Evans lifts Kings over Wizards

Sacramento, CA – Tyreke Evans' free throw with 11.4 seconds left lifted the Sacramento Kings past the Washington Wizards, 95-94, on Wednesday night.

With the game knotted up at 94-94, Evans drove across the lane from the right wing and was tripped by Nene, throwing up a wild shot to draw the foul. Evans then buried the first free throw before bricking the second and leaving the Wizards with a chance to win the game with just over 10 ticks remaining.

After corralling the miss, Washington called a timeout to advance the ball past midcourt. The Wizards threw it in to Bradley Beal, who missed a jumper with 2.9 seconds left.

John Wall, however, grabbed the rebound and fired up a desperation shot that drew iron as time expired and the Kings held on for their second consecutive win.

Evans, DeMarcus Cousins and John Salmons each scored 21 points in the win. Cousins also had 16 rebounds, five assists and three steals.

"We definitely made some big plays down the stretch," Cousins said. "It was a good effort, a great team effort. I am happy"

Beal led all scorers with a career-high 26 points while setting a Wizards rookie record for 3-pointers made in a game by going 6-for-7 from beyond the arc.

"We didn't put them away," Beal said. "We were up by 10 at a point, we never stepped on their throats. We let them win this game."

Kevin Seraphin added 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Nene finished with 15 points, nine boards and six assists for the Wizards, who had a season-high three-game winning streak snapped.

Sacramento outscored Washington, 12-7, over the first 5:20 of the fourth to tie the game at 84-84. The Wizards, though, used a small 7-4 burst, capped with Nene's 3-point play to go up 91-86 with just over four minutes remaining.

Cousins scored the next five points of the game, including a 3-point play with 1:48 to go, to knot things up at 91-91, but Martell Webster drilled a 25-foot trey 20 seconds later to give Washington a 94-91 advantage.

Salmons, though, responded with a 3-ball of his own on the Kings' next trip to knot things up once again.

Wall bricked a pair of free throws with just over 30 ticks before Evans' free throw accounted for the final margin.

Sacramento led 32-31 after the first 12 minutes, but the Wizards outscored Sacramento, 25-16, in the second to take a 56-48 lead into the break.

The Kings were able to cut the deficit to 77-72 entering the final frame. Salmons scored seven points in the quarter on 3-of-6 shooting from the field and Jimmer Fredette tallied eight points after canning a pair of threes.

Game Notes

Sacramento outscored Washington, 62-46, in the paint ... Fredette finished with 12 points ... Webster had 10 points in the setback ... The Wizards scored 21 points off of 18 Kings' turnovers.