SACRAMENTO -- No DeMarcus Cousins, no problem. For the second time this season, the Sacramento Kings beat the Milwaukee Bucks without their star center, this time by a final of 111-104.
With their leading scorer on ice, Rudy Gay stepped up to the challenge. The Bucks tried to slow him with second-year forward Jabari Parker and that only seemed to fuel the Kings forward. Gay finished the night with 32 points on 13-for-20 shooting and added nine rebounds and six assists in the win.
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For one of the few times this season, George Karl played Rajon Rondo off the ball and the pass first guard responded with 19 points on a perfect 4-for-4 from 3-point range. He added seven assists and three steals, but once again struggled hanging onto the ball, finishing with a game-high six turnovers.
Starting for the injured Ben McLemore, Marco Belinelli shook off a bad start to score 18 points. The veteran shooter hit just 2-of-9 from long range in his 36 minutes of action, but he made an impact on the court for the first time in a while.
Darren Collison and Omri Casspi played major roles off the bench. Collison finished with 14 points on 5-of-11 shooting. Casspi attacked the rim, dropping in 13 points and five rebounds.
The Kings three bigs hit the boards hard, finishing the night with a 53-37 advantage on the glass. Kosta Koufos led the way with 11 boards, Willie Cauley-Stein grabbed 10 and Quincy picked up eight in 17 minutes off the bench.
NBA
Greg Monroe took advantage of Cousins’ absence in the post, leading the Bucks with 24 points and 12 rebounds. Michael Carter-Williams put up an 18 point, 13 assists double-double and Giannis Antetokounmpo added 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting.
Jabari chipped in 16 and Both Khris Middleton added 14 as the Bucks fell to 20-30 on the season.
STANDOUT PERFORMER
Gay looked like a player with fresh legs. The Kings needed a big game out of the veteran forward and he responded accordingly. When he was on the floor, the Kings ran almost every possession through him and he put up big numbers.
TURNING POINT
The Bucks left Sacramento’s shooters open in the fourth and the Kings made them pay. After going to the fourth tied at 74-74, the Kings outscored Milwaukee 37-30 in the final frame to snap their four-game losing streak.
INJURY UPDATE
DeMarcus Cousins (sprained left ankle) missed his ninth game of the season. Ben McLemore (sprained right wrist) missed his first game of his career, snapping a streak of 211 consecutive games.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Kings return to Sleep Train Arena on Wednesday night to face the Chicago Bulls, before heading out on the road for a four-game road trip leading up to the All-Star break.