The streak is over.
Marcus Thornton and Isaiah Thomas caught fire in the second half, leading the Sacramento Kings to the 115-107 road victory over the Washington Wizards. The win ends a season-high six-game losing skid.
Thornton scored 18 of his 22 points after intermission. Thomas added 16 points in the third and fourth quarters combined and finished with 18 points and six assists.
Tyreke Evans did a ton of damage in the first half, scoring 20 of his 22 points before intermission. DeMarcus Cousinsadded 16 points and grabbed 16 rebounds, but joined Evans on the bench in the deciding fourth quarter. Following an impressive performance in Miami, veteran Francisco Garcia gave a spirited effort off the Kings bench with 12 points on 5-for-11 shooting.
Wizards guard John Wall barely missed a triple-double, finishing with 21 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds in defeat. Sixth man Jordan Crawford lit up the Kings, scoring 32 points on 12-for-19 shooting. The second-year guard scored 15 in the second quarter, helping his team to a 68-60 lead at halftime. Unfortunately for the Wizards, they faded in the second half where they were outscored 55-39 on the way to an eight-point loss.
Notes and Analysis
- Crawford was amazing in the first half. He scored 21 points in just 15 minutes of action on 8-for-12 shooting.
- I’m not sure what to make of JaVale McGee. The Wizards big man scored nine points and grabbed 10 rebounds, but killed his team with highly questionable plays on both ends of the floor. I’ll give him this, when he get a goal tending call, he sends it to the seats. When he gets a charge call, it is for giving the old forearm shimmy. There is nothing subtle about McGee’s game.
- Jimmer Fredette played pretty well in the first half, scoring eight points in just 12 minutes of action. He was aggressive offensively and got into the teeth of the Wizards defense. He also did a nice job of sustaining his dribble and finding open teammates. Unfortunately, Jimmer got torched by Crawford on more than a few occasions. Sometimes a guy just gets really hot and there isn’t much you can do.
- Jason Thompson scored nine points and grabbed 11 rebounds in 41 minutes of action tonight. He did a very nice job setting picks and opening up the offense for his teammates. On the defensive end, Thompson played effective defense on every player the Wizards threw at him.
- According to coach Keith Smart in his post game press conference, Cousins told his coach to let veteran Chuck Hayes finish the game because the team was playing so well with him on the floor. Whoever made the decision, it worked.
- Smart also mentioned that Evans did a nice job of playing cheerleader for his teammates late in the game, as Thornton, Thomas and Garcia led the team to victory. Evans finished with 22 points, six assists and four rebounds in just 26 minutes of action.
- J.J. Hickson played just seven minutes tonight after a DNP-CD Tuesday night in Miami. Hickson scored an easy basket on a nice pass from Garcia, but took and missed two jumpers badly.
- Travis Outlaw, Donté Greene, Tyler Honeycutt and Hassan Whiteside all received the DNP-CDs tonight, as Smart went to a tight nine-man rotation.
- John Salmons missed his second straight game with a sore hip. The veteran small forward lost his starting job over the weekend with the promotion of Thomas.
- Stat of the Night: Although this game seemed sloppy, the Kings did a few things extremely well. First, the Kings went 25-for-27 from the line, including a 5-for-5 night from Thompson, who came in as a 52.6-percent foul shooter. The Wizards missed 11 of their 27 attempts from the stripe, giving the Kings a nine-point advantage from the line, in an eight point loss. The Kings also scored 29 points off the Wizards 20 team turnovers, while yielding only 14 points off their own 10 turnovers.
Follow James on Twitter.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
