Kings Storm Past Thunder in Blowout Win
By Nick Avila
Wednesday night’s Sacramento Kings game was a sight for the sorest of eyes. The Kings, coming home from a four-game road trip that saw them drop three of four from miniscule teams, took it to an Oklahoma City Thunder (17-19) team that had won four of their last six. The Kings dominated for 48 minutes, winning 104-83 as a crowd of 16,000 plus roared throughout the game.
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Rudy Gay dropped 28 points and nine boards, Darren Collison had 24 points and seven assists, DeMarcus Cousins finished with 23 points and 15 rebounds as he struggled from the field but got to the line and the Kings began a six-game home-stand with an energized, emphatic victory, proving that they can be a “new” Sacramento Kings team, rather than the “same old Kings” Kendrick Perkins labeled them as.
The Kings got out to a 25-7 lead before allowing nine points to the Thunder in the last minute of the period, but Collison kept the momentum in the Kings favor, knocking down a bank three-pointer at the buzzer.
As Kings fans waited for the inevitable collapse, the Kings never allowed it. A great team defensive effort, the Kings only allowed the Thunder to shoot 32% for the game and forced 24 turnovers. There was great defense, as previously stated, as Collison clamped down on Russell Westbrook to force him to 3 for 19 shooting and a team effort held Kevin Durant to only 8 of 20 shooting.
At halftime, the score was 53-43, in favor of Sacramento. Cousins, Collison, and Gay finished the half with 17, 14 and 11 points, respectively.
In the third period, the Kings stretched their lead to 21 to end the period and the fourth quarter was a walk in the park.
With the Kings playing their next five games against playoff, and even championship, hopefuls, tonight’s win could be a momentous step forward. The bleeding was stopped, for at least a night, and now the Kings look ahead to their matchup against the Denver Nuggets on Friday.