The Sacramento Kings trailed by as many as 18 tonight, but still rallied on the road to win 100-92 over the New Orleans Hornets.
DeMarcus Cousins dominated the Hornets frontline, barely missing his second straight 20 point, 20 rebound game. The 21-year-old center scored a game-high 28 points, grabbed 19 rebounds and blocked three shots for the Kings.
Rookie Isaiah Thomas was a game changer, scoring 17 points, including a 29-foot three-pointer that put his team up by six late in the fourth quarter. He also chipped in six assists and five rebounds in just over 26 minutes of action.
The Hornets gave a valiant effort in the loss. Greivis Vasquez led the way with 20 points and added nine assists while backcourt-mate Marco Belinelli tossed in 18 for the Hornets, who fall to 4-21.
Notes and Analysis
- Tyreke Evans struggled early, but turned into a one-man wrecking crew in the final period. Evans scored nine-straight points for the Kings during a two minute and 46 second stretch of the fourth, helping his team in the comeback win.
- Marcus Thornton did not have his “A” game tonight, struggling to shoot just 3-for-12 from the field while scoring 12 points.
- Jason Thompson came back to earth after a series of impressive games. The Kings starting power forward scored only four points and grabbed two rebounds in 17 foul-filled minutes.
- Cousins had a huge game overall, but his second half numbers were incredible. The second year big man out of Kentucky scored 18 points and grabbed 14 rebounds following intermission of tonight’s contest. He also committed just two personal fouls – a far cry from his league-leading 4.3 average.
- Jimmer Fredette made a brief appearance in the first half tonight. He scored five points and dished out an assist in just under 1o minutes of play. The rookie had received DNP-CDs in the Kings previous two contests.
- Veterans Francisco Garcia and Travis Outlaw played four and three minutes respectively tonight, as coach Smart continues to tighten his rotation. Neither player scored.
- Xavier Henry played well in his 10 minutes of play, scoring eight points off the Hornets bench. The former first round pick has had a rough start to his career, but may find minutes on an injury-plagued Hornets team.
- Gustavo Ayon got his first start of his career. The rookie scored four points and grabbed nine rebounds in 32 minutes of action.
- The Hornets played with just 10 healthy bodies. They were without Carl Landry, Jarrett Jack, Jason Smith and DeJuan Summers, who all missed the game due to injury.
- Stat of the Night: In the first half, the Kings just made 13-of-40 baskets for an atrocious 32.5 percent from the field. But after intermission, their offensive output practically doubled. They shot a staggering 63.2 percent from the field on 24-of-38 attempts.
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