Warriors-Kings Preview

By KATE HEDLIN
Posted Feb 03 2012 2:14PM

The Sacramento Kings didn't see much of Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry during the fourth quarter of their loss to the Golden State Warriors earlier this week.

Golden State's last opponent, however, saw plenty of them.

Following big nights from Ellis and Curry, the Warriors look to win their season-high third straight when they visit the Kings on Saturday night.

Golden State completed a six-game homestand 3-3, winning the final two games this week.

The Warriors (8-12) rallied for a 93-90 win over Sacramento on Tuesday with Ellis and Curry, as well as starting center Andris Biedrins, on the bench for almost the entire fourth quarter as coach Mark Jackson opted to stick with mostly reserve players.

Jackson's starting backcourt, though, played a huge part in a 119-101 win over Utah on Thursday. Ellis had 33 points and Curry added 29, including 13 in the fourth quarter, as the duo combined to shoot 65.7 percent and lift Golden State to its highest-scoring game of the season.

"At their best, I'd put them up against anybody in the game," Jackson said. "We know what they're capable of doing. The challenge to them is not to tease us."

Ellis averaged 9.7 points while shooting 27.9 percent over the previous three games, missing all nine of his 3-point tries in that span before going 3 for 7 on Thursday. Curry was playing his sixth game after missing nine with an ankle problem and finished with a season-high 12 assists - the Warriors are 13-4 in his career when he has 10 or more.

In the win over Sacramento, Ellis scored 12 points on 5-of-17 shooting before Jackson went to his bench and Curry was 1 of 7 for three points before sitting.

The Kings (7-15) will try to slow them down again after snapping a five-game losing streak with a 95-92 win over Portland on Thursday.

While Marcus Thornton led Sacramento with 20 points, John Salmons had season highs with 19 points and eight rebounds and hit the go-ahead jumper with 2:55 to play.

It was a rare good night for Salmons, who is averaging 7.6 points - a little more than half his average with Milwaukee last season. He had scored in double figures only once in his previous 12 games.

"He's too proud of a pro to have a season-long bad game," coach Keith Smart said. "I always knew that from knowing him around the league as a pro, that somewhere down the line his game is going to come back to him. The guy is really working. I'm happy that he played well, and so is the team."

His big night helped the Kings, the second-lowest scoring team in the Western Conference with 90.8 points per game, finish with more than 93 points for only the second time in 11 games.

Sacramento has won back-to-back games just once this season but improved to 5-4 at home with Thursday's victory. It has won three of its last four home games against Golden State, topping 120 points twice.

DeMarcus Cousins will try to bounce back after struggling with foul trouble against Portland and finishing with eight points. He had 21 points and 15 rebounds against the Warriors on Tuesday.

Thornton, Evans lead Kings over Warriors in OT

Posted Feb 05 2012 2:42AM

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) DeMarcus Cousins pulled his Sacramento Kings teammates together just prior to overtime and passionately let them know what needed to be done. Play together, urged the second-year center.

And that's just what the Kings did, putting aside the somewhat selfish play that has been prevalent much of the season.

Marcus Thornton scored 28 points and Tyreke Evans had 26 points and nine assists to help the Sacramento Kings beat the Golden State Warriors 114-106 in overtime Saturday night.

Cousins was a huge factor with 21 points and a career-high 20 rebounds in helping the Kings win consecutive games for only the second time all season. His impassioned speech heading into overtime didn't hurt, either.

"Usually when we get in that situation like that in the past we've had a tendency to do it one-on-one and do it by ourselves," Cousins said. "So I just made sure I made it clear that we weren't going to win the game playing one-on-one, we've got to play together, team defense, team offense."

The Kings scored the first nine points in overtime to win consecutive games for the second time this season.

Evans scored five points in the overtime for the Kings, who ran off nine straight points to begin OT.

Some sound defense by the Kings was evident as well. The Warriors went cold in overtime, making one of nine shots.

"They outworked us in overtime and we are going to have to individually and collectively look in the mirror and own up to a lack of effort," Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. "Their starters outscored our starters 104-63. You can sugar-coat it all you want, but that was just bad basketball."

Dorrell Wright scored 24 points for Golden State, which made a season-high 16 3-pointers. Nate Robinson had 20 points, Monta Ellis scored 18, Klay Thompson had 16, and Stephen Curry finished with 11.

Salmons made a 3-pointer and Thompson scored inside on the next possession to give the Kings a 107-102 lead in overtime. A drive by Evans put the Kings up 111-102.

"This group has shown from day one that they have the ability to get back in games, especially at home," Kings coach Keith Smart said. "They haven't done that yet on the road. They have shown they can somehow make shots and make plays, rebound, and come out with steals."

DeMarcus Cousins had 21 points and a career-high 20 rebounds, the first 20-20 game for the Kings since Brad Miller did it on Jan. 14, 2009. Jason Thompson added 15 points and 16 rebounds, and John Salmons contributed 15 points.

Trailing by three points, Thompson made a corner 3, his fourth of the quarter, to tie the game at 102 with nine seconds left. Evans missed a long jumper with one second left to send the game into overtime.

Thompson and Robinson each had 12 fourth-quarter points when the Warriors outscored the Kings 26-15. They combined for Golden State's first 21 points of the fourth quarter when both Ellis and Curry remained on the bench. Ellis and Curry were also on the bench for much of the fourth quarter in Tuesday's comeback win over the visiting Kings.

"Sometimes our first unit is not always going to bring us energy," Robinson said. "That's our (the reserves) job. We come off the bench to bring the team energy and build it up for the starting five. I think our bench just buys into it."

It was the first time the Kings have scored 100 or more points in 15 games and only the third time all season that Sacramento has been in triple digits.

Thornton struggled with his shot in the first half, but made amends in the third quarter. The Kings guard made four 3-pointers and scored 18 points to energize Sacramento, who outscored the Warriors 34-22 and took an 87-76 lead into the fourth.

Thornton got going quickly in the third quarter, scoring 15 of the Kings first 24 points. His 3-pointer at the 4:51 mark put the Kings ahead 77-71.

"You see that over and over again. I call him Mr. Big Shot," Cousins said. "He can score with the best of them."

The Kings are the youngest team in the NBA, at an average of 24 years, 347 days, and the Warriors are next, a mere two days older. Their youth was evident at times in a fast-paced game that had a combined 39 turnovers

Wright scored 19 points and Ellis had nine in the opening half when the Warriors took a 54-53 lead into the break. Cousins had 12 points and eight rebounds, Thornton scored 10 points, and Thompson added nine points and nine rebounds.

NOTES: The Warriors made eight of 12 3-pointers in the first half. . Wright exceeded his previous season high of 23 points with a baseline drive for a basket midway through the third quarter. . The lead changed hands 20 times in a tight first half where the biggest lead for either team was five points. . The Kings recalled second-year C Hassan Whiteside from the Reno Bighorns of the NBA Development League.

Notebook: Kings 114, Warriors 106

By James Ham, for NBA.com
Posted Sunday February 5, 2012 1:38AM

THE FACTS: In front of an amazing home crowd, the Sacramento Kings fought off the charging Golden State Warriors, pulling away in overtime for the 114-106 win.

In his second game back from injury, Marcus Thornton scored a season and game high 28 points, including an 18 point third quarter explosion. Tyreke Evans added 26 and DeMarcus Cousins finished with 21 points and a career high 20 rebounds.

Dorell Wright had a huge first half and finished with 24 points on the night. Nate Robinson came off the bench for the Warriors and chipped in a big 20 for the Warriors who fell to 8-13 on the season.

QUOTABLE: "I think people had this young man pegged the wrong way. He just needed direction and someone to help lead him in a direction. I can't take all the credit for it. This guy is willing to listen to what I am trying to say to him, what our coaching staff is trying to say to him."
-- Coach Keith Smart on Cousins' first career 20-20 game.

THE STAT: The Kings starting backcourt of Evans and Thornton scored 54 combined points tonight on the way to the victory.

THE STAT II: The Kings outrebounded the Warriors 55-36 on the night. The Kings starting frontline of Cousins and Jason Thompson combined to grab 36 rebounds, equaling the Warriors team total.

TURNING POINT: The Kings came out in the third quarter and owned the Warriors. Trailing by one at the half, 54-53, the Kings used 26 points third quarter points from their starting back court, outscored the Warriors 34-22 overall, and took an 87-76 lead into the fourth.

TURNING POINT II: At the 2:03 mark of the fourth, the Warriors bench led an incredible comeback and took the 99-97 lead on a huge dunk by Brandon Rush.

QUOTABLE II: "My teammates encouraged me there in that third quarter and shots started falling down."
-- Thornton on his huge third quarter outburst.

HOT: Wright lit the world on fire in the first half, finishing with 19 points on 6-for-7 shooting from the field and 3-for-3 shooting from behind the arc.

HOT II: Playing in just his second game back from injury, Thornton scored an incredible 18 points...in the third quarter. Thornton shot 7-for-8 in the third and hit all four of his 3-point attempts.

GOOD MOVE: Coach Mark Jackson left his bench on the floor in the fourth quarter and they fought their way back into this one. Robinson led the charge with 20 points and rookie Klay Thompson hit a couple of key shots in a frantic, back and forth affair.

NOTABLE: Much to the chagrin of Jimmer Fredette fans, the rookie guard received his second consecutive DNP-CD tonight.

NOTABLE II: Thompson scored a career-high 16 points for the Warriors, including 12 points in the fourth. The rookie shot 5-for-8 from the field and knocked down all but one of his five 3-point attempts.

UP NEXT: For the Warriors, Tuesday vs. Thunder, Thursday @ Denver, Sunday vs. Rockets. For the Kings, Monday @ New Orleans, Tuesday @ Minnesota, Thursday vs. Thunder.

• Warriors: Brown, Wright
• Kings: Whiteside

• Warriors: --
• Kings: --

• Lead Changes: 27
• Times Tied: 12

• Arena: Power Balance Pavilion, Sacramento, CA
• Officials: #55 Bill Kennedy, #6 Tony Brown, #59 Gary Zielinski
• Attendance: 16411
• Duration: 2:27