Sacramento Kings thump New Orleans Hornets 96-80: NBA Recap
The Sacramento Kings cruised to a comprehensive 96-80 win over the New Orleans Hornets at the Power Balance Pavilion on Sunday night.
The Kings blew New Orleans away in the second quarter to the delight of the home support for the morale boosting victory.
Sacramento were without star forward DeMarcus Cousins who was left out of the team after demanding a transfer. That though didn’t seem to have an effect on the side as other players stepped up to record big performances. Point
guard Tyreke Evans was the pick of the bunch with a game high 27 points and Marcus Thornton finished a close second with his 25. John Salmons was the other Kings player in double figures with 13 points.
After the game though, Cousins name seemed to be on everyone’s lips and his team backed him to return soon.
"Maybe it takes him a couple of more years to really get it," Chuck Hayes said. "As good as he is talented, that's how emotional he is as well. You have to have a short-term memory in this game. That's my young fella, my teammate.
If he wants to come back everyone on his team would love to have him."
"We're all 100 percent behind DeMarcus. We hope that he can come back soon, but we couldn't focus on that tonight. We just had to go out and still play a game, play hard and try to get the victory and we did." said rookie sensation
Jimmer Fredette.
Hornets though had worries of their own. The team is clearly still grasping with the departure of super star Chris Paul and has found it tough with new star Eric Gordon sidelined in recent games. They were without Gordon again
for this clash and to rely on wingman Trevor Ariza for a team high 17 points. Chris Kaman was the other notable with 14 points and 15 rebounds off the bench.
The first two quarters were fairly even as both sides played some cautious basketball and no one looked like stepping up. They matched each other all the way, with the first quarter ending with the score at 22 – 21 to the Hornets
and the second at 40 – 38.
The game though came to life after the interval as the Kings found their groove. Sacramento had an 8 – 0 burst early after the restart that gave them a lead and they held on to it afterwards, using an 11 – 2 run to consolidate
their position. When the third ended, the Kings were leading at 68 – 58.
The Hornets never threatened in the final period and a 12 – 3 run by the Kings put the game beyond doubt with over 3 minutes still left to play. They then took their foot off the gas, allowing the game to end at 96 – 80.
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