Bagley’s decision was revealed Sunday, two days before he was to report to El Segundo, California for the second week of training camp. Bagley was not immediately replaced, and unless that changes the U.S. will have 16 players still in the mix for 12 final roster spots.

The New York Times first reported Bagley’s decision to withdraw.

Bagley was on the select team – younger NBA players brought in to compete against national-team candidates – last week in Las Vegas, and earned a promotion to the national team Friday night following USA Basketball’s intrasquad scrimmage.

Sacramento still has two players left as World Cup roster candidates, with Harrison Barnes and De’Aaron Fox headed to camp this week. Boston has four – Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, Jayson Tatum and Kemba Walker. Milwaukee’s Brook Lopez and Khris Middleton remain candidates, along with Brooklyn’s Joe Harris, the Los Angeles Lakers’ Kyle Kuzma, Toronto’s Kyle Lowry, Utah’s Donovan Mitchell, Denver’s Mason Pluelee, Houston’s P.J. Tucker, Indiana’s Myles Turner and San Antonio’s Derrick White.

Lowry (thumb surgery) and Smart (calf strain) are both dealing with injuries, with clarity on their situations expected to come early this week. The Americans will practice at the Lakers’ facility Tuesday through Thursday, then face Spain in Anaheim, California on Friday night.

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Oklahoma City Thunder vs Sacramento Kings
When: 9:00 PM  ET, Sunday, January 15, 2017
Where: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, California

TV: 9 p.m. ET, FSN Oklahoma, CSN California (Sacramento)
PREDICTION: Thunder 106, Kings 104

Oddsmakers currently have the SACRAMENTO listed as 1.5 point favorites versus the OKLAHOMA CITY, while the game’s total is sitting at 213.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Now that Magic Johnson is behind him — again — Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook can set his triple-double vision on Wilt Chamberlain.

He’d rather put his immediate focus on getting his team back to its winning ways.

In Sacramento, finding a winning way has been a challenge going on for a decade.

The teams take the Golden 1 Center court for the second time in six weeks on Sunday night, and they’ve both been a bit up and down since they last saw one another. Both will be playing after ugly losses.

The Thunder (24-17) saw their three-game winning streak end in a sea of lousy shooting and even worse ball-handling in a loss at Minnesota on Friday night. The performance took such considerable glow off Westbrook’s 19th triple-double of the season that the NBA’s most-prolific triple-double performer since the ABA merger told reporters his achievement “don’t mean (expletive).”

The Kings (16-23) were plagued with turnovers, too, as well as another awful start and lost for the fifth time in their past six home games. They are 1-4 on a seven-game homestand and 2-6 since a season-best four-game winning streak last month.

One thing the teams have in common: They aren’t protecting the ball.

Sacramento turned it over nine times in the first quarter and 21 overall in a 120-108 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday. Oklahoma City had 19 turnovers and the Minnesota Timberwolves turned them into 33 points in a 96-86 victory on Friday.

“It happens like that,” Westbrook said. “Nights like that, you got to ready and move on to the next one.”

Sacramento’s slow start against Cleveland was nothing unusual. The Kings have fallen behind by double digits in the first half in three of their past four home losses.

“With our starts, we need to be as amped up as we can to have some energy before games,” Kings guard Garrett Temple said. “We’ve got to come out and execute the game plan, no matter what it is.”

The Thunder loss ended a streak that started after a three-game skid, the team’s only blip in a 16-9 stretch that started immediately after they dropped a 116-101 decision at Sacramento on Nov. 23.

Westbrook fell one assist shy of putting up a triple-double in that one, scoring 31 points to go with 11 rebounds and nine assists. Sacramento harassed him into 7-of-18 shooting from the floor and three turnovers. He also fell a rebound shy of posting a triple-double in each of Oklahoma City’s victories during its winning streak.

In all, Westbrook has triple-doubled in 46 percent of Oklahoma City’s games. The 19 match his total from 80 games last season.

No player has surpassed that mark since the NBA absorbed four teams after the ABA collapsed in 1976. Johnson had 18 in 1982-83, a record that stood for 32 seasons until Westbrook broke it last year in his 80th game.

Chamberlain had 31 for the Philadelphia 76ers in 1967-68 before the NBA-ABA merger.

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Cleveland Cavaliers vs Sacramento Kings
When: 10:30 PM  ET, Friday, January 13, 2017
Where: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, California

TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, FSN Ohio (Cleveland), CSN California (Sacramento)
PREDICTION: Cavaliers 115, Kings 107

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Cleveland Cavaliers made it to Sacramento without a snow-dictated hiccup. In that respect, the latest stop on their Western tour already is better than their previous one.

Now, if they can get just their guards to starting raining again.

The weather-whipped defending champs will try to end a two-game losing streak Wednesday when they face the Sacramento Kings at the Golden 1 Center, and they would figure to be a bit refreshed.

Cleveland (28-10) lost 100-92 at Utah on Tuesday night, then arrived at Portland at 3:30 a.m. Wednesday and got to the hotel after 4 a.m. amid a blizzard.

On Wednesday night against the Trail Blazers, Kyrie Irving and Kyle Korver clanked 5 of 21 shots from the field, continuing a recent slump that has LeBron James’ bunch trying to avoid its second three-game losing streak of the season as the Cavs continue a season-high, six-game road trip.

The two guards are generally are far more consistent, having combined to shoot 41.6 percent from 3-point range in their careers.

Irving, who went 4 of 16 from the floor against Portland, is shooting just 36.2 percent (29 of 80) from the field in four games since returning from a slightly pulled hamstring. He canned just 10 of 26 attempts (38.4 percent) from beyond the arc in that span.

“In Kyrie’s case, he missed three games, almost a week … and you can lose a lot of timing,” Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue told Cleveland.com. “Right now, he’s just struggling to find his timing. A few times (against Portland), he had open shots he didn’t take.”

In Korver’s case, the former Atlanta guard still appears to be finding his way. Korver, 36, was acquired from the Hawks for Mike Dunleavy, Mo Williams and a 2019 first-round pick on Saturday. He missed all five of his 3-point attempts in the two games he has played with Cavs, and he has scored only a combined four points on 2-of-10 shooting in 43 minutes.

The Kings (16-22) might not be a bad team for Irving and Korver to get well against. Sacramento allows opponents to shoot 38 percent from beyond the arc, the third-worst mark in the NBA. The Detroit Pistons bombed away for 12 against them Tuesday while falling 100-94 to the Kings.

Even so, Sacramento finds itself in a relatively sunny place despite the backdrop of torrential downpours over the past week that have been the state capital’s worst in years. The win over the Pistons ended a four-game home losing streak and a three-game skid overall.

Sacramento’s franchise player, center DeMarcus Cousins, also lent credence to reports that he will stick around long term by signing a five-year, $207 million contract this summer.

“Guess what people?” he said after the game. “I’m here!”

Cousins hit the biggest shots in the comeback against Detroit. However, he said that until the Kings become more consistent, they can’t say they are making much progress.

“It’s been well noticed that we’re a team that can come back in the fourth quarter and all that, but it’s starting to run its course,” he said. “We can’t keep putting ourselves in a situation where we have to have these dramatic finishes at the end, because it’s not always going to turn out (with a win). We need to put a full four quarters together.”

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Los Angeles Clippers vs. Sacramento Kings
When: 10:30 PM ET, Friday, January 6, 2017
Where: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, California

TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, Prime Ticket (Los Angeles), CSN California (Sacramento)
PREDICTION: Clippers 120, Kings 111

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Los Angeles Clippers and Sacramento Kings hang out on opposite ends of the Western Conference, yet they seem always to have one thing in common that always comes to light when they face each other.

They each struggle to get out of their own way when it comes to being their own worst enemy.

The Clippers may be stabilizing and besides two straight wins into Friday’s visit to Sacramento, they are also eying the return of All-Star point guard Chris Paul.

Paul may return from the left hamstring injury that has caused him to miss four straight games and seven of the past eight. Paul, who stands six assists away from moving past Rod Strickland into 10th on the NBA’s all-time list, had a strenuous workout before Los Angeles’ 115-106 home win over the Memphis Grizzlies, and coach Doc Rivers said Paul is close.

“Chris looked great (Wednesday),” he told the Los Angeles Daily News. “Had a full workout, played up and down. We’ll just wait to see how he feels.”

The win over the Grizzlies likely lifted Rivers’ spirits for reasons other than it came shortly after a six-game losing streak. Los Angeles did not commit a technical foul for the second straight contest, a priority Rivers told reporters he set forth in a “long talk with the team” in which he reviewed all 32 the team has earned this season. The Clippers’ total is third in the NBA.

“I told them that doesn’t represent us, and I made a pledge to them,” Rivers told the Los Angeles Times, pointing the finger at himself and his six technical fouls, second-most among NBA coaches. “I have to be the leader of this team, so my actions have to come first. … We’re reversing this. I’m getting no more, and I’m holding everyone accountable.”

Accountability, or the lack of it, continues to be a running theme for the Kings (15-20), and they acknowledged taking a gigantic leap backward by kicking off a season-high seven-game homestand with a 107-102 loss to the undermanned Miami Heat on Wednesday.

Sacramento has lost three of four since a season-best four-game winning streak that began with DeMarcus Cousins scoring 55 points in a 126-121 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Dec. 20.

Cousins was held to a season-low 13 points and shot 4-of-15 in a game where the Kings trailed by 19 in the third quarter.

“It’s part of the maturing of a team, and we have to get better at it,” Kings’ forward Garrett Temple said. “It’s like Darren (Collison) said (Tuesday) after we won in Denver. Yeah, it’s a good win, but it means nothing if we lose the next one. Well, we lost the next one. We’ve got to become more consistent in that regard.”

Sacramento’s loss was one of its more disheartening in recent memory. The Kings, playing a youthful, rebuilding Heat team reeling from injuries, showed barely a ripple of intensity in allowing 87 points in the first 34 minutes to a team that was averaging 98.2 per game.

“It’s not easy to come out whether it be the start of a half or the start of a game with the type of energy level and intensity you need to kick of the proper defensive mindset,” Kings forward Arron Afflalo said. “Defensively, we have to be more ready to play and not give teams a quick run, because those things are hard to overcome.”

The Clippers, who also have been without All-Star forward Blake Griffin (arthroscopic knee surgery) since Dec. 18, have won eight straight contests in Sacramento.

Los Angeles is 17-3 in the last 20 meetings since acquiring Paul prior to the lockout-shortened 2011-12 season.

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Miami Heat vs. Sacramento Kings
When: 10:30 PM ET, Wednesday, January 4, 2017
Where: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, California

TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, FSN Sun (Miami), CSN California (Sacramento)
PREDICTION: Kings 107, Heat 101

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — After a decade of missing out, the Sacramento Kings don’t mind trotting out the “P” word in January. The next two weeks should give them a decent indication whether they are any closer to playing basketball in late April or whether the playoffs remain a mirage for the 11th straight season.

The Kings (15-19) play the first of seven straight contests at the Golden 1 Center on Wednesday when they host the Miami Heat.

Sacramento’s longest homestand of the season will last 14 days, four of them against teams above .500 and two of them against defending conference champions.

But Sacramento (15-19) also plays three teams struggling near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings, one of them the Heat. Miami (10-26) lost 99-90 at the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday and has dropped six in a row for the second time this season.

For the Kings it’s a chance to assert themselves and get a sixth win in eight games, a run that began when DeMarcus Cousins scored 55 points Dec. 20 against Portland in a 126-121 win. The Kings won three more before double-digit losses to Portland and Memphis but rebounded with a 120-113 road win over the Denver Nuggets Tuesday.

Cousins scored 31 points and Darren Collison added 26. But Sacramento won primarily by holding Denver to 20 points over the first 11:20 of the fourth quarter, returning to a pattern that carried them during their hot spell.

In their past five victories, the Kings have allowed an average of 22.0 points in the final 12 minutes. They gave up 57 fourth-quarter points in the two losses.

“This win was crucial,” Collison said. “We had to get that taste out of our mouth. We felt like the last couple of games, we got away from who we are as a team, especially down the stretch.”

Sacramento also recorded four of its past five victories without forward Rudy Gay (right hip flexor strain), who has missed nine of the past 10. Forward Arron Afflalo returned to the lineup against the Nuggets after missing three games with an elbow injury and scored 19 points in 30 minutes, but guard Ty Lawson sat out with blurred vision after taking an elbow to the head in Saturday’s loss to Memphis.

The Heat, in the middle of rebuilding process after seven playoff appearances in their past eight seasons, will play the second of six consecutive road games on the road. The jaunt is their longest of the season.

Guard Goran Dragic returned from a two-game absence caused by back pain and scored 24 points against Phoenix on Tuesday, but guard Dion Waiters’ return from a 20-game absence caused by a groin injury was pushed back at least another night.

Waters and Dragic both are questionable for Wednesday’s game, while forwards Josh McRoberts (left foot stress fracture), Justice Winslow (stinger) and center Hassan Whiteside (bruised right eye) remained in Miami. Whiteside and Winslow could join the team later on the trip, the Miami Herald reported.

Whiteside, the Kings’ third pick in the 2010 draft and waived after playing 19 games for them, was averaging a career-best 17.3 points and 14.3 rebounds in 34 minutes per game before suffering a bruised right eye. He will visit a doctor Wednesday.

With the ranks thin, Miami lost to the Suns for the first time in since Nov. 3, 2009, ending a 12-game run against them. The Heat have lost nine of 10 overall and 14 of 17.

“We understand that we have that Miami Heat jersey on, so every time we put it on, we know we’re are getting an opportunity,” center Willie Reed said. “So you want to go out there and show this organization that you will do whatever it takes to win. Sometimes it doesn’t work out in this league, but you have to keep continuously building those habits.”

Miami has won five straight from Sacramento and 15 of the last 16 meetings. Sacramento’s lone win in that span occurred Dec. 27, 2013 at home when Cousins scored 27 points in a 108-103 overtime win.

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LA LAKERS vs SACRAMENTO
When: 10:30 PM ET, Monday, December 12, 2016
Where: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, California

TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, Spectrum SportsNet (Los Angeles), CSN California (Sacramento)
PREDICTION: Kings 103, Lakers 96

Oddsmakers currently have the Kings listed as 8½-point favorites versus the Lakers, while the game’s total is sitting at 217.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Not long ago, Sacramento center DeMarcus Cousins watched how his team performed in the fourth quarter of games, especially late, and opined that the Kings were one of the league’s best in the game’s final minutes.

It might be time for a reassessment.

The Kings (8-15) will be coming off two fourth-quarter disappointments when they host the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday at the Golden 1 Center. The second of those contests, a 104-84 loss at the Utah Jazz on Saturday, proved particularly galling. Sacramento trailed 78-76 entering the final 12 minutes and was outscored 26-8 in its lowest-scoring quarter of the campaign.

The Kings lost for the fifth time in six contests only 24 hours after they dropped a 103-100 decision at home to the New York Knicks. Sacramento scored just one basket in the final 2:09 of that game and fell to 4-10 during a 14-game stretch that started when it blew a 19-point first-half lead at home in a 101-91 loss to the Lakers on Nov. 10.

The earlier loss to the Lakers highlighted the inconsistency with which the Kings have played from quarter to quarter during much of their campaign, an issue at least as prevalent as their recent fades down the stretch. Cousins acknowledged as much in summarizing Sacramento’s loss to Utah.

“It’s the same mistakes that’s been hurting us most of the year,” Cousins said. “Defensive breakdowns, second-chance points, same things.”

The heavy burden of carrying Sacramento’s offense each night might be starting to wear on Cousins. The seventh-year veteran is averaging 28.2 points per game, the third-best mark in the league and a figure that marks 27.6 percent of the Kings’ scoring this season. Cousins also is 10th in the league with 10.6 rebounds per game, 20 percent of his team’s total. He is averaged 34.5 minutes while playing all 23 contests.

However, he went 7 of 22 from the floor against Utah and appeared to be laboring. The Kings’ schedule isn’t helping; Sacramento will be playing for the third time in four nights Monday and the 13th time in less than four weeks.

“DeMarcus looks like he’s carrying a 50-pound weight around,” coach Dave Joerger said after the loss to Utah. “He looks exhausted.”

The Lakers don’t look as spry as they did a month ago, when they surprised the league by winning 10 of their first 20 games. Coach Luke Walton’s team lost its sixth straight Sunday, 118-112 at home against the Knicks. Los Angeles allowed at least 103 points in all six of those defeats and surrendered fewer than 100 in only five of its 26 contests.

Guard D’Angelo Russell (sore left knee) returned from a 12-game absence, and guard Nick Young (strained calf) played for the first time in seven games, putting the Lakers’ starting backcourt back on the floor again. The two combine for 29.4 points and 8.1 assists per game.

Lou Williams scored 24 points for the Lakers on Sunday, leading Los Angeles in scoring for the fifth consecutive contest. Williams is averaging 32.2 points a game in that stretch, all while coming off the bench.

“Usually when you score a ton of points, you’re going to get some wins out of it,” he said after putting up 35 in a victory over Phoenix on Friday. “We haven’t had that. … Losing is losing.”

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Sacramento Kings vs. Philadelphia 76ers
When: 7:00 PM ET, Wednesday, November 30, 2016
Where: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The Sacramento Kings’ latest loss left All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins feeling frustrated. He and his teammates will be looking to right the ship when the Kings play the third game in a six-game road trip Wednesday night against the 76ers in Philadelphia.

The Kings (7-11) lost 101-95 to the Washington Wizards in overtime Monday despite Cousins’ 36 points and 20 rebounds. Cousins, fifth in the NBA in scoring (28.7) and 11th in rebounding (10.4), poured in 12 of his points in the fourth quarter, including the tying basket with 10.1 seconds left.

The Wizards then reeled off the first seven points of the extra period to take command. Sacramento’s only points in OT came on Rudy Gay’s 3-pointer with 16.8 seconds remaining, and Cousins missed all three of his shots from the floor and both his free throws.

“Overtime, I’m sick about that,” he told the Sacramento Bee. “I feel like I completely choked in overtime. I’m not happy about the overtime.”

Gay finished with 18 points and Ty Lawson scored 12 off the bench for the Kings, who have dropped two of their last three games.

“This was a very winnable game,” Cousins told the Bee. “Hopefully this doesn’t come back to bite us in the butt later on.”

Gay is averaging 19.6 points a night, while Darren Collison checks in at 12.9 per game.

The Sixers also played Monday night, losing 122-97 in Toronto. Philadelphia, which rested rookie center Joel Embiid, suffered its 22nd straight road loss, one shy of the franchise record established from March 29 to Dec. 23, 2015.

The Sixers (4-14) have dropped four in a row overall to sink to the bottom of the Eastern Conference, a position they assumed the previous three years as well.

Embiid leads the team (and all NBA rookies) in scoring (18.2), rebounding (7.8) and 3-point accuracy (50.0 percent), and is expected to return against Sacramento. The third overall pick in the 2014 draft, he missed his first two seasons following a pair of foot surgeries. The team has also been limiting him to 24 minutes a game as a precaution, and plans to continue to do so until at least Christmas.

While Embiid figures to be back Wednesday, the status of veteran point guard Jerryd Bayless is far less certain.

Bayless, signed as a free agent in July, tore a ligament in his left wrist in the preseason and missed the first 13 games. He played the next three, then sat out Sunday’s loss to Cleveland as well as the game in Toronto with soreness in the wrist.

“Personally, I’m a little bit worried,” coach Brett Brown told the Philadelphia Inquirer.

The Sixers have been without forward Ben Simmons and center/forward Nerlens Noel all season.

Simmons, the top overall pick in the last draft, broke his right foot in training camp and underwent surgery. He is not expected to return until January.

Noel underwent minor surgery on his left knee in late October and is expected to miss a few more weeks.

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TV: 7 p.m. ET, CSN California (Sacramento), CSN Mid-Atlantic (Washington)
PREDICTION: Wizards 111, Kings 104

WASHINGTON — DeMarcus Cousins and John Wall were teammates for one dynamic college season at the University of Kentucky. The Sacramento Kings center and the Washington Wizards point guard are individually playing at a high level, though their respective teams aren’t finding similar success this season.

Both teams enter Monday night’s matchup with losing records, though the Kings (7-10) have won three of four. Cousins had 37 points and 11 rebounds in Sacramento’s 122-105 romp over the Brooklyn Nets Sunday night. The Kings sank 13 of 23 3-pointers and outscored the Nets 34-18 in the third quarter.

“Good game for us as far as coming out in the second half,” Kings coach Dave Joerger said. “We got three stops in a row 11 times tonight, which is good. … I don’t know how often we’ll go 13-of-23 from 3-point line.”

Expecting offensive production from Cousins is common. The big man with range made 4 of 5 from beyond the arc and finished 13 of 24 from the field.

“He’s a difficult cover because he can play facing you, with his back to the basket, he can shoot a little bit, he can drive a little bit,” Joerger said of Cousins, who leads the Kings with 27.8 points per game. “He creates a lot of contact and gets to the free-throw line. You look at that and you say how do you take him for granted.”

Cousins knows better than to take for granted what his former college teammate provides the Wizards. Wall leads Washington with 23.5 points and ranks fifth in the NBA with 8.7 assists.

“Tough matchup with John Wall, he is a big athletic guard,” Cousins said. “We have to keep the crowd around him, be there to help guards to help the guard. He really looks to get into the paint and get everybody involved. It is going to be a tough task (Monday) and if we play the way we did tonight minus some of the mistakes we will be fine.”

The Wizards (5-10) saw their modest two-game winning streak, a season high, end Saturday as the San Antonio Spurs handled Washington 112-100. The Spurs were relentless getting to the free throw and attacking a Wizards defense that struggles defending the perimeter.

“They were a more aggressive team,” said Wall, who had 21 points in the home loss. “They got a lot of easy shots and I think we missed some easy shots.”

Bradley Beal paced the Wizards with 25 points on a night center Ian Mahinmi made his season and Wizards debut after missing the opening 14 games following knee surgery. Rust was evident, but the hope is Mahinmi, who signed a four-year, $64 million contract over the summer, can help Washington defensively against the likes of Cousins.

“He knows how to play,” Wizards coach Scott Brooks said of Mahinmi. “It’s going to take him some time. I’m very patient and he understands that we all are. But I like what he brings to our team. He’s a tough player and he just brings a good fiber to our team. I thought tonight’s game, at times he looked good (and) at times he looked rusty. That’s expected. He’s missed the last six weeks of the season.”

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San Antonio Spurs vs. Sacramento Kings
When: 10:30 PM ET, Wednesday, November 16, 2016
Where: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, California
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, FSN Southwest (San Antonio), CSN California (Sacramento)
PREDICTION: Spurs 107, Kings 103

Oddsmakers currently have the Spurs listed as 6.5-point favorites versus the Kings, while the game’s total is 194.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The San Antonio Spurs are only now getting used to having their starting five perfectly healthy. Not that it’s kept them from navigating the road unblemished during the season’s first three weeks.

The Spurs carry a 5-0 road mark into Wednesday’s contest at Sacramento, a place where they’ve already won once this season. Danny Green, a 10.6.-point-per-game scorer in 16 games against Sacramento, missed San Antonio’s first nine contests, including its 102-94 victory here on Oct. 27.

That marked one of nine games the Spurs (8-3) endured without their forecasted starting five. All three losses came without 19-year veteran Tony Parker, who sat with a knee injury.

Parker, Green, Kawhi Leonard (25.5 points per game), LaMarcus Aldridge and Pau Gasol did not take the floor together until Nov. 12 in Houston. On Wednesday, they’ll be starting together for the third straight game — the Spurs have won three straight since Parker returned.

“Tony is Tony,” teammate Manu Ginobili told the San Antonio Express-News after the Spurs’ 94-90 home win over the Miami Heat on Tuesday. “He’s been the point guard of this team for 16 years. It’s not something where he can take 10 days off and we’re not going to feel it.”

The Spurs next get to see how strong their road magic is over the next three weeks. San Antonio kicks off a stretch in which it will play nine of 12 games away from AT&T Center. Five of the next six are on the road.

San Antonio Stats:
Team record: 8-3 SU,6-4-1 ATS
Current Streak: won 3 straight games.
San Antonio is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of San Antonio’s last 5 games
San Antonio is 4-0-1 ATS in its last 5 games on the road

“It’s always tough to play on the road,” Leonard told reporters. “We’ve just got to focus in, as always.”

The Heat weren’t good for the Spurs’ renewed health. Green took a knee in the groin and missed the second half. Center Dewayne Dedmon, averaging 4.9 rebounds in 13 minutes per game off the bench, sprained his left knee in the third quarter after colliding with Justise Winslow.

Green is questionable to play against the Kings, but Dedmon is out. Dedmon put up a season-best 12 points, seven rebounds and four blocks while helping defend Kings center DeMarcus Cousins in San Antonio’s earlier victory.

Cousins and his teammates haven’t played since Saturday, and coach Dave Joerger used the four-day break to run through an offense that his players have been working to learn since camp. The break is their longest this season, not counting the All-Star break.

Sacramento nearly climbed all the way out of a hole it created by losing five of its first seven, but the Kings blew a 19-point lead in a home loss to the Lakers, then fell in overtime at Portland the next night. Now, the Kings (4-7) will fall a season-worst four below .500 if they lose to the Spurs, a team that has beaten them seven consecutive times.

Cousins is scoring 26.6 points per game, the ninth-best mark in the NBA, but the Kings have won only when they’ve defended. Three of their four wins have come when they’ve held an opponent under 100 points, and opponents were shooting 45 percent and turning over the ball an average of 11.3 times.

But Sacramento turns over the ball a lot, too. The Kings committed 15 against Portland, leading to 25 points, and have averaged 13 turnovers in their seven losses.

Sacramento Stats:
Team record: 4-7 SU,5-5-1 ATS
Sacramento is 2-6 SU in its last 8 games
The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Sacramento’s last 13 games
Sacramento is 6-12 SU in its last 18 games at home

“I think some of them are just careless,” Joerger told the Sacramento Bee. “The long passes, I love the fact that guys are out running, and we’re looking for our teammates. Those are good. But we’re not completing them. Nothing bad happens if you don’t throw that pass. Something bad can happen if it doesn’t get there.”

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The Kings announced Monday that Divac will serve as vice president of basketball operations and general manager. Divac was hired in March as vice president of basketball and franchise operations.

The Kings also announced that Mike Bratz will be assistant general manager, Roland Beech will serve as vice president of basketball strategy and Peja Stojakovic will be director of player personnel and development.

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