Hawks-Kings Preview

By ALAN FERGUSON
Posted Nov 15 2012 1:05PM

The Sacramento Kings and Atlanta Hawks each struggled to overcome a short-handed rotation in their most recent games.

While it's unknown if the Hawks will have a pair of players available, the Kings are expected to have DeMarcus Cousins back in the lineup for Friday night's matchup in Sacramento.

Cousins was suspended for two games after he confronted San Antonio television analyst Sean Elliott in a "hostile manner" following a 97-86 defeat to the Spurs last Friday. The NBA players' association is attempting to recoup the center's lost pay from those contests.

Without their leading scorer and rebounder, the Kings (2-6) suffered two more losses, at the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday and to Portland on Tuesday.

"Despite believing the penalty (is) unwarranted, I want to apologize to the Sacramento Kings, our fans and especially to my coaches and teammates for this distraction of our goals," Cousins said in a statement. "As a leader of the team, I have to make the best decisions so my teammates can count on me. I am committed to continued growth and being the best player I can be."

Starting guard Isaiah Thomas also missed the 103-86 loss to the Trail Blazers due to personal reasons and his replacement, Aaron Brooks, didn't return after injuring his left ankle in the first quarter. Thomas is expected to back, but Brooks' status is uncertain.

The Kings got top draft pick Thomas Robinson back Tuesday after his own two-game ban for elbowing Detroit's Jonas Jerebko during a 105-103 victory Nov. 7. He had a career-high 12 points off the bench against Portland, but James Johnson was the only starter to score more than 10, registering a season-best 16 points on 7-of-13 shooting.

"The stuff that has happened to our team over the last few games, that's the frustrating part," coach Keith Smart said. "These guys that are playing right now are giving their all. Obviously when our team was intact, we were much better. We got to make sure that we don't have these kind of incidents anymore."

The Hawks' Al Horford and Devin Harris had to deal with circumstances more out of their control as both were hit with a stomach illness before Wednesday's game at Golden State, the third in a four-game West Coast road trip.

Already struggling to find consistent scoring, those absences hardly helped, but Atlanta proved competitive in a 92-88 loss. Lou Williams had 18 points off the bench, and Josh Smith provided 16 points and 10 rebounds.

"It was a gutsy performance by my guys," coach Larry Drew said. "After going down by 12 at one point, we fought back. A little short-handed tonight but still we had an opportunity."

After topping 100 points in each of their first two games, the Hawks (3-4) have averaged 87.4 over their five. The Kings, meanwhile, have allowed an average of 100.7 over their last six contests.

Atlanta has gotten the better of Sacramento's defense lately, averaging 110.3 points during an eight-game win streak in the series.

Smith had 28 points in a 106-99 victory in northern California on March 11 while Cousins equaled that output and grabbed 12 rebounds.

Cousins' 24.0-point average in three games against the Hawks is his best versus any opponent.

Hawks beat Kings 112-96

Posted Nov 17 2012 1:51AM

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) The Atlanta Hawks' challenging West Coast road trip was made more difficult by a flu virus that spread throughout the team.

It also made this victory even more significant.

Kyle Korver scored 22 points, reserve Lou Williams had 21 and the Hawks beat Sacramento 112-96 on Friday night for their ninth consecutive win against the Kings.

Al Horford had 20 points and 10 rebounds for Atlanta after missing the last game with the flu bug. Horford watched the Hawks lose to Golden State on Wednesday while lying in bed in the team hotel.

"This trip has been a little frustrating, but we felt winning tonight and going home with a 2-2 record solidified this trip," Horford said. "I was sluggish tonight and it took a while for me to get going, but I tried to bring as much energy as I could. This was a very solid win for us."

Atlanta shot 55 percent, including an 8-for-15 performance from beyond the arc, while recording a season-high point total. The Hawks outrebounded the Kings 42-37 and had 24 assists.

"We can be a real up-and-down team, we know that," Atlanta coach Larry Drew said. "We preach moving the basketball. We emphasize sharing the basketball and we did a really good job of that. Guys were finding each other all over the place and when we play like that we're a fun team to watch."

The struggling Kings were outscored by 14 in both the first and third quarters. They held a players-only meeting after their fourth consecutive loss.

"We just put it all on the table. We talked about what we needed to do and what it's going to take to help this team get better," center DeMarcus Cousins said. "We were all in a bad mood."

Josh Smith had 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists, and Jeff Teague scored 13 of his 15 points in the first quarter for Atlanta, which starts a stretch Monday of seven of eight games at home.

The Hawks carried an 86-70 lead into the fourth quarter and maintained at least an 11-point advantage the rest of the way.

"This was a strange trip with everyone getting sick," Williams said. "We had guys not playing, guys playing sick, but we persevered and got through it. We wanted to break even on this trip before we headed back to Atlanta to get prepared for our homestand."

Korver went 5 for 5 from 3-point range. He also had seven rebounds and a rare two-handed dunk on a breakaway.

"I was open and my teammates were finding me," he said. "I struggled early in the season, but I've been in a good rhythm lately and my shot is starting to feel right."

Jason Thompson had 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Kings. Marcus Thornton had 17 points, Tyreke Evans finished with 14 and Aaron Brooks scored 13.

Cousins returned after he was suspended the previous two games for a verbal altercation with San Antonio TV analyst Sean Elliott. Cousins, who was whistled for a technical foul in the third quarter, had nine points, 16 rebounds and seven assists, but missed 11 of 15 shots.

"He was rusty, he has been out of rhythm for two games," Kings coach Keith Smart said. "Sometimes you come back and you're probably being hard on yourself, trying to get out of a slump. We're having a very rough time and it's not fun for anyone."

Ahead by 12 points, Smith had a dunk, Horford hit two free throws, and Ivan Johnson scored from close range, increasing the lead to 98-80 with 7:55 left in the fourth.

The Hawks squandered a big second-quarter lead, but came out strong in the third, outscoring Sacramento 28-14.

Korver played a key role in a 9-0 run in the third. He began the spurt with a 3-pointer and finished it off with a long jumper, putting the Hawks ahead 81-69 with just over three minutes left in the period.

Sparked by their second unit, the Kings got going with a season-best 36-point second quarter. Brooks was the catalyst, making three 3-pointers and scoring 13 points in helping cut the margin from 18 early in the period to 58-56 by halftime.

NOTES: Evans, who entered the game 1 of 11 on 3-pointers, hit his first attempt in the opening quarter. ... Drew was a starting guard for the first Sacramento Kings team that relocated from Kansas City for the 1985-86 season. ... Kings small forward James Johnson was wearing glasses for the first time this season. The glasses didn't help the poor-shooting Johnson, who was 1 for 7 from the field. ... In a shooting slump the previous five games, the Hawks shot 58 percent in the first quarter and led 34-20 after one.

Notebook: Hawks 112, Kings 96

James Ham, for NBA.com
Posted Sat Nov 17, 2012 1:11 AM - Updated Sat Nov 17, 2012 1:17 AM

THE FACTS: Playing their final game of a four-game western road trip, the Atlanta Hawks looked like the well-rested home team Friday, beating the Sacramento Kings 112-96.

Kyle Korver lit the Kings up for 22 points on 7-for-9 shooting, including 5-for-5 from behind the 3-point line. Al Horford won the big man battle, finishing with 20 points and 10 rebounds, while Lou Williams provided 21 points and five assists off the bench for the Hawks (4-4).

Jason Thompson led the Kings, finishing with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Marcus Thornton and Aaron Brooks played well off the bench, combining for 30 points for the Kings (2-7).

QUOTABLE: "The fans have every right. When we play great basketball, they applaud it, cheer it, did everything. They have a right. I would boo this team right now as well. Boo me as well. When the fans pay their hard earned money to come to a game, they want to see a team that plays hard and with passion."

-- Kings coach Keith Smart

THE STAT: The Hawks outscored the Kings by 14 points in both the first and third quarters. It's hard to recover from quarters like that to start a game or a half.

TURNING POINT: With two days to prepare for the road weary Hawks, the Kings got ran out of their own gym in the first quarter. The Kings fought back, but fell apart again after the break.

QUOTABLE II: "You know you can only say the word young for so long. You know. You're young if you only have 40 games in your career. You're young if you only have 80. Soon as you crack into your second, third, fourth year, fifth year, you know, you're not young anymore."

-- Kings' Chuck Hayes

HOT: Jeff Teague was unstoppable in the first quarter, scoring 13 points on 6-for-7 shooting and leading the Hawks to a 14-point lead going to the second. Once he got hot, there was very little that Isaiah Thomas could do to slow him down.

HOT II: For as good as Teague was in the first quarter for the Hawks, the tandem of Brooks and Thornton matched him in the second. Brooks dropped in 13 points on 5-for-6 shooting, including 3-for-4 from distance, while Thornton scored 10 points and grabbed three rebounds, all before the half.

NOT: James Johnson continued his season long shooting slump, scoring just two points on 1-for-7 shooting. Through the first nine games of the season, the Kings starting small forward is shooting 31.8 percent from the field and has yet to hit a 3-point basket (0-for-8).

GOOD MOVE: Clearly the Hawks guards have the green light from their coach Larry Drew. Teague and Williams torched the Kings, shooting at will all game long.

BAD MOVE: The Kings starting lineup killed them Friday against the Hawks. They dug holes in both the first and third quarters that the bench unit could not quite recover from.

NOTABLE: After missing back to back games due to suspension, center DeMarcus Cousins set a new Kings season high with seven assists. The talented big man out of Kentucky added nine points and 14 rebounds, but picked up his third technical foul of the season.

UP NEXT: For the Hawks, Monday vs. Orlando, Wednesday vs. Washington, Friday @ Charlotte. For the Kings, Sunday vs. Brooklyn, Wednesday vs. L.A. Lakers, Friday @ Utah.

• Hawks: Stevenson
• Kings: Honeycutt

• Hawks: --
• Kings: Brooks, Cousins

• Lead Changes: 0
• Times Tied: 7

• Arena: Sleep Train Arena, Sacramento, CA
• Officials: #71 Rodney Mott, #12 Violet Palmer, #28 Zach Zarba
• Attendance: 11814
• Duration: 2:03