DeMarcus Cousins sizzles as the Kings launch a late assault to topple the Suns 94-89
Coming into the match the Sacramento King had one of the worst fourth quarter records in the whole league.
On Sunday night though, the NBA’s worst team turned their weakness into strength, as they inflicted a fourth quarter meltdown on divisional rivals Phoenix Suns to squeak out a 94-89 victory in a thrilling encounter.
Rookie DeMarcus Cousins led the Kings charge scoring 28 points, 13 of them coming in the final quarter, combined with eight rebounds and six assists. However, the home team overcame their cold shooting, excessive turnovers and a 48-39 deficit at half time,
to pin the Suns down the stretch.
Sacramento got off to a horror start and looked every bit the team that is languishing at the bottom of the league with a 6-23 record. From the shots to the passes, the Kings appeared to be fumbling everything, as they just managed to score a single bucket
in the first four and half minutes of play.
Phoenix on the other hand also started sluggishly, but some persistent sloppy play from the home team allowed them to settle into their zones easily, as they surged ahead with a 27-17 advantage after the first twelve minutes. Staring at a 10-point deficit
going into the second quarter, the Kings finally discovered their shooting touch, as they stormed to an 18-5 run within the first six minutes of play to overtake the visitors at 35-31.
This was where Marcin Gortat, one of Phoenix’s latest imports, stepped up to nip Sacramento’s surge. With five and a half minutes to go till the break, Gortat made a layup to jump-start a 17-4 run and capped it with a three point play six seconds from the
buzzer, to hand the Suns a 48-39 lead at half time. Gortat accounted for nine points in the spurt.
The Kings had a half to forget. They shot at only 28.3 percent from the field, netted only 2-of -10 from long range and committed ten turnovers. The only thing that kept them going in the period was their aggressive rebounding and Cousin’s offensive play.
After displaying very little fire at the offensive end in the first half, the kings got off to a swash-buckling start in the second. Sacramento rang up an early 11-5 run to pull within three early in the third quarter. The Suns though were quick to recover
and they shored up the gaps in their defence to keep the Kings at bay.
The third quarter finished with the Suns leading by eight, and an early six-point unanswered surge made it 79-65. The stage was set for another fourth quarter mauling for the Kings. DeMarcus Cousins had other ideas though. He made two back-to-back jumpers
to make it a ten point game and followed it up with another midway, to keep his team in hunt.
His team soon caught up with him as the Kings started to make the shots at a canter. A ten-point deficit in the seventh minute was quickly slashed to three, as Omri Casspi knocked down one from downtown followed by a jumper from Garcia at the four minute
mark.
Cousins then finally broke the Sun’s dominance with less than two minutes left on the clock. He slipped in an off-balance underhand shot in the lane and followed it with a free throw for a three-point play. The Kings never looked back after that as Casspi
nailed another three-pointer to open up the gap. The jittery Suns offence then missed one shot after another, as Cousins deservedly provided the finishing touches with two charity throws.
Francisco Garcia finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds for the kings, while Casspi also notched up a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Steve Nash led the way for Phoenix with 20 points and 12 assists, while Gortat followed with 17 points off the bench. The Suns though got out-rebounded 60-32, as they coughed up a 14-point fourth quarter lead to go down 94-89, leaving an embattled Suns coach
Paul Westphal to reflect upon what could have been.
He said, "The momentum was ours. When does the momentum start, when does it stop? You can only tell that after the fact. But we could feel the momentum, the players could feel it, the fans could feel it and I think Phoenix could feel it."
Tags: