Everything was going well for the Kings in the first half of the team’s first matchup against Anthony Davis and the New Orleans Pelicans.
The team held a nine-point halftime lead and tallied a season-high for a half 16 assists. Jason Thompson was making the Pelly’s defensive stalwart work, scoring 10 of his season-high 15 in the first quarter and Sacramento used an 18-2 run in the opening frame to earn a game-high 12-point lead.
However, the Kings were unable to keep pace following the intermission.
New Orleans jumped out of the second half gate thanks to local product Ryan Anderson’s long distance shooting. The Oak Ridge High School standout connected on a trio of three-pointers in the period, finishing with 22 points and a plus-15 in 32 minutes of action off of the bench.
Ultimately, the Pelicans turned their nine-point deficit into a seven-point lead.
The ball movement that led the home team to a 12-point lead in the early-goings came to a sudden halt following the halftime break, with Sacramento recording zero helpers in the third.
Darren Collison recorded his first double-double of the season with 12 points and a season-high 11 assists, but credits the tough second half to a lackadaisical mindset.
”We got too comfortable in the first half, everything was going well, and then in the second half we just kind of took our foot off the pedal. We blame this on ourselves – this was a game that we should have won; this was nothing but an effort game and I thought we didn’t show that," stated Darren following the game.
Carl Landry's nine fourth quarter points sparked a Kings run that cut the Pelicans 11-point fourth quarter lead to 3 with a little over a minute remaining, but they were unable to get over the hump as former Kings guard Tyreke Evans connected on several clutch buckets down the stretch.
New Orleans ended their three-game losing streak to Sacramento and headed to Denver with a 106-100 victory.
Boogie vs. the Brow
In the matchup billed “Boogie vs. the Brow,” the two budding superstars and former Team USA teammates did not disappoint. Cousins recorded a team-high 24 points and 17 rebounds, while Davis tallied 28 points and 9 rebounds.
The double-double marked Cousins’ eighth of the season through 11 games.
During the team’s third quarter rally, Boogie nearly brought the house down with an emphatic chase-down block on Jrue Holiday. Although the huge defensive play didn’t lead to an immediate basket, it did help change the momentum for a few minutes.
Slamson Mimics Boogie’s Band-Aid
Cousins suffered a cut over his left eye against the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday night, requiring the big man to sport a Band-Aid over the last few days. In an act of solidarity, the Kings loveable lion rocked a Band-Aid as well over his left eye for the entire game.
Streak Comes to an End
Sacramento’s streak of not allowing an opposing player to score 25 or more points came to end (10 games) as Anthony Davis finished with 28 points. The Kings were the last team in the NBA this season to not allow an opposing player to score 25 or more points. The Kings’ 10-game streak of not allowing an opposing player to score 25 points was tied with the mark set by the 2012-13 team for the longest such streak in the shot-clock era, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Up Next
The Sacramento Kings finish their three-game home stand with a nationally televised matchup with the Chicago Bulls. The team will honor former legends Mike Bibby and Chris Webber at the game.