Starters:
- Tyreke Evans- 26 points (9-17 shooting), 3 rebounds, 5 assists
- Beno Udrih- 10 points (4-8 shooting), 3 rebounds, 3 assists
- Marcus Landry- 11 points (3-5 shooting), 2 rebounds, 1 assists
- Carl Landry- 8 points (3-7 shooting), 3 rebounds, 4 assists
- DeMarcus Cousins- 16 points (8-13 shooting), 16 rebounds, o assists
Bench:
- Jason Thompson- 17 points (8-13 shooting), 10 rebounds, 4 assists
- Pooh Jeter- 6 points (3-6 shooting), 1 rebound, 2 assists
- Omri Casspi- 11 points (5-10 shooting), 7 rebounds, 4 assists
- Antoine Wright- 0 points (0-3 shooting), 1 rebound, 1 assist
- Connor Atchley- DNP-CD
- Joe Crawford- DNP-CD
- Donté Greene- 4 points (2-3 shooting), 1 rebound, 0 assists
- Luther Head- 0 points (0-2 shooting), 0 rebounds, 0 assists
Phoenix Starters:
- Steve Nash- 2 points (1-1 shooting), 0 rebounds, 2 assists
- Jason Richardson- 17 points (6-11 shooting), 5 rebounds, 1 assist
- Grant Hill- 2 points (1-1 shooting), 2 rebounds, 0 assists
- Hedo Turkoglu- 2 points (0-5 shooting), 1 rebound, 3 assists
- Robin Lopez- 15 points (6-10 shooting), 6 rebounds, 0 assists
Suns bench:
- Josh Childress- 6 points (2-4 shooting), 5 rebounds, 3 assists
- Goran Dragic- 10 points (5-12 shooting), 2 rebounds, 1 assist
- Dwayne Jones- 4 points (1-4 shooting), 5 rebounds, 1 assist
- Jared Dudley- 13 points (5-8 shooting), 5 rebounds, 2 assists
- Hakkim Warrick- 11 points (4-5 shooting), 1 rebound, 1 assist
- Chucky Atkins- 3 points (1-2 shooting), 0 rebounds, 4 assists
- Earl Clark- 2 points (1-3 shooting), 3 rebounds, 0 assists
- Matt Janning- 8 points (3-8shooting), 1 rebound, 1 assist
- Zabian Dowdell- DNP-CD
- Channing Frye- DNP-CD
- Gani Lawal- DNP-CD
- Garrett Siler-DNP-CD
1st Quarter Breakdown:
Marcus Landry came out and hit his first corner three of the game, which is exactly why he was out there starting. DeMarcus Cousins didn’t disappoint, putting up 8 points and 4 rebounds in 8 minutes. Thompson also impressed with 5 points, 2 rebounds and a block off the bench.
Defensively, the Kings looked horrible, allowing 31 points on 66.7% shooting. Jason Richardson had a nice 7 points and 3 rebounds and the Kings struggled to slow down Phoenix big man Robin Lopez.
Suns 31 Kings 26
2nd Quarter Breakdown:
Jason Thompson continued his hot start, putting up 8 points and 2 rebounds to go with 3 assists, finishing the half with 13-4-3. Pooh Jeter showed his ability to score in bunches, going for 6 points on 3-3 shooting between the end of the first and the second.
The Kings slowed the Suns only slightly on the defensive end, reducing that gaudy 66.7% down to 58.3% overall. The team also forced 11 turnovers, 4 off of steals. Richardson continued his hot start, finishing the half with 15 points and 5 rebounds. Lopez chipped in another 11 points and 5 rebounds as the classic “marginal player who torches the Kings player.”
Suns 58 Kings 51
3rd Quarter Breakdown:
Kings come out on fire! With 4:46 left, the Kings have turned the tables on the Suns. The lead is gone and the Kings now lead 74-70 after Marcus Landry hit his second three of the quarter and third of the game. After scoring 23 in the first 7:14, the Kings only muster 6 points to finish at 80. The young bigs are dominating the post with both huge scoring and rebounding numbers. 15 for Thompson, 14 for Cousins (6 points and 6 rebounds in the 3rd), but Evans is now sneaking up with 14 (10 in the 3rd).
Defensively, the Kings have shaved another 5% off the Suns’ field goal number and forced 6 more turnovers. Phoenix has gone heavy to the bench and it is showing.
Kings 80 Suns 80
4th Quarter Breakdown:
Evans is taking over the game, which may or may not be a good thing. He is scoring (26 with 2:30 minutes left), but his decision making has been less than desirable. Beno Udrih has quietly put up 10 for the game, but he seems to have a knack for knowing when the team needs a basket. The Kings put this one away early in the fourth, but honestly, the Suns didn’t even try to put up a fight.
Kings 109 Suns 95
The defense improved throughout the game. The Suns shot a ridiculous 66.7 % in the first quarter but finished the game shooting only 48.5%. The Kings won the turnover battle 15 to 23, the rebounding battle 47 to 36 and the steal battle 11 to 6. The Kings also held the Suns to 2 of 16 from three for a stellar 12.5%. There is a lot to like about the way the team played. Thursday night, the team will be tested again against the Clippers. DeMarcus Cousins versus Blake Griffin- a rookie of the year showdown?
Post game comments coming soon.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
