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Sports

Pacific cellar-dwellers clash in Phoenix

By Sports Network
Published | Updated

Two teams way out of the playoff picture are the late attraction Thursday night when the Sacramento Kings visit the Phoenix Suns at US Airways Center.

These two teams are in the cellar of the Pacific Division, but the Kings rattled a playoff team on Wednesday.

The Kings went to Oracle Arena and bested the playoff-bound Golden State Warriors, 105-98. The Kings had the worst road record in the NBA at 6-30 and hadn't beaten a team with a winning record away from home until Wednesday night.

Isaiah Thomas led the way for the Kings, especially in the third quarter. Thomas hit five 3-pointers in the third to score 17 points in the quarter. He finished with 31 points after a career-high seven long balls.

"Isaiah Thomas represented his name very well tonight," Kings coach Keith Smart said of his point guard with a similar name to a Hall of Famer. "He made the right shots. We needed a spark. He gave us a spark."

DeMarcus Cousins, Marcus Thornton and Tyreke Evans, who rode in a car to the game earlier on Wednesday as he was ill and didn't think he could play until that morning, also scored in double figures for Sacramento.

A long season for the Suns can't end soon enough. They lost to the Utah Jazz, 103-88 on Wednesday for a fourth consecutive setback and the eighth in their last nine games.

"It is a good lesson for our guys," said interim head coach Lindsey Hunter. "I thought we would have had a better chance to win it, but it's a learning experience and I like the effort our young guys put forth."

Wes Johnson, who was considered a bust as the No. 4 pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, has emerged of late for the Suns. He had 22 points in the loss, but has scored 20-plus in his last two and gone for double figures in eight of 13 games in March.

"I really don't go out there and do anything that's not within me or the game," Johnson said. "Stay confident and whatever they ask me to do - just do it."

Luis Scola had 20 in the loss and Markieff Morris and Jared Dudley scored 10 points apiece.

The Suns have won two of three this season against the Kings and 12 of 13 against Sacramento in Phoenix.