The Sacramento Kings hosted the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday, suffering a 133-123 defeat as the Pelicans exploited the Kings’ defensive deficiencies. Precious Achiuwa scored a career high 29 points with 12 rebounds. But the Pelicans scored a combined 79 points in the second and third quarters, ultimately securing the win.The defeat marked the Kings’ 50th loss of the season, a milestone they have reached 19 times in their 40-year history in Sacramento. After the game, Russell Westbrook engaged with some of the Kings’ beat writers and podcasters, including Matt George from SacTown Sports 1140, who also hosts a Kings podcast. Westbrook also questioned two other team beat writers. A common theme was that he argued that members of the media were stirring up “a bunch of stuff that’s not accurate.” “My job is to speak up for the guys in the locker room,” he said. While the exact reason for his discontent remains unclear, the topic of “tanking”—or deliberately losing games to secure a better draft pick—has been a contentious issue among players.See his full comments in the video above. See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

The Sacramento Kings hosted the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday, suffering a 133-123 defeat as the Pelicans exploited the Kings’ defensive deficiencies.

Precious Achiuwa scored a career high 29 points with 12 rebounds. But the Pelicans scored a combined 79 points in the second and third quarters, ultimately securing the win.

The defeat marked the Kings’ 50th loss of the season, a milestone they have reached 19 times in their 40-year history in Sacramento.

After the game, Russell Westbrook engaged with some of the Kings’ beat writers and podcasters, including Matt George from SacTown Sports 1140, who also hosts a Kings podcast. Westbrook also questioned two other team beat writers.

A common theme was that he argued that members of the media were stirring up “a bunch of stuff that’s not accurate.”

“My job is to speak up for the guys in the locker room,” he said.

While the exact reason for his discontent remains unclear, the topic of “tanking”—or deliberately losing games to secure a better draft pick—has been a contentious issue among players.

See his full comments in the video above.

See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel