Starting Line-ups
Kings
- Beno Udrih
- Tyreke Evans
- Francisco Garcia
- Jason Thompson
- DeMarcus Cousins
Reserves: Donté Greene, Samuel Dalembert, Carl Landry, Omri Casspi, Darnell Jackson, Pooh Jeter, Jermaine Taylor.
Inactive: Luther Head.
Suns
- Steve Nash
- Vince Carter
- Grant Hill
- Mickael Pietrus
- Robin Lopez
Reserves: Marcin Gortat, Josh Childress, Goran Dragic, Jared Dudley, Gani Lawal, Channing Frye, Hakim Warrick.
First Quarter Recap
The Kings got off to an extremely slow start, shooting below 25% from the field for a good portion of the first quarter. The Kings did a good job early of both drawing fouls and hitting the glass, which kept them in the game while they struggled from the field. The Suns finished on a big time run, pushing the lead to 10. It could have been worse for the Kings, who shot a lowly 23% from the field, but held a 15-9 rebound advantage.
Kings 17 Suns 27
Leaders
Kings- Garcia (8) Points; Garcia (5) Rebounds; 3 tied (1) Assist.
Suns- Pietrus (7) Points; Hill/Lopez (2) Rebounds; Nash (5) Assists.
Second Quarter Recap
The Kings jumped out to an early 7-0 run in the second, forcing the Suns to take a timeout after only 1:18 of play. Continuing the run, the Kings stretched it to a 13-2 advantage and took the lead at 30-29. The Kings continued to be the aggressor, landing the Suns in the penalty at the 6:00 minute mark of the second. Omri Casspi came in off the bench and kicked in a big eight points for the Kings in the second, while Cousins kicked in six to push his total to 11 for the half. The Suns rallied late again, taking the lead back and stretching it to nine going to the break.
Kings 39 Suns 48
Leaders
Kings- Cousins (11) Points; Landry (7) Rebounds; Cousins (3) Assists.
Suns- Gortat (11) Points; Hill (4) Rebounds; Nash (8) Assists.
Team Kings Suns
FG% 28.3% 40.0%
Rebounds 33 19
Assists/TO 7/10 13/4
Third Quarter Recap
The Kings fired back early in the third, quickly cutting the Suns’ lead to three at the 8:37 mark. But much like the second quarter, the Suns put the pedal to the metal, holding a double digit lead for much of the third stretching it as high as 12. Steve Nash ran the Kings ragged in the third, scoring 10 points and dishing three assists. Through three quarters, Nash had 20 points on a perfect 8-8 from the field and 11 assists. Francisco Garcia led a well-balanced Kings attack with eight in the third, while the Kings continued to dominate the Suns on the glass. DeMarcus Cousins ended the third with a baseline jumper at the buzzer to cut the Suns’ lead to eight going into the fourth.
Kings 65 Suns 73
Leaders
Kings- Garcia (16) Points; Landry (9) Rebounds; Cousins/Evans (5) Assists.
Suns- Nash (20) Points; Hill/Pietrus (5) Rebounds; Nash (11) Assists.
Fourth Quarter Recap
The wheels fell off the Kings’ bus to start the fourth. A minute and a half into the quarter, the Kings had missed a shot and turned the ball over twice, allowing the Suns to open up a 14 point lead. The Kings’ chipped away, getting within 10 at the 8:42 mark, but Vince Carter quickly buried a three to push it back to a 13 point contest. At the 7:31 mark, Cousins missed a jumper and got called for his fifth foul of the game. At the 5:06 mark, with a chance to cut the Suns’ lead to eight, Francisco Garcia missed two free throw attempts. Moments later, Garcia redeemed himself when he grabbed a rebound and hit a lay-up, cutting the Suns’ lead to single digits.
With 4:04 left on the clock, DeMarcus Cousins hit Omri Casspi for a corner three, which cut the Suns’ lead to five and energized the crowd. Garcia hit a 16 foot jumper to slice the lead to three, but Marcin Gortat answered with a seven foot jumper to give the Suns an 89-84 lead. Rookie Pooh Jeter hit a 17 foot jumper at the 2:34 mark to get the Kings within three again and after a Grant Hill miss, Cousins took the ball at Gortat, got fouled and hit an improbable lay-in as he fell to the floor. Cousins hit the free throw to tie the game with 1:48 left in the game. After a series of impressive defensive stands by the Kings, Pooh Jeter hit Omri Casspi for a laser three to give the Kings the 92-89 lead. Mickael Pietrus attempted a three pointer to tie, but Casspi played him perfectly. Cousins rebounded the miss, got fouled and dropped in both free throws for his 27th and 28th points of the night. Game over.
Kings win!
Kings 94 Suns 89
Leaders
Kings- Cousins (28) Points; Landry (12) Rebounds; Cousins (6) Assists.
Suns- Nash (20) Points; Gortat/Hill (6) Rebounds; Nash (12) Assists.
Team Kings Suns
FG% 40.5% 40.2%
Rebounds 60 32
Assists/TO 21/15 24/6
Player of the Game: DeMarcus Cousins. The Kings’ rookie big man was unbelievable, scoring 13 of his game/career high 28 in the fourth quarter with the game on the line. Add in eight rebounds and another career high- six assists, in 34 minutes of action. Cousins played a substantial portion of the fourth quarter with five fouls and kept his temper in check as the Kings picked up the win for the second time in three games.
The Difference Maker: Take your pick.
- Pooh Jeter shut down Steve Nash in the fourth, stopping the sure fire Hall of Fame point guard from even getting a shot off.
- The Kings rebounders- Landry (12), Garcia (11), Casspi (10), Cousins (8), Thompson (6), who combined to out-rebound the Suns 60-32.
- Francisco Garcia, who scored 20 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked three shots from the wing.
- Omri Casspi, who scored 14 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, hit 4-6 three pointers – including the go ahead basket with 25.6 seconds remaining in the game, and played impeccable defense down the stretch.
- Tyreke Evans for telling Coach Paul Westphal not to put him back in the game or Paul Westphal for listening.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
