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 "It's real simple," Kings coach Michael Malone said. "When we
defend, when we share, when we value (the basketball), we give
ourselves a great chance to win."
The Kings did all three of those things Thursday, and in so doing,
ended the Chicago Bulls' road dominance with a 103-88 victory at
Sleep Train Arena.
Center DeMarcus Cousins had 22 points and 14 rebounds, his fifth
straight double-double, and forward Rudy Gay had 20 points and seven
rebounds despite playing with a sore left Achilles' tendon for
Sacramento. The Kings won for the fourth time in six home games this
season, and handed Chicago its first loss in seven road contests
this season.
"We beat a good team, a great team, a team that was undefeated on
the road," Gay said. "It's definitely a statement game for us."
The Bulls were trying to become the first team in franchise history
to start a campaign 7-0 on the road. The last Bulls team to start
6-0 on the road was the 1996-97 club led by Michael Jordan, which
won 69 games and the second of three-straight NBA titles.
 Guard Jimmy Butler had 23 points and eight rebounds for Chicago,
which jumped to a 29-19 lead and made half of its shots from the
field in the opening quarter. But Chicago shot just 40 percent from
the field and turned over the ball 13 times in the final three
quarters while being outscored 81-59.
"We had a gap in the middle of the second where we got hurt and the
game swung there," Bulls coach tom Thibodeau said. "Then we couldn't
get a handle on it the rest of the way."
Sacramento outscored Chicago 22-7 over the final eight minutes of
the second quarter and built the lead to 76-61 midway through the
third quarter. After that, Chicago didn't get closer than eight.
"That's a good team, especially at their place," Bulls center Joakim
Noah said. "They're putting something together. They defend a lot
better. Offensively, they're a lot better. It's just a better team."
Guard Darren Collison added 17 points and 12 assists for the Kings,
his second straight double-double. He has 23 assists and only one
turnover in Sacramento's past two contests. Sacramento shot 53.6
percent from the field over the final three quarter and turned over
the ball only 13 times overall.
"That's a tremendous job by our point guard," Malone said.
Forward Omri Casspi scored 12 points, guard Ben McLemore scored 11
and guard Derrick Williams had a season-high 10 for the Kings.
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Williams, who has lost minutes to Casspi, had played only 38 minutes
in Sacramento's first 11 games. He scored all but one of his points
while playing the entire second quarter.
"I know it hasn't been easy for him," Malone said. "My decision to
go with Omri wasn't because Derrick didn't play well. ... But you
can only go with one guy. He could easily have stopped working and
felt sorry for himself, but he didn't do that. That the definition
of a true pro."
Guards Aaron Brooks and Mike Dunleavy and forward Taj Gibson each
added 12 points for Chicago, which turned over the ball 15 times.
But Brooks was called for an offensive foul on a drive to the basket
with Chicago down 90-82 with 5:09 left in the contest.
"A call like that could've gone either way," Thibodeau said. "That
would've given us a chance, but it didn't go our way."
NOTES: Chicago once again played without G/F Derrick Rose (strained
left hamstring) and F Pau Gasol (strained left calf), both of whom
missed Monday's victory at the Los Angeles Clippers. Rose has missed
three straight contests and has played in only five of Chicago's 11
games this season. ... Sacramento is off to its best start since the
2006-07 season, the first of what has been seven straight seasons
without a playoff berth... Bulls G Jimmy Butler totaled at least 20
points for the seventh time in Chicago's first 12 games. A season
ago, he had only five such games. ... The last NBA team to start 7-0
away from home was the 2010-11 San Antonio Spurs, who won their
first eight en route to a 61-21 campaign that ended with a
first-round playoff loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. ... Sacramento
plays its next four on the road before starting a stretch of 10 out
of 11 at home.
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