Everything broke right for the Sacramento Kings on Sunday. The team found its stride in Toronto, defeating the Raptors 96-91 in the final game of a week-long road trip.
Playing against his former team, Rudy Gay helped close the game out for Sacramento. After missing yesterday’s contest due to injury, Gay scored nine of his 23 points in the final period. Back-to-back three-pointers by the veteran forward midway through the fourth galvanized the Kings effort.
In addition to Gay, DeMarcus Cousins found his edge against a thin Raptors frontline. The Kings All-Star scored 22 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and dished out four assists against Toronto, who missed Jonas Valanciunas due to a left knee contusion. Cousins also shot a solid 8-of-11 from the charity stripe.
Sactown also rediscovered its defensive identity established in the first three games of the season. The squad limited Toronto to just 36-percent shooting from the field as well as 23 percent from three-point distance. Led by Arron Afflalo, the purple and black also became the first team this season to hold DeMar DeRozan below 30 points. DeRozan finished with 23, well under the 36 points per night he had been averaging coming into Sunday’s game.
- Head Coach Dave Joerger tightened up his rotation and it paid dividends for Sacramento. Garrett Temple and Matt Barnes played heavy minutes, combining to score 16 points off the Kings bench. Barnes also managed to grab 10 boards in the win.
- Ty Lawson was an assist-machine for the Kings in the victory. He finished with 11 dimes, six of which he dished out in the first half. Lawson only turned the ball over once in the win.
- In addition to Cousins and Gay, Kosta Koufos and Afflalo also scored in double figures for Sacramento. The Kings big man scored 13 and pulled down six rebounds while Afflalo chipped in 12 points.
- A major key to the Kings victory was the points-in-the-paint battle, where they outscored the Raptors 52-30.
The Kings finally return home to take on the New Orleans Pelicans Tuesday evening. Tip-off at Golden 1 Center is set for 7:30 p.m. PT.
Fans can catch the game on Comcast SportsNet California, Sports 1140 KHTK Radio or on the Kings + Golden 1 Center app. Kings.com and the team’s social accounts will also provide live coverage of the game on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat.
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