Thornton, Evans Lead Kings Over Warriors In OT 114-106
SACRAMENTO (CBS/AP) -- DeMarcus Cousins pulled his Sacramento Kings teammates together just prior to overtime and passionately let them know what needed to be done. Play together, urged the second-year center.
And that's just what the Kings did, putting aside the somewhat selfish play that has been prevalent much of the season.
Marcus Thornton scored 28 points and Tyreke Evans had 26 points and nine assists to help the Sacramento Kings beat the Golden State Warriors 114-106 in overtime Saturday night.
Cousins was a huge factor with 21 points and a career-high 20 rebounds in helping the Kings win consecutive games for only the second time all season. His impassioned speech heading into overtime didn't hurt, either.
"Usually when we get in that situation like that in the past we've had a tendency to do it one-on-one and do it by ourselves," Cousins said. "So I just made sure I made it clear that we weren't going to win the game playing one-on-one, we've got to play together, team defense, team offense."
The Kings scored the first nine points in overtime to win consecutive games for the second time this season.
Evans scored five points in the overtime for the Kings, who ran off nine straight points to begin OT.
Some sound defense by the Kings was evident as well. The Warriors went cold in overtime, making one of nine shots.
"They outworked us in overtime and we are going to have to individually and collectively look in the mirror and own up to a lack of effort," Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. "Their starters outscored our starters 104-63. You can sugar-coat it all you want, but that was just bad basketball."
Dorrell Wright scored 24 points for Golden State, which made a season-high 16 3-pointers. Nate Robinson had 20 points, Monta Ellis scored 18, Klay Thompson had 16, and Stephen Curry finished with 11.
Salmons made a 3-pointer and Thompson scored inside on the next possession to give the Kings a 107-102 lead in overtime. A drive by Evans put the Kings up 111-102.
"This group has shown from day one that they have the ability to get back in games, especially at home," Kings coach Keith Smart said. "They haven't done that yet on the road. They have shown they can somehow make shots and make plays, rebound, and come out with steals."
DeMarcus Cousins had 21 points and a career-high 20 rebounds, the first 20-20 game for the Kings since Brad Miller did it on Jan. 14, 2009. Jason Thompson added 15 points and 16 rebounds, and John Salmons contributed 15 points.
Trailing by three points, Thompson made a corner 3, his fourth of the quarter, to tie the game at 102 with nine seconds left. Evans missed a long jumper with one second left to send the game into overtime.
Thompson and Robinson each had 12 fourth-quarter points when the Warriors outscored the Kings 26-15. They combined for Golden State's first 21 points of the fourth quarter when both Ellis and Curry remained on the bench. Ellis and Curry were also on the bench for much of the fourth quarter in Tuesday's comeback win over the visiting Kings.
"Sometimes our first unit is not always going to bring us energy," Robinson said. "That's our (the reserves) job. We come off the bench to bring the team energy and build it up for the starting five. I think our bench just buys into it."
It was the first time the Kings have scored 100 or more points in 15 games and only the third time all season that Sacramento has been in triple digits.
Thornton struggled with his shot in the first half, but made amends in the third quarter. The Kings guard made four 3-pointers and scored 18 points to energize Sacramento, who outscored the Warriors 34-22 and took an 87-76 lead into the fourth.
Thornton got going quickly in the third quarter, scoring 15 of the Kings first 24 points. His 3-pointer at the 4:51 mark put the Kings ahead 77-71.
"You see that over and over again. I call him Mr. Big Shot," Cousins said. "He can score with the best of them."
The Kings are the youngest team in the NBA, at an average of 24 years, 347 days, and the Warriors are next, a mere two days older. Their youth was evident at times in a fast-paced game that had a combined 39 turnovers
Wright scored 19 points and Ellis had nine in the opening half when the Warriors took a 54-53 lead into the break. Cousins had 12 points and eight rebounds, Thornton scored 10 points, and Thompson added nine points and nine rebounds.
NOTES: The Warriors made eight of 12 3-pointers in the first half. . Wright exceeded his previous season high of 23 points with a baseline drive for a basket midway through the third quarter. . The lead changed hands 20 times in a tight first half where the biggest lead for either team was five points. . The Kings recalled second-year C Hassan Whiteside from the Reno Bighorns of the NBA Development League.
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