New Orleans, LA – Anthony Davis recorded 20 points and eight rebounds, as the New Orleans Hornets defeated the Sacramento Kings, 110-95, on Sunday at New Orleans Arena.
Eric Gordon and Ryan Anderson scored 17 points apiece, Roger Mason Jr. added 13, and Greivis Vasquez registered 12 points and 13 assists for the Hornets, who snap a three-game losing streak.
"They hit some threes tonight, but I thought our defense was a lot better in the second half," said Hornets coach Monty Williams. "That's who we have to be. We're not a team that can put up a hundred and ten points every single night. We have to defend in order to have a chance. Our effort was better, but I can still point out fifteen things that we have to correct. Until that happens, we're going to be a team that looks like we can play on some nights, and on other nights look like we don't know what we're doing. But, that's a young team."
John Salmons scored 18 points for the Kings, who have lost five straight games. DeMarcus Cousins, Jason Thompson and Isaiah Thomas scored 16 points apiece, with Cousins also grabbing 10 rebounds.
"I thought that we played a great game up until about five minutes and twenty- three seconds," said Kings coach Keith Smart. "I thought that we were able to keep all of the big threes out of the basketball game, like the last time that we were here. I thought that we did a great job of managing the screen rolls that allow Anderson as well as Jason Smith to get off three point shooting. I thought that we did a great job, and then it fell apart within that time frame."
Down 79-73 entering the fourth, Salmons made a 3-pointer to put Sacramento within three, 79-76, in the opening minute. However, it was the closest the Kings could reach.
New Orleans outscored Sacramento 31-19 for the rest of the game to earn the victory. The Hornets were efficient, shooting 54.5 percent from the field, including 4-of-9 from behind the arc. Anderson was a major factor, scoring 13 points off 5-of-6 shooting.
The Hornets extended their lead by as much as 20 points, before Tyreke Evans fired a trey and Cousins made a pair of free throws within the final minute.
The first quarter was competitive, as they tied six times throughout. Down 27-25 with 30 seconds remaining, Vasquez made two free throws to tie the game.
Mason Jr. made a 3-pointer at the buzzer to take a 30-27 lead.
Marcus Thornton scored nine points in the second quarter for the Kings, but the team shot 38.9 percent from the field and committed six turnovers.
At halftime, New Orleans had a 53-47 advantage.
A 3-pointer by Salmons brought the Kings within one, 61-60, with 8:53 to play in the third quarter. However, the trio of Davis, Gordon and Al-Farouq Aminu combined for a 12-0 run and the Hornets had a 73-60 lead with five minutes remaining.
Sacramento responded with a 11-0 run of its own, capped with a dunk by Cousins, to bring the team within two, 73-71, with 2:43 to go. Vasquez scored the final six points for the Hornets.
Game Notes
The Hornets shot 50.6 percent from the field and were 14-of-15 from the free throw line ... The Kings were a perfect 13-of-13 from the free throw line ... Salmons scored all of his points in the second half ... Toney Douglas and Cole Aldrich, two of the three players the Kings acquired from the Rockets on Wednesday, did not play. The third player, Patrick Patterson, scored two points.
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