Kings force OT in dramatic fashion, still blow big lead to Hornets
The Sacramento Kings nearly escaped Time Warner Cable Arena without having turned a big second-half lead into a loss. Instead, they proved yet again just how much they depend on a healthy DeMarcus Cousins.
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Up 22 with 2:24 remaining in the third period and 17 heading into the fourth, the Kings surrendered 38 points to the Charlotte Hornets over the final quarter. The majority of them came from point guard Kemba Walker, who put up the last two of his 21 points in the quarter on this lay-in with 0.7 seconds on the clock:
That bucket gave the Hornets a 112-110 lead and appeared to send the Kings to a loss. However, the hosts failed to put a big man at the rim on Sacramento’s final possession and surrendered an alley-oop to Rudy Gay. Take a look at the sequence here:
Unfortunately for the Kings, their late struggles carried over to the extra period. Jeremy Lin scored eight of the Hornet’s 12 points as they picked up a 127-122 win that runs their home record to 6-1. They’ve been a pleasant surprise after an 0-3 start.
Walker deserves the bulk of the credit for the comeback via his fourth quarter excellence. But he was also great overall with 39 points on 16-of-23 from the field with six rebounds, five assists, three blocks, and two steals. Five other Hornets joined him in double figures as they shot 50 percent from the field to help offset a 9-of-29 showing from deep.
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Meanwhile, the Kings found trouble after star center DeMarcus Cousins left the game at the 5:47 mark of the third due to a back strain. The Kings initially built the lead from 11 to 22 in his absence, but they ended the period poorly before Cousins returned to start the fourth. He scored 12 points of their 21 in the final period before leaving for good with 1:00 left in regulation, but he looked very uncomfortable running up and down the court and provided little defensive presence.
George Karl said he probably shouldn’t have been in the game at all in a post-game interview. From Steve Reed of the Associated Press:
”You could see it was bothering him,” Karl said. ”He went back in. We probably should have not played him because he was never a hundred percent after that.”
The Kings have been without Cousins at all in five games and have lost all of them. They’re now 0-1 when he’s hobbled. They better hope he’s not out for a sustained period of time due to his latest injury.
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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
