Denver Nuggets demolish Sacramento Kings 122-97: NBA Recap
The Sacramento Kings returned from their 4 game road trip looking for some respite at the Sleep Train Arena but it was not going to be as Denver Nuggets crushed them 122-97 on Sunday night to win their 6th straight game
over the Kings.
JaVale McGee was flying in for dunks after dunks and gave a full court performance for the Nuggets with 19 points, 5 rebounds and three blocks. Danilo Gallinari posted 18 points while Ty Lawson had 11 points and 7 assists as six
Nuggets made it into double scoring figures.
"[McGee] was very active on the offensive glass and we got our favorite shot which is the dunk and the layup. We also got a lot of easy basketball plays. I think the energy was good, but the defense I think motivated us to play
the right way the whole game." Nuggets coach George Karl commented on the win as Denver outrebounded the Kings 52-42 on the night.
DeMarcus Cousins led the Kings with 19 points and 11 rebounds, Jason Thompson picked up a second double-double for the Sacramento with 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Isaiah Thomas made a 20 point contribution in the losing cause.
Cousins made a layup at the start of the game to put the Kings up by two and it was the only time they were in front. Nuggets went ahead on 4-2 and they never surrendered their lead the entire game. The score was tied on 8 when
Denver went on rampage with a 14-0 run that put them up 22-8, but the Kings came back later in the period to reduce the deficit and a Thomas deuce at the buzzer left the Kings trailing 23-32.
The Nuggets raced ahead and a 10 nil spurt early in the second period pushed their lead to 42-25. The Kings missed quite a number of easy baskets and Denver punished them hard, going up 51-32 with 5:24 left in the quarter. Jordan
Hamilton sank a three pointer with 6 second remaining in the half to push their advantage to 64-46.
Let alone reduce the deficit, the Kings were finding it hard to stop the Nuggets from pulling ahead. A Kosta Koufos hook shot had them up by 22 points early in the third period and a 7 nil run extended their lead to 81-53 around
the mid quarter mark. McGee slammed in a dunk to open up a 34 point advantage with about a minute to go in the quarter.
The Nuggets cruised to victory in the final period over the advantage they had piled earlier. Denver were up by 26 points with 4:12 on the regulation and they went on to win 122-97 eventually.
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