The New Orleans Hornets win third-straight with victory over the Sacramento Kings
The New Orleans Hornets (11-1) won their third-straight game with a 75-71 victory over the Sacramento Kings (4-8) on Sunday 21 November at the ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California.
The Hornets, along with the San Antonio Spurs, now own the best record in the league while the Kings have dropped to 4-8, having won only two of their last six home games.
New Orleans point guard Chris Paul had a bad shooting night (2-for-12) but finished with 14 assists, seven rebounds, and five steals to go along with his nine points. Starters David West
and Trevor Ariza finished with 17 and 16 points, respectively, while Emeka Okafor shot only 3-for-14 for nine points but pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds. Marco Belinelli had 12 points while Jason Smith led all bench players with eight points and seven
rebounds.
Donte Greene led the Kings with a double-double, finishing with 15 points, 10 rebounds, and three blocks while Luther Head made all four of his shots, finishing with 11 points and five
boards. Samuel Dalembert scored only three points on 0-for-5 shooting but did pull down 10 rebounds while Tyreke Evans, last year’s Rookie of the Year, finished with nine points, seven rebounds, five assists, and four steals. Carl Landry shot just 4-for-13
on the night, finishing with nine points and seven rebounds while DeMarcus Cousins led all bench players with seven points and five boards.
Both teams shot the ball poorly with New Orleans shooting only 32 per cent while Sacramento shot 39 per cent from the field. It was the same story from three-point range with the Hornets
going 4-for-12 and the Kings shooting 4-for-13.
The Hornets scored a season-low 39 points in the first half but still went into the break tied with the Kings. New Orleans outscored Sacramento 20-17 in the third frame to take a three-point
lead into the final quarter. With 4:37 remaining in the game, the Kings took a 66-64 lead with an Evans score. But with just over a minute remaining, West made two straight jumpers to give the Hornets a 73-68 lead. After a three-point play by Cousins, Belinelli
made a couple of free throws to give the Hornets a 75-71 lead with 6.4 seconds remaining.
What they said
Hornets coach Monty Williams told reporters after the game that it wasn’t a pretty win but a win nonetheless. "I don't think either one of us is going to send this tape to Springfield
[the Basketball Hall of Fame] or any other field. At this point in the season I don't even look at the standings. I had no idea we would have this kind of record."
Meanwhile, Kings coach Paul Westphal said his team was disappointed not to get the win. "We couldn't get shots when we needed to get them. It's a shame when you play as hard as effectively
as we played tonight to not have a win to show for it."
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