|
 But the Kings weren't finished. And they weren't finished
fighting.
Sacramento scored the final seven points of the first overtime to
force another and Gay, who missed 17 of 22 shots, hit the one that
counted with 1:07 left to put his team up to stay as the Kings won
their fifth straight game for the first time in eight years with a
114-112 double-overtime win over the Suns Friday.
The Kings are off to a 5-1 start for the first time in 15 years and
Cousins, who has 25 points and 18 rebounds before fouling out in the
final minute of regulation, is feeling the difference.
"This is completely different from any of my past seasons," said
Cousins, who hit 13 of 14 free throws. "Even through the tough
times, you can see we're a team coming together. We found a way and
showed a will to win. We know we have a lot to improve upon and
another level we can get to.
"But this is a great feeling. I'll take this all day."
Gay was battling the flu and his jumper but his 9-foot turnaround
that made it 113-112 Sacramento made it all worth it. He finished
with 11 points.
"Coach (Michael Malone) kept calling my number and no matter what he
had faith in me," Gay said. "They made runs but we finished out the
game and we're starting to get that mentality about us now."
 Guard Darren Collison had six of his 16 points in overtime for the
Kings, who are 5-1 to start a season for the first time since
1999-2000. Guard Ben McLemore added 15 and helped the Kings hold the
Suns to just 11 points in the fourth quarter.
Eric Bledsoe had 23 points and eight assists for the Suns and Goran
Dragic added 22 for the Suns, who have lost three of their last four
games. P.J. Tucker had seven of his 15 in the first overtime, but
the Suns could never put away the pesky Kings. Center Miles Plumlee
had 15 points and 16 rebounds for Phoenix.
Bledsoe had five of Phoenix's 12 turnovers and 13 in the last two
games -- both home losses. The Suns scored the first seven points of
the first overtime and then went scoreless over the final 3:34.
Bledsoe gave the Suns a four-point lead at 112-108 with 2:08 left in
the second overtime, but again the Suns couldn't close the deal.
"I don't know if we were tired or out of shape or what," Phoenix
coach Jeff Hornacek said. "There was some talk that maybe we're not
in the best of shape, because these guys in the fourth quarter were
walking it up and getting caught with the shot clock. We would run a
normal play and by the time we got to the second option, there was
five seconds left on the shot clock. We hold it too much."
Both teams had a chance to end the game earlier with ugly results.
With the game tied at 99, ex-Kings guard Isaiah Thomas shot an air
ball from 26 feet just before the regulation buzzer. Then with the
game tied at 106, Gay lost the ball dribbling between his legs and
managed only a half-court heave before the end of the overtime as
the teams played on.
 "It was like a roller-coaster ride all the way through the game and
the overtimes," Tucker said. "At some point, we had to get a couple
of stops and we didn't. We had some bad fouls, some bad possessions
and they finished. We got stagnant ... real stagnant."
[to top of second column] |
It was a tough night for Thomas. Playing against his former team for
the first time the sign-and-trade deal in July, Thomas took only
four shots and scored three points in 17 minutes.
The Suns led by as many as 12 points and by 11 at 94-83 after a
Plumlee free throw with 7:30 to play. But the Kings reeled off 11
straight points, tying the game at 94 on a pair of Cousins free
throws with 4:57 to go. A Cousins layup gave the Kings a 98-97 lead
with 1:37 left, their first since leading 4-2 early on.
The Suns jumped out early and built an 11-point lead at 18-7 on a
3-pointer by Dragic, It was Dragic's first 3-point make of the year
-- he had been 0-for-11 in the first five games of the season.
Dragic had 10 points and Marcus Morris added seven as the Suns made
15 of 22 shots to lead 36-25. Cousins didn't take a shot in the
period and Gay missed four of six shots for the Kings. The teams
traded runs the rest of the way but the Suns had regained their
double-digit lead in the fourth quarter, only to let it get away
again as the Kings kept fighting.
"In the first quarter, we weren't ready to play and they shot 60
percent from the field," Malone said. "But in the fourth quarter and
overtime, we held that team to 26 percent (shooting). That's 22
minutes of basketball. We have to realize we have to defend like
that or close to it as possible for 48 minutes."
NOTES: Sacramento coach Mike Malone on his team facing former Kings
G Isaiah Thomas for the first time. "We anticipate he'll be a little
more aggressive. But he's the (Suns) leading scorer, so he's
aggressive against everyone. Once that jump ball goes up, it's the
Kings and the Suns and a lot of talented players, so it's not just
Isaiah." ... The Suns lost just seven times by 10 points or more
last season under rookie coach Jeff Hornacek. Their two losses this
season are by 27 points (Nov. 1 at the Utah Jazz) and 11 to the
Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday). ... The Suns are averaging 18.2
fast-break points through five games, second best in the NBA behind
Golden State. ... The Suns came into the game having beaten the
Kings in 79 of 104 meetings in Phoenix, a .760 winning percentage.
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