DeMarcus Cousins likes the way the Kings are clicking on offence. It’s the defence, though, that really has Sacramento’s big man smiling – even if there have been a few breakdowns along the way.
Cousins had 30 points and 11 rebounds, Rudy Gay scored 29 and the Kings beat the Denver Nuggets 131-109 Wednesday night to extend their best start in more than a decade.
“Us playing defence the way we are, communicating and playing together, is helping on the offensive end,” Cousins said. “Playing defence, I believe, helps build chemistry. We trust in one another and it’s going over to the other side of the floor.”
Darren Collison added 10 points and eight assists, and Carl Landry had 18 points off the bench to help Sacramento to their second win over Denver in three days and fourth straight overall following a season-opening loss to Golden State.
The Kings improved to 4-1 for the first time since 2001/02, when they won the Pacific Division and grabbed the No 1 seed in the Western Conference play-offs. They haven’t been back to the post-season since 2007.
Sacramento did it despite giving up 35 points in the second quarter and 37 in the fourth.
“Tonight was a Jekyll and Hyde night,” coach Mike Malone said. “I don’t want us creating poor habits, and to allow a team to score 37 points in the fourth quarter the way they did is really unacceptable.”
Ty Lawson had 13 points and nine assists for Denver (1-3).
Sacramento scored 40 points in the first quarter, led by as many as 36 and had six players in double figures.
Cousins led the surge with his third double-double in five games before fouling out early in the fourth quarter.
With Denver centre JaVale McGee getting limited minutes while still recovering from last season’s broken leg, Cousins dominated in the low post early against backup Timofey Mozgov and met little resistance from the Nuggets’ soft interior defence.
Cousins scored 26 in the first half and made 10-of-14 shots overall.
At one point in the second half, Cousins – generally among the NBA leaders in technical fouls – was hacked by two Denver defenders while trying to score under the basket. Mozgov was called for the foul, argued and picked up a technical while Cousins clapped his hands and walked away smiling.
Denver couldn’t keep up.
The Nuggets fell behind early, then trimmed a 21-point deficit to 60-52 on Nate Robinson’s layup with 1:37 left before Sacramento closed the half on an 8-2 run.
Gay blocked a layup by McGee late in the third quarter and Reggie Evans scored on a fast break to make it 105-70.
“Basically in a nutshell, we were too soft on defence,” said Denver’s Wilson Chandler, who had 13 points. “We can’t point fingers. It was everybody all the way across the board.”
AROUND THE LEAGUE
Jazz 102 (2-3), Cavaliers 100 (1-3)
Gordon Hayward made a step-back jumper at the buzzer, one-upping LeBron James and boosting the Utah Jazz to a 102-100 victory over the struggling Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night.
Hayward, who had 21 points, broke free of James to catch an inbounds pass, faked a move to the basket and then stepped back on the right wing and swished a 21-foot jump shot as the horn sounded.
The forward was mobbed by his Jazz teammates in a scene reminiscent of a college tournament game.
Derrick Favors had 21 points and 10 rebounds but the Jazz had to overcome a last-minute effort by James, who scored 31 points.
Spurs 94 (2-1), Hawks 92 (1-2)
Tim Duncan had 17 points and 13 rebounds, and San Antonio held on for their 17th straight win at home over Atlanta.
The Spurs had a season-high 25 assists for a balanced scoring effort that they needed to fend off the Hawks’ furious rally in the final quarter. Tony Parker scored 17 points and Manu Ginobili added 12, including a pair of free throws with 3.8 seconds remaining.
After a closing double-team forced Jeff Teague to pass up an attempted three-pointer, Pero Antic’s shot from near halfcourt was blocked by Boris Diaw as time expired.
DeMarre Carroll and Paul Millsap each had 17 points for Atlanta. Al Horford added 10.
The Spurs have never lost at home to the Hawks since drafting Duncan and have won 16 of 17 overall.
Bulls 95 (4-1), Bucks 86 (2-3)
Derrick Rose returned from his latest injury and helped Chicago to another victory at Milwaukee.
Taj Gibson scored 23 points, Pau Gasol added 22 and Rose had 13 points and seven assists in 32 minutes for the Bulls, who have beaten the Bucks nine straight times in Milwaukee.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 13 points and eight rebounds for the Bucks.
With Chicago leading by one, Gasol hit a jumper and Butler made an acrobatic layup. That started a clinching 9-2 run that was capped by Kirk Hinrich’s three-pointer with 2:16 remaining.
Rose, who missed most of the past two seasons because of serious knee injuries, sat out the Bulls’ previous two games with sprains in both ankles.
Grizzlies 102 (5-0), Suns 91 (3-2)
Mike Conley had 24 points and 11 assists, and Memphis used a strong defensive effort in the third quarter to top Phoenix and remain unbeaten.
The Grizzlies, who won all four meetings last season, forced 10 turnovers in the third and turned an 11-point deficit in the second quarter into a five-point lead going into the fourth. Conley and fellow guard Courtney Lee, both coming off injuries, combined to score 17 of Memphis’ 30 third-quarter points.
Lee, who missed the past two games with a concussion, scored 22 points with 4-of-5 shooting on three-pointers. Memphis are off to the best start in franchise history.
Eric Bledsoe made his first eight shots for Phoenix and finished with a season-high 23 points.
Pistons 98 (1-3), Knicks 95 (2-3)
Greg Monroe had 23 points and 18 rebounds, and Detroit held off New York for their first win of the season.
The Pistons went 1-for-17 on three-pointers in Sunday’s loss to Brooklyn, but Kentavious Caldwell-Pope hit their first three attempts against New York, and they ended up with a season-high 11.
Tim Hardaway Jr scored 20 points for the Knicks, who lost at home to Washington on Tuesday night. They were facing a rested Detroit team that had two days off before the game.
Carmelo Anthony had only 13 points on 5-of-21 shooting for New York. He missed his first nine shots and didn’t score until the final minutes of the second quarter.
Raptors 110 (4-1), Celtics 107 (1-3)
Kyle Lowry scored 35 points and had a key steal in the closing minute to lead Toronto over Boston.
DeMar DeRozan had 23 points and Patrick Patterson added 14 for the Raptors.
Rajon Rondo led Boston with a triple-double of 13 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds. Jeff Green had 20 points for the Celtics, who have lost three straight after a season-opening win over Brooklyn.
With the score tied at 105, Lowry stripped rookie Marcus Smart and fed DeRozan for a fast-break layup with 33 seconds left. He was fouled on the play and hit the free throw.
Rondo’s two free throws sliced it to one, but Lowry nailed a fadaway jumper from the left wing with 8 seconds to play. Green back-rimmed a long three and Boston’s Jared Sullinger grabbed the rebound, but time ran out.
Hornets 96 (2-3), Heat 89 (3-2)
Al Jefferson scored a season-high 28 points and added 10 rebounds, and Charlotte snapped a 16-game, regular-season losing streak against Miami.
Charlotte were winless against the Heat in the LeBron James era, including getting swept in the first round of the Eastern Conference play-offs by Miami last season.
Kemba Walker had 16 points and seven assists, and Cody Zeller turned in another solid game off the bench with 13 points and eight rebounds for the Hornets, who won for the first time since the season opener.
Chris Bosh had 23 points and 13 rebounds for Miami. It was Bosh’s fifth straight 20-point game to open the season.
Timberwolves 98 (2-2), Nets 91 (2-2)
Nikola Pekovic converted a tiebreaking three-point play with 48 seconds left, and Minnesota scored the final nine points of the game to beat Brooklyn.
Kevin Martin led the Timberwolves with 26 points and rookie Andrew Wiggins, playing in the arena where he was taken by Cleveland with the No 1 pick in the draft, added 17.
Joe Johnson had 22 points for the Nets (2-2), who had won their last two games. Deron Williams added 19.
Wizards 96 (4-1), Pacers 94 (1-4) OT
John Wall had seven of his 31 points in overtime, and Washington won their fourth straight and gained a tiny measure of revenge from last season’s play-offs by beating resilient but even-more-depleted Indiana.
The Wizards blew a 12-point, second-half lead and survived Roy Hibbert’s three-point attempt in the closing seconds to move three games above .500, a mark they didn’t reach until March 1 last season. A strong finish eventually led to a second-round post-season meeting with the Pacers, who won in six games to advance to the Eastern Conference finals.
But that was a different Indiana team. This one is missing Paul George, George Hill, CJ Watson, David West and now Rodney Stuckey due to injury and have lost four straight.
Donald Sloan led Wednesday’s effort with 31 points – nearly double his previous career high.
Magic 91 (1-4), 76ers 89 (0-5)
Tobias Harris made a jumper at the buzzer to give Orlando their first win of the season.
Nikola Vucevic scored 17 points and Channing Frye had 13 points and 11 rebounds for Orlando. Harris had 18 points and eight rebounds to help the Magic snap a season-opening, four-game losing streak.
It helped they played the Sixers. Philadellphia are 0-5 for the first time since the 2001/02 season. Tony Wroten scored 27 points and Brandon Davies had 20 to give the Sixers two 20-point scorers in a game for the first time this season.
Warriors 121 (4-0), Clippers 104 (3-2)
Stephen Curry had 28 points and seven assists, Draymond Green scored a career-high 24 and Golden State remained unbeaten with their most impressive performance yet, routing the Los Angeles Clippers.
Green added eight rebounds and five assists as the Warriors showed off the swagger of a confident and complete contender. They built a 25-point lead in the second quarter and held off the Clippers the rest of the way, getting a small slice of revenge after losing a heated first-round play-off series to Los Angeles last season.
Houston and Memphis are the only other undefeated teams left.
Jamal Crawford scored 24 points, and DeAndre Jordan had 17 points and 13 rebounds for a Clippers team that are off to a shaky start. Los Angeles opened with a string of close games before getting whipped by the Warriors.
Golden State extended their best start in 20 years under new coach Steve Kerr. The last time the Warriors began 4-0 was the 1994/95 season, when they won their first five.
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