The debut in Sacramento wasn’t what Sasha Vezhenkov dreamed it would be, as the Warriors cruised to victory over the Kings in overtime (121-115). The former Olympiacos player was among the other five.
Adjusting to the NBA is not and will not be easy, and Sasha Vezhenkov understood that again, early Monday morning (10/16), in the Kings’ home game against the Warriors. In his debut in Sacramento, last year’s reigning MVP was not among the elite, as San Francisco won (121-115) in overtime.
Vezenkov played at number four in his third appearance of the pre-season. He wasn’t part of the original five, but was in the second, where he initially found himself alongside Trey Lyles and eventually alongside Alex Lane.
The speed of the match, the push on the racket, and the fact that the opponents “read” him and did not leave space for him were factors in this difficult night for the former Olympiacos player, who would like some time with the Foxes. Murray, Sabonis so there’s less pressure on him.
The Warriors were without Chris Paul, Steph Curry and Draymond Green, three of their starting five, with Klay Thompson playing less than 17 minutes and Jonathan Kuminga, Lester Quinones and Andrew Wiggins being the three who stood out. Mike Brown used 17 players on behalf of the Kings, with Dumas Sabonis and Deron Fox taking 11/19/5 in 25:15 and 5/17/6/2 in 25:32 respectively.
The Sacramento Kings’ next opponent is the Golden State Warriors once again, this time in San Francisco in the early hours of Thursday (19/10) at 05:00.
Sasha Vezenkov’s account
He entered the game with 3:33 left in the first half and played on fourth down with Trey Lyles on fifth down. Charged with strides on his first real possession and on a fake perimeter, he made his first follow-up basket as the clock expired when he chased down a layup and picked off Davion Mitchell’s missed layup.
He missed his first two shots from the perimeter (the second one is very difficult offensively) and in his first assignment he had 2 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 turnovers in 6:54. His second assist of the game came in the fourth quarter of the third period, again on the four with Lyles on the five. He gave up the sideline on a layup, then missed a 3-pointer and came away with a stat that will stick in his head for a while.
- 2 points
- 1/1 2 points (follow-up at the end of the first half)
- 0/3 Three-pointers
- 6 rebounds (3 defensive – 3 offensive)
- 3 fouls (passes, steps, sideline)
- 1 error
- -2 to +/-
- At 16:49
Dodecalypta: 38-25, 59-56, 83-83, 111-111 (Q.A.), 115-121
Sacramento Kings (Mike Brown): Barnes 6, Murray 9 (3/6 3-pointers, 6 rebounds), Sabonis 19 (6/9 2-pointers, 2/2 3-pointers, 1/2 steal, 11 rebounds, 5 assists). Duarte 5 (1), Fox 17 (1 3, shooting 6/8, 5 rebounds, 6 assists), Herter 8 (1), Lyles 11 (3), Monk 8, Vezenkov 2, Mitchell, Jones 8. Lane 7 (1), Edwards, Ellis 11 (3/5 3-pointers), Ford 2, Noel, Slauson 2
Golden State Warriors (Steve Kerr): Wiggins 20 (3/6 2-pointers, 3/5 3-pointers, 5/7 shots), Kuminga 28 (6/14 2-pointers, 1/4 3-pointers, 13/17 shots), 6 rebounds), Looney 2 (14 rebounds, 3 assists), Thompson 12 (2), Bozemski 4 (6 rebounds, 4 assists), Robinson 6 (2/11 shooting), Peyton, Moody 16 (3), Saric 9 (1), Kinoni 18 (2 3-pointers, 4 rebounds, 4 assists), Jackson-Davis 4, Garuba 2, Williams.
Sacramento Kings team statistics: 29/50 2-pointers, 15/45 3-pointers, 12/17 steals, 50 rebounds, 32 assists, 10 steals, 8 blocks, 14 turnovers, 26 fouls
Golden State Warriors statistics: 25/55 2-pointers, 12/32 3-pointers, 35/42 shots, 63 rebounds, 18 assists, 7 steals, 4 blocks, 13 turnovers, 22 fouls
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