Kings-Raptors Preview

By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO
Posted Jan 11 2012 12:24AM

The Sacramento Kings are still seeking their first road win of the season.

Toronto may not be the easiest place for them to get it.

The Kings attempt to bounce back from one of their worst performances of the season and beat the Raptors on the road for the first time in nearly eight years Wednesday night.

Sacramento (3-7) has lost all four of its road games, averaging 85.8 points while surrendering 109.0 per game. It was more of the same for the Kings in the opener of their five-game trip Tuesday at Philadelphia, as they shot 39.5 percent from the floor en route to a 112-85 rout.

A visit to Toronto (4-6) wouldn't appear to be the ideal way to end the road skid since Sacramento hasn't won there since Feb. 22, 2004. The Kings have dropped seven straight at Air Canada Centre since, giving up a whopping average of 111.9 points.

They lost 118-112 in their last visit to Canada on Jan. 9, 2011.

Making the task tougher for Sacramento, leading scorer Marcus Thornton (18.7 ppg) may miss a second consecutive game due to a thigh injury. Former BYU star Jimmer Fredette got his first career start Tuesday in Thornton's place, finishing with seven points, three assists and three turnovers.

"We didn't have our regular rotation so the other guys had to make adjustments," coach Keith Smart said.

Sacramento may have at least some reason for optimism after the Raptors fell 93-78 at Washington on Tuesday, losing to what had been the last remaining winless team in the NBA.

They missed 16 of 20 3-point attempts against the Wizards and committed a season-high 23 turnovers - nine more than their previous average.

"Our disposition wasn't good coming out of the locker room to begin the game," said Toronto coach Dwane Casey, whose team must now play its third game in as many days. "You start turning the ball over and you can't recover from that and you can't get set up in your defense."

Andrea Bargnani led the Raptors with 22 points and continues to be one of the few bright spots for Toronto, averaging a team-high 23.5 points - nearly nine more than DeMar DeRozan - the team's second-highest scorer.

Bargnani has come up big in the Raptors; two home victories, scoring 31 points each time while totaling 16 boards.

He's averaging 25.3 points and 7.7 rebounds in Toronto's last three home meetings with the Kings, including 30 points while shooting 12 of 19 in last season's victory.

DeRozan had 28 points in that contest. He's totaled just 31 in his last four games after scoring 11 and missing 12 of 16 shots Tuesday.

Evans, Cousins lead Kings past Raptors

Posted Jan 11 2012 11:17PM

TORONTO (AP) DeMarcus Cousins wants to put "the silly stuff" behind him and just play basketball. So far, he seems to be doing exactly that.

Cousins had 21 points and a career-high 19 rebounds, Tyreke Evans scored a season-high 29 points and the Sacramento Kings snapped a seven-game losing streak in Toronto by beating the Raptors 98-91 Wednesday night.

An escalating feud with former coach Paul Westphal led Cousins to demand a trade earlier this month, resulting in him being told to stay away from the team for a game. The spat was resolved when Westphal was fired and replaced by Keith Smart, who offered Cousins his support, and a blank slate.

"He's a new player, man," Evans said. "I'm happy for him. He's done a great job just going out there and playing, helping us, not arguing with anybody on the team, just staying focused.

"He plays like that, he's an All-Star for sure," Evans added. "The way he's playing right now is unbelievable. We need that out of him every night."

Cousins acknowledged that things have been more fun since Smart took over.

"We're just out there playing ball, playing together and having fun," he said. "We're having fun while we're working hard. That's the biggest thing."

Cousins, whose previous career high in rebounds was 18, set against Utah on March 5, 2011, said he wasn't aware how many he had until teammates on the bench started letting him know.

"In the moment you don't even realize it," Cousins said. "Towards the end of the game they were like `Get one more, you'll have 20.' I'm just out there grabbing boards. That's my job, to get everything that comes off the glass."

Smart played Cousins for just over 39 minutes to build his conditioning, and his stats: The double-double was his fourth straight.

"He had it in him to rebound tonight," Smart said. "Because he had that, it put him in an active mode and I'm happy with that."

Rookie guard Isaiah Thomas scored 12 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter and Jimmer Fredette had 10 for the Kings, who had not won in Toronto since Feb. 22, 2004.

Sacramento had lost two straight and four of five coming in, but held on to record its first road victory in five tries this season.

"It's definitely exciting to get that first (road) win, get that monkey off our backs," Fredette said.

Leandro Barbosa came off the bench to score a season-high 24 points while DeMar DeRozan and Jose Calderon each had 13 for the Raptors, who have lost four of five.

With the score 63-all heading into the fourth, Toronto scored the first four points to lead 67-63. Thomas answered with a 3-pointer and, after a hook shoot by Linas Kleiza, Evans hit another 3, giving the Kings a lead they would not relinquish.

Amir Johnson's alley-oop dunk cut it to 82-77 with 2:34 left, but Cousins answered with a pair of free throws and then a dunk of his own as the Kings pushed their lead to nine points, 86-77, with 1:12 left.

DeRozan had a three-point play, but Evans kept the Raptors at bay by making four consecutive free throws on the next two possessions. The 2010 Rookie of the Year finished a perfect 14 of 14 from the line.

Toronto lost leading scorer Andrea Bargnani to a strained left calf with 3:13 left in the third quarter. Bargnani, who did not return, finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds in 28 minutes.

"He's our best player for sure," Calderon said. "After they let us know he wasn't coming out again, it was tough."

Kleiza, out since undergoing microfracture surgery on his right knee last Feb. 1, made his return to the lineup, coming on late in the first quarter. Kleiza scored 10 points in 14 minutes.

"I feel good, it's fun to be back," Kleiza said. "The game didn't end the way anybody wanted but for me personally, after a year off, it feels good to be back."

Barbosa scored 12 points in the second, but Thomas had eight for the Kings, who led 41-40 at the half.

NOTES: Fredette made his second straight start in place of Marcus Thornton (left thigh contusion). ... Toronto played its third game in as many nights, their only such stretch of the season. ... Raptors F Amir Johnson hit a rare 3-pointer in the third quarter, just the third of his career. ... Sacramento's 31 made free throws were a season high. ... Toronto has turned the ball over 18 or more times in three of the past four games.

Notebook: Kings 98, Raptors 91

By Duane Watson, for NBA.com
Posted Wednesday January 11, 2012 11:11PM

THE FACTS: If we needed to be reminded that field goal percentages throughout the league were down this season, the Toronto Raptors (4-7) and Sacramento Kings (4-7) put on a display of futility at the Air Canada Centre on Wednesday night, shooting 42.5 percent and 37 percent, respectively. However, the Kings prevailed 98-91, due to the Raptors' inability to stop DeMarcus Cousins, Tyreke Evans and Isaiah Thomas, down the stretch, outscoring them in the final frame 35-28.

Evans led all scorers with 29 points, Cousins contributed 21 and 19 rebounds. Rookie guard Thomas scored 20 points, with 12 of them coming in the fourth quarter. Leandro Barbosa led the Raptors with 20 points, while DeMar DeRozan and Jose Calderon each had 13.

QUOTABLE: "I just play with a chip on my shoulder. I'm out here with everybody so I feel I'm just as good as everybody else. When I step on the court, I'm playing to win and doing what I can to get my team to win and I did a pretty good job of that tonight."
-- Kings rookie Isaiah Thomas, who was the final pick of the 2011 draft

THE STAT: Bench scoring was heavily in favor of the Raptors (43-26), whose starters couldn't get it going early. Their bench was led by Barbosa accounting for more than half of those points and kept them very much in the game.

TURNING POINT: Tyreke Evans' two free throws with 42 seconds left slammed the door shut 90-80 and sent Raptors fans to the aisles, despite the subsequent parade to the free throw line.

QUOTABLE II: "I told our guys when you get a road win it's like winning two because you actually get the win and you get a confidence booster that you know you can play well on the road."
-- Kings head coach Keith Smart on his team's first road win of the season.

HOT: Cousins' line of 21 points and 19 rebounds is impressive, but considering that 13 of those points and 12 of those rebounds happened during the second half shows that he showed up when his team needed him most. The Raptors had no answer for him defensively. Thomas also was hot at the right time with 12 points in the fourth quarter including 2-for-4 shooting from behind the arc.

NOT: Despite averaging 23.5 points on (.515) shooting, Andrea Bargnani had a horrible night, shooting 0-for-3 from the 3-point line and 2-for-13 from the field. His inability to get going offensively hurt the Raptors as his off night didn't allow them to open up the floor.

NOTABLE: Raptors forward Linas Kleiza played in his first game of the season, returning from knee surgery, scoring 10 points in 14 minutes. ... The win is the Kings' first road win of the season and ends the Kings' losing streak in Toronto of seven games dating back to 2004. ... Bargnani left the game in the fourth quarter with a strained calf.

UP NEXT: For the Raptors: Friday vs. Indiana, Saturday @ Chicago, Monday @ Atlanta. For the Kings, Friday @ Houston, Saturday @ Dallas, Tuesday @ Minnesota

• Kings: Honeycutt, Whiteside
• Raptors: Alabi, Gray

• Kings: Cousins
• Raptors: --

• Lead Changes: 15
• Times Tied: 10

• Arena: Air Canada Centre, Toronto, ON
• Officials: #40 Leon Wood, #11 Derrick Collins, #70 Brent Barnaky
• Attendance: 14323
• Duration: 2:24