Notebook: Nuggets 122, Kings 93

By James Ham, for NBA.com
Posted Thursday January 26, 2012 1:14AM

THE FACTS: The Denver Nuggets walked into Power Balance Pavilion and pummeled the Sacramento Kings by a score of 122-93.

Danilo Gallinari led the attack for the Nuggets, who finished with seven players in double figures. Ty Lawson played only 15 minutes before rolling his left ankle in the second quarter, but still finished with 11 points and three assists.

DeMarcus Cousins tallied yet another double-double for the Kings, scoring 17 points and 15 rebounds. Starting in place of the injured Marcus Thornton, rookie Jimmer Fredette added 19 points on 6-for-13 shooting in the losing effort for the Kings.

QUOTABLE: "You can't escape and go hide on the bench and let someone else play and say that's not me."
-- Warriors coach Keith Smart on leaving his starters in the game during fourth quarter in a blowout loss

THE STAT: The Nuggets outscored the Kings in the paint 92-40 on the evening. To put that number in perspective, the Kings only scored 93 total points. The 92 points in the paint is the most since they started being tracked in 2000-01.

TURNING POINT: The Nuggets came out in the second quarter and kicked the Kings in the teeth. Leading 32-26 after one, the Nuggets outscored the Kings 34-17 in the second and took a 66-43 lead into halftime.

QUOTABLE II: "That's not what I expected and I'm sure our fans didn't expect that either. Kind of an embarrassing moment for our fans to watch us play that way."
-- Keith Smart on the 29-point home loss to the Nuggets

HOT: The Kings had no answer for Gallinari in the first half. He scored 21 points on 7-for-10 shooting and added another six points from the line.

NOT: John Salmons continued his downward spiral in Sacramento. The veteran wing scored five points in 24 minutes and was on the receiving end of the Gallinari show for most of the first half.

GOOD MOVE: Nuggets coach George Karl could do no wrong. It didn't matter who he put on the floor, his entire team knew the game plan and executed it perfectly.

BAD MOVE: Coach Smart should have given the 6-foot-10 Donté Greene a chance to defend Gallinari in the first half, while the game was still in question. He also could have tried a zone defense earlier int he game to try and force the Nuggets out of the paint.

NOTABLE: Fredette continued his recent surge, scoring 19 points on the night. Over his last three games, the BYU product is averaging 17.3 points.

UP NEXT: For the Nuggets, Friday vs. Toronto, Sunday vs. Clippers, Tuesday @ Memphis. For the Kings, Saturday @ Utah, Tuesday @ Golden State, Thursday vs. Portland.