by Jonathan Santiago & James Ham
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBqP8Z_RIFA]
After combusting in the third quarter of the previous two games, the Sacramento Kings put together a third period masterpiece of their own Friday. The Kings scored 41 points in the quarter following halftime, beating the visiting Boston Celtics 120-95 at Power Balance Pavilion.
“Everything that went wrong with us a couple of nights ago, well it all went right with us tonight,” said Kings head coach Keith Smart in his postgame press conference. “We moved the ball, we shared it, we ran, we passed, we defended.”
Jason Thompson recorded a second consecutive double-double, finishing with 21 points and 15 rebounds. And after scoring just 18 points total in the previous two games combined, Marcus Thornton exploded for a season-high 36 points, just six points shy of his career-high 42.
Ray Allen led the Celtics with 26 points on 9-for-16 shooting from the field. Rajon Rondo scored just four points but recorded 12 assists in the blowout loss.
The Kings move to 15-29 overall and 11-9 at home, matching all of last season’s win total at Power Balance Pavilion.
Notes and Analysis
- Thornton returned to form, scoring 26 of his game high 36 points in the second half. He rounded out the evening with four rebounds, four assists and five steals.
- Thompson was used heavily in the high post by coach Smart and the fourth-year forward out of Rider answered the call by recording his eighth double-double this season.
- Isaiah Thomas notched the second double-double of his young career, finishing with 13 points and 10 assists.
- The Kings finished with a season-high 29 assists on the night. Every starter recorded four or more assists on the night.
- The 25-point win is the largest margin of victory for the Kings this year. The previous was 16 points, 96-80 against the New Orleans Hornets on New Year’s Day.
- The 120-points scored is also a new Kings’ season high.
- Cousins finished with 20 points and seven rebounds. Foul trouble limited him to just 26 minutes and he picked up a technical for jawing at Kevin Garnett.
- Paul Pierce struggled shooting tonight before exiting the game late with a sprained left ankle. The 34-year old Pierce finished just 5-for-15 from the field, but hit all nine of his free throws.
- 36-year old Ray Allen did everything in his power to keep the Celtics in the game. Fifteen of 26 points were scored from behind the arc (5-for-10 from three).
- Stat of the Night: The Kings caught fire in the third quarter, scoring 41 points shooting 70 percent from the field. Thornton led the way with 14 points, but Thompson (10), Isaiah Thomas (9), DeMarcus Cousins (8) also contributed in the high-scoring period.
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