SACRAMENTO -- The Sacramento Kings are showing signs of life. After a big win over the Utah Jazz on Tuesday, the Kings returned to their home court Thursday and took down the New York Knicks by a final of 99-97.
New York had no answer for Rajon Rondo. The Kings point guard carved up the Knicks defense, finishing with 16 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds in 40 minutes of action.
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DeMarcus Cousins got it going in the second half, scoring 18 of his game-high 27 after the break. The Kings star center added 11 rebounds in the win.
With his starters focused on slowing the Knicks offensive weapons, Darren Collison came off the bench to drop in 16 points on 7-for-12 shooting. He played with the starters for the entire fourth quarter and his free throws in the waning moments were huge.
Omri Casspi drew the tall order of guarding 7-foot-3 rookie big man Kristaps Porzingis. Casspi played scrappy defense, holding the Latvian giant to just 13 points and seven rebounds in 34 minutes. When it mattered, the 27-year-old forward dropped in a pair of free throws to finish with 11 points and eight rebounds on the night.
Rudy Gay struggled on the offensive end scoring 11 points on 4-of-16 shooting, but he played inspired defense on fellow Maryland product Carmelo Anthony. Anthony finished with 23 points and 13 rebounds, but he shot 8-for-21 from the field and turned the ball over five times.
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STANDOUT PERFORMER -- After a series of rough games, Cousins demolished the Knicks. The All-Star center threw Porzingis to the ground and dunked all over him. He ran around and through Robin Lopez. He was a one man wrecking crew.
TURNING POINT -- Collison’s free throw with 15.7 seconds remaining pushed the Kings lead to four and Sacramento held on for the win.
INJURY UPDATE -- Willie Cauley-Stein is out for another 3-5 weeks after a nasty open dislocation of the right index finger.
WHAT'S NEXT -- After a four day layoff, the Kings return to Sleep Train Arena on Tuesday to face the Houston Rockets.