnati Royals at time, with 176 triple-doubles). Thanks to his playing intelligence, Kevin Huerter finished with 28 points (11/19 on shots including 4/10 from distance).
“ Kevin has clearly been great for us. He opened the game in different ways. He shot well, he created the game for us », greets Mike Brown, also citing Keegan Murray (24 points at 8/17) whose level of skill has been low until now. Especially since in addition to an address found, the two men were active on the rebound, with 20 catches in total.
The Kings coach adds: “ Everyone knows these guys are great shooters. The important thing for us is to keep them in a positive dynamic, but also by pushing them into other sectors. I push them both to defend, get rebounds, do the little things, and if they’re open, to shoot. Because I have confidence, if I tell you to shoot, even if you are at 1/10, that must give you a level of comfort to want to shoot. »
| Kevin Huerter | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2018-19 | ATL | 75 | 27 | 41.9 | 38.5 | 73.2 | 0.8 | 2.5 | 3.3 | 2.9 | 2.1 | 0.9 | 1.5 | 0.3 | 9.7 |
| 2019-20 | ATL | 56 | 31 | 41.3 | 38.0 | 82.8 | 0.6 | 3.5 | 4.1 | 3.8 | 2.5 | 0.9 | 1.6 | 0.5 | 12.2 |
| 2020-21 | ATL | 69 | 31 | 43.2 | 36.3 | 78.1 | 0.6 | 2.8 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 2.4 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 11.9 |
| 2021-22 | ATL | 74 | 30 | 45.4 | 38.9 | 80.8 | 0.4 | 3.0 | 3.4 | 2.7 | 2.5 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 12.1 |
| 2022-23 | BAG | 75 | 29 | 48.5 | 40.2 | 72.5 | 0.6 | 2.8 | 3.4 | 3.0 | 2.4 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 15.2 |
| 2023-24 | BAG | 7 | 26 | 33.8 | 28.6 | 75.0 | 0.9 | 4.1 | 5.0 | 2.7 | 2.0 | 0.7 | 1.3 | 0.4 | 9.1 |
| Total | 356 | 30 | 44.2 | 38.3 | 76.5 | 0.6 | 2.9 | 3.5 | 3.1 | 2.4 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 0.4 | 12.2 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
