SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Earl Boykins scored nine of his 19 points in the fourth quarter, rallying the Milwaukee Bucks to an 84-79 victory over the skidding Sacramento Kings on Thursday night.
The win was the second straight for the Bucks, who outscored the Kings 22-15 in the fourth period. It was the seventh consecutive loss for Sacramento.
Andrew Bogut had 15 points and 13 rebounds, Keyon Dooling added 14 points and John Salmons had 12 for the Bucks.
Beno Udrih had 17 points, seven rebounds and five assists for the Kings, who shot 36 percent. Samuel Dalembert fouled out late in the fourth quarter with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
Sacramento committed 25 turnovers and squandered a fourth-quarter lead for the third straight game. The Kings have lost 21 of 23 and own the NBA's worst record (5-22).
With the Bucks trailing by six, Bogut responded with two straight baskets to ignite a 12-0 run, putting Milwaukee ahead 81-75 at the 2:53 mark. The Kings went scoreless for nearly 6 minutes before Tyreke Evans made a basket to cut the deficit to four.
Francisco Garcia made two 3-pointers to open the fourth quarter and Omri Casspi added another at the 8:24 mark, giving Sacramento a 75-69 lead.
Udrih got the sluggish Kings going offensively in the third quarter. The veteran guard, who had a career-high 34 points in his last game, scored eight points in the third when the Kings overcame a four-point halftime deficit to take a 64-62 lead.
Kings rookie DeMarcus Cousins was removed from the starting lineup one day after coach Paul Westphal fined him an undisclosed amount of money for making a choking gesture at Golden State guard Reggie Williams following a missed free throw late in regulation of the Kings' overtime loss.
Cousins, who finished with two points in 13 minutes, entered at the 4:15 mark of the first quarter, but quickly went back to the bench just more than a minute later after being called for consecutive offensive fouls against ex-King Jon Brockman.
The Bucks played their second straight game without starting point guard Brandon Jennings, who underwent foot surgery Monday and will miss four to six weeks.
Milwaukee was coming off an inspiring road win Tuesday against the Los Angeles Lakers. The Bucks limited the Lakers to 33 second-half points in an 98-79 victory.
Salmons scored 10 points in helping the Bucks lead 43-39 at halftime.
Dalembert had 11 points for the Kings, who shot 35 percent and were outscored in the second period 19-14.
NOTES: Drew Gooden (plantar fasciitis) and Corey Maggette (concussion-like symptoms) sat out for the Bucks. Evans missed all eight shots and was scoreless through three quarters. He finished with four points. Bucks F Larry Sanders blocked three shots in 10 first-half minutes.
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