SACRAMENTO -- Feed the big man and get out of his way. That was the mantra Saturday night at Sleep Train Arena and the Sacramento Kings picked up their fifth straight win by knocking off the Indiana Pacers by a final of 108-97.
DeMarcus Cousins continued his assault on NBA opponents in the month of January, posting his 10th straight double-double before the two teams could even get into the locker room for halftime. Cousins finished the night with a career-high 48 points and added 13 rebounds in the win.
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Rajon Rondo picked up his second triple-double in as many games. The veteran point guard finished the night with 11 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds in 33 minutes of action.
Darren Collison was quiet for most of the night, but his back-to-back layups at the midway point of the fourth pushed the Kings lead back to double-digits. Collison finished with 12 points to lead the Kings second unit.
Rookie Willie Cauley-Stein was active, scoring six points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Kosta Koufos added nine points and four rebounds as the Kings improved to 20-23 on the season.
Paul George shook off a slow start to lead the way for the Pacers. The All-Star forward dropped in 15 of his team-high 34 points in the wild fourth quarter.
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Jordan Hill did solid work in the post, finishing with 17 points and 13 rebounds. Monta Ellis added 16 points and seven assists and rookie Myles Turner kicked in 11 points and six rebounds off Indiana’s bench in the loss.
STANDOUT PERFORMER -- Cousins destroyed the Pacer frontline. It didn’t matter who coach Frank Vogel sent at Cousins, he either launched over the top of them, took them off the dribble or punished them in the post. This was the 15th time this season the Kings All-Star posted 30 points or more, including eight in his last 11 games.
TURNING POINT -- Riding a tremendous Sacramento crowd, the Kings fended off a charging Paul George-led Pacers team in the fourth quarter. Indiana made multiple runs, but they couldn’t get over the hump against a surging Kings team.
INJURY UPDATE -- Rudy Gay missed his second straight game with a left heel contusion. Eric Moreland (foot surgery) and Duje Dukan (lower leg) are out indefinitely.
WHAT'S NEXT -- The Kings finish up their three game homestand Monday night against the Charlotte Hornets before traveling to Portland on Tuesday to face the Trail Blazers in the second night of a back-to-back.