The losing streak is no more. After dropping three straight on the road, the Sacramento Kings took down an injury-riddled Dallas Mavericks team Wednesday night, coming away with the 120-89 victory to improve to 8-13 on the season.
Rudy Gay aggressively attacked the depleted Mavericks frontline. The veteran wing finished the night with 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting and grabbed four steals.
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With Gay putting up big numbers, DeMarcus Cousins went into the post and cleaned the glass. The Mavericks double-teamed the Kings’ star center for much of the night and he found open shooters and cutters exploding to the hoop. The two-time All-Star posted 24 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists in the win.
Darren Collison got it going early, scoring eight of his 19 points in the first quarter. The speedy point guard shot 5-for-10 from the field and handed out three assists.
Garrett Temple and Omri Casspi led a strong effort from the second unit. Temple dropped in 17 points in 26 minutes of action off Dave Joerger’s bench, including a perfect 4-of-4 from behind the arc, and Casspi added in 10 points on 5-for-7 shooting.
After starting 18 of Sacramento’s first 20 games, Arron Afflalo received the dreaded DNP-CD as Joerger went with Ben McLemore as the starter alongside Collison in the backcourt and came away with nine points.
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Deron Williams got it going in the second half, scoring 20 points on 6-of-8 shooting. The veteran point guard dished out six assists, but turned the ball over four times in the loss.
Wes Matthews turned down an opportunity to join the Kings two summers ago. On Wednesday in Dallas, he blasted Sacramento from long range early, finishing with 16 points on 6-for-10 shooting from deep.
Harrison Barnes added 11 on 5-for-16 shooting.
STANDOUT PERFORMER:
Gay dominated the action. He had a bounce in his step and helped hold Harrison Barnes in check all night.
TURNING POINT:
Sacramento used an 11-0 run in the third quarter to build a 15-point lead and put Dallas away early. The Kings outscored the Mavs 29-12 in the third to take a 85-64 lead into the fourth.
INJURY UPDATE:
The Kings return home with 12 healthy roster players and another three rookies hanging out in Reno with the Bighorns.
WHAT'S NEXT:
After nearly two weeks away, the Kings come home to face the New York Knicks Friday night at Golden 1 Center.