The Sacramento Kings looked to get their second straight win as they headed to Brooklyn to face the Nets, but the Nets (15-17) clearly came out as the aggressor on their way to a 107-99 victory over the Kings (13-18).
Sir Charles In Charge
DeMarcus Cousins finished with 24 points, 13 rebounds and four assists and Rudy Gay dropped 25 points, but the Kings were outplayed by a Nets team who came to play at home. The Nets bench outscored the Kings 38-19 and the Nets had 14 more points than the Kings did off of turnovers as the Kings finished with 21 giveaways, compared to just 22 assists.
A first quarter filled with 10 lead changes ended with the Kings holding a 28-27 advantage. Ben McLemore finished the period with eight points and Gay and Cousins each finished with six.
The Nets then outscored the Kings 30-16 in the second quarter to gain a 13-point lead at half.
The Kings were able to keep the game close, trailing by only two with under five minutes to play, but the Nets closed the second with a 13-3 run.
The Nets bench outscored the Kings 24-5 in the first half.
Foul trouble limited Darren Collison to only about nine minutes in the first half and the Kings offens really struggled, with turnovers galore and the Nets took advantage.
The Kings started the third quarter cutting the Nets lead to six, but that would be as close as they’d get. The turnovers continued for the team, giving the ball away six times in the first six minutes. Mason Plumlee hurt the Kings as well, knocking down free throw after free throw to finish with 18 points through three.
Some tempers flared and there was some shoving between the two teams, as Plumlee, McLemore, Jarrett Jack, Ryan Hollins and Gay all got into it.
The Nets ended the third up 82-69 as the Kings weren’t able to cut into the deficit.
After trailing by double digits for half of the fourth quarter, the Kings went on a rabid run to trim the lead to five after a Gay three-pointer in transition, but Mirza Teletovic answered back with a three of his own to extend the lead back to eight.
The Kings gave a late-game push, but it wasn’t enough as they fell to the Nets.
The Kings play the Celtics in Boston on New Year’s Eve. That is an early 10:00 AM PST game.