By James Ham and Rui Thomas
Streamers didn’t fall from the rafters, but the Sacramento Kings had reason to celebrate. They snapped a 15-game losing streak with DeMarcus Cousins out of the lineup (three straight this season entering tonight) and a four-game losing streak overall at the expense of the short-handed Indiana Pacers in overtime, 102-101.
“Man, we needed this win,” Rudy Gay admitted after the game. “However we got it didn’t matter, we just needed this win. We needed the momentum. There were times where we reverted back to being the team that lost four games but we got it together and it’s about time.”
The Kings came out hot while the Pacers did not. Rudy Gay started the game 4-for-4 with 11 points and the Pacers allowed 12 points off turnovers as Sacramento raced out to a 34-20 first quarter.
The Pacers gradually clawed back in part to 22 second-chance points to push it to extras, but couldn’t close the deal thanks to the Kings’ suffocating defense, which held the visitors to 35.6 percent shooting from the floor at half and 37.5 percent for the match. Indiana started 4-of-8 from behind the arc but ended 6-for-26.
Jason Thompson, Ryan Hollins and the Kings frontcourt did an admirable job disrupting David West and Roy Hibbert, containing the Indiana starters to a combined 25 points on 10-of-27 field goals.
“David is a load and so is Roy Hibbert, so I give a lot of credit to our bigs,” stated Michael Malone. “Jason Thompson, Carl Landry, Reggie Evans and Ryan Hollins, all of them really manned up and really battled in the paint.”
On offense, Gay finished with 27 points, five assists and one turnover. Darren Collison produced 20 points on 8-of-19 field goals, six assists, four steals and four turnovers and Ben McLemore dropped 12 points to ease the load off their starting small forward.
Carl Landry worked opposing reserve Luis Scola and later nailed the game-winning layup off an offensive rebound with 0.8 second left to total 14 points and seven boards.
“I just told my teammates that me and Reggie (Evans) were going to crash the glass, (because) I’ve been in situations like that, and you just never know,” recalled Landry on the game-winner. “The ball just rolls your way, and that’s what it did tonight.”
The Kings shot 43.4 percent from the floor and drew 40 free throw attempts, missing 12. They limited damage in the turnover department by losing the ball 15 times but spilled five in the fourth quarter.
Sacramento regains a winning record at 10-9. The team carries good vibes into tomorrow’s contest at Sleep Train Arena versus the Orlando Magic, before hosting the Utah Jazz Monday and traveling to play the Los Angeles Lakers Tuesday. Cousins (virus) is expected back Monday.
Notes and Analysis
- The Indiana Pacers had no answer for Rudy Gay. The smooth-moving wing dropped 27 points on 10-for-20 shooting and added five assists and five rebounds. Gay needed ice on his left knee in the second quarter, which is something to watch, but he played like an All-Star tonight.
- After a couple of sub-par games, Darren Collison returned to form tonight, scoring 20 points and handing out a team-high six assists. Collison’s four first-half steals set the tone for an aggressive defensive effort by the Kings.
- Ben McLemore got off to a slow start, but the second-year guard finished strong. After scoring just five points before the break, McLemore finished with 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting and added five rebounds in the win.
- Before tonight, Carl Landry had scored in double-figures just once in Sacramento’s last nine games. The veteran was the lone bright spot off the Kings bench tonight, scoring 14 points, many of which came against Luis Scola, his former teammate with the Houston Rockets.
- With Cousins still out with a virus, Ryan Hollins picked up his fourth straight start. The UCLA product finished with eight points and four rebounds while hustling all over the floor.
- Jason Thompson is not seeing much of an increase in offensive touches with Cousins out, but he is still anchoring the defense and rebounding at a high clip. Thompson finished the game with nine points and 10 rebounds in 38 minutes.
- Stat of the Night: Sacramento ends an 0-14 stretch over the last two seasons in the Malone era without DeMarcus Cousins.
Quote of the Game
Michael Malone on winning without DeMarcus Cousins
“It’s the first time that we’ve won without him, between last year and this year. I hope that this gives us a little bit of confidence. Yes, he’s a great player and when we have him we’re a dangerous team, but we have to find ways to win when anybody gets hurt.”
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