Kings pound Celtics 120-95

[March 17, 2012]  SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- Marcus Thornton hit five 3-pointers, scored a season-high 36 points, and the Sacramento Kings snapped a three-game losing streak with a 120-95 win over the Boston Celtics on Friday night.

The Kings set a season high for points and pulled away in the third quarter, shooting 70 percent and scoring 41 points in building a 19-point lead.

Jason Thompson matched his season high with 21 points and had 15 rebounds for the Kings, who are 3-3 on their franchise-record nine-game homestand.

DeMarcus Cousins had 20 points and seven rebounds. Isaiah Thomas had 13 points and 10 assists, helping the Kings set a season-best with 29 assists.

Ray Allen made five 3-pointers and scored 26 points for Boston. Paul Pierce had 19 points, Brandon Bass had 16 and Kevin Garnett added 10 points and nine rebounds. Rajon Rondo had four points and 12 assists.

The Celtics had beaten the Kings in the previous eight games by an average of 17 points.

The Celtics, who pulled their starters midway through the fourth quarter trailing by 21 points, are 2-2 on their eight-game road trip which continues Saturday night in Denver.

The points allowed were the most by the Celtics all season.

Ahead by one point at the half, the Kings pulled away in the third quarter when they outscored the Celtics 41-23.

Thornton scored 14 points, Thompson had 10 and Thomas nine for the Kings, who produced their highest scoring quarter of the season and took a 93-74 lead into the fourth.

With the Celtics starting to come back from a 17-point deficit midway through the third quarter, Garnett picked up his fourth foul when he pushed Cousins in the paint.

Garnett went to the bench and the Kings went on a run. Thornton scored eight straight points, including consecutive 3s that gave Sacramento a 85-68 lead with just under three minutes left in the quarter.

The Kings opened the third quarter with 13 straight points, including seven by Thomas. The rookie guard hit a 3-pointer and Cousins followed with a tip-in, putting Sacramento ahead 65-51.

Tyreke Evans, the Kings' second-leading scorer, sprained his left ankle in Wednesday's game against Detroit and did not dress for the game.

Thornton scored 10 points in the first half for the Kings, who went into halftime with a 52-51 lead. Pierce had 15 points for the Celtics and Allen had 13.

NOTES: Prior to the game, Celtics coach Doc Rivers watched from a locker room TV as his son Austin Rivers and his Duke teammates were upset by Lehigh in the NCAA tournament . ... Veteran John Salmons replaced Evans in the starting lineup. Salmons began the season as a starter, but lost his job after struggling offensively. ... Seldom-used Kings rookie Tyler Honeycutt received first-quarter minutes for the first time all season. The UCLA product had two points in 10 minutes. Entering the game, Honeycutt had played a total of 13 minutes in five games this season.

[Associated Press]

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