DeMarcus Cousins had 25 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists as the host Sacramento Kings snapped the 10-game winning streak of the New Orleans Hornets with a 102-96 victory on Saturday.
It was the second major upset in two nights for the Kings (12-33) after they stunned the Los Angeles Lakers 100-95 on Friday for the first of two unlikely victories for one of the NBA’s worst franchises.
Tyreke Evans scored 18 points and Samuel Dalembert added 16 for the Kings, who led by 10 points at halftime and held off a late New Orleans surge.
David West scored 21 points for New Orleans (31-17), while Chris Paul had 19 points and seven assists.
Sacramento led 96-90 after Evans’ basket with 3:21 left. New Orleans seemed intent on pulling off a late comeback when it moved within two on West’s 15-footer with 1:43 remaining.
But just as Sacramento held off the Lakers’ charge on Friday, the Kings stymied the Hornets as a tip-in by Dalembert with 53.4 seconds left started a 6-0 run. Beno Udrih and Dalembert each added two free throws to give the Kings an eight-point lead with 20.6 seconds left.
Marcus Thornton added 16 points for the Hornets, who had last played on Wednesday.
New Orleans | Sacramento | |
David West 21 | Scoring | DeMarcus Cousins 25 |
Chris Paul 7 | Assists | DeMarcus Cousins 7 |
David West 7 | Rebounds | DeMarcus Cousins 12 |
Chris Paul 8 | Free Throws Made | Beno Udrih 5 |
Chris Paul 3 | Steals | Omri Casspi 3 |
Emeka Okafor 3 | Blocks | Samuel Dalembert 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
New Orleans | 96 | 43.2 | 4-16 | 28-30 | 15 | 35 | 5 | 6 | 15 |
Sacramento | 102 | 50.0 | 4-12 | 16-20 | 23 | 39 | 2 | 9 | 13 |