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 Newcomer Rajon Rondo got the message across immediately.
Rondo scored 10 of 21 points and dished out five of his eight
assists in the opening 12 minutes, and Cousins added 21 points and
11 rebounds, as the Kings ran away from Kobe Bryant and the Los
Angeles Lakers 132-114 at Sleep Train Arena on Friday.
"We came out with great energy and a lot of effort," Cousins said.
"Coming out like that, getting that early lead, that's the way we
want to play."
Much of it could be pointed to Rondo, the free-agent guard signed to
a one-year, $10 million contract with Sacramento after a turbulent
2014-15 season with the Boston Celtics and Dallas Mavericks. Rondo
was held to four points and four assists in Sacramento's
season-opening 111-104 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers but scored
all of his first-quarter points in the first six minutes and led a
33-10 run that put the Kings ahead by double digits for the entire
night.
"I wanted to come out aggressive, a lot more than the last game,"
Rondo said. "I wasn't aggressive enough in that one."
Cousins, coming off a 32-point, 13-rebound opener, played without a
turnover, two nights after committing eight against the Clippers,
and helped the Kings beat the Lakers for the fourth consecutive
time. It was what Sacramento was looking for against a Lakers team
coming off a franchise worst 21-61 campaign.
His effort also led a dominant one inside for Sacramento, which
outscored Los Angeles 80-33 from inside the paint.
"Our transition defense was terrible. Guys didn't get back, it was
as simple as that," Lakers coach Byron Scott said. "I don't know
that I've ever seen 80 points in the paint."
It hasn't happened much. According to Elias Sports Bureau, the 80
points were the most since the Rockets scored 80 in the paint
against the Houston Rockets on April 8, 2014.
Guard Jordan Clarkson scored 22 points to lead the Lakers, and
forward Nick Young scored 17.
Bryant, who started at forward, produced just 13 points on 5-for-12
shooting for the Lakers, and he missed seven of eight shots from
behind the 3-point arc. But he did move past former teammate
Shaquille O'Neal and into the top five all-time among field-goal
leaders in NBA history.
Bryant's second basket, a 10-foot bank shot with 4:26 to go in the
second quarter, after he grabbed teammate D'Angelo Russell's miss,
surpassed O'Neal. He finished the contest with 11,334 field goals in
his career, and trails only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Wilt
Chamberlain and Michael Jordan on the all-time list.
Forward Rudy Gay scored 19 points, and rookie center Willie
Cauley-Stein scored 17 points in his first NBA start for the Kings.
Cauley-Stein and Rondo seemed to find chemistry early in the
contest, and Cauley-Stein scored twice off assists from Rondo.
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"A lot of that is my teammates starting to have some confidence in
me," Cauley-Stein said. "They're getting more comfortable with
getting me the ball."
Guard Darren Collison added 14 points and forward Omri Casspi 12 off
the bench for Sacramento, as the Kings received another strong game
from their bench. A weakness a year ago, Sacramento's reserves
contributed 47 points 24 rebounds and 10 assists against the Lakers.
Coach George Karl used seven of his eight bench players, with only
forward Caron Butler failing to see the floor.
The Kings, who were blitzed in the early going by the Los Angeles
Clippers in the opener, wasted little time doing the same to the
other Los Angeles team. The Kings raced to leads of 16-4, 31-12 and
35-14 during the opening 12 minutes en route to a 40-24 lead.
Rondo set off the explosion, scoring 10 points in the opening six
minutes and also setting up a lay-up and dunk by Gay and
Cauley-Stein, respectively.
NOTES: Next up for Lakers G Kobe Bryant on the NBA's all-time list
of field-goal leaders is Michael Jordan at 12,192. Hall of Fame C
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the all-time leader at 15,837. ... Top Kings
draft pick C Willie Cauley-Stein earned his first start in his
second game with Sacarmento. Their top 2014 pick, G Nik Stauskas
started the final game of last season, then was dealt to the
Philadelphia 76ers over the summer. ... Bryant made his 62nd career
appearance against Sacramento. Only the Los Angeles Clippers (66),
Golden State Warriors (64), Memphis Grizzlies (64), and Phoenix Suns
(63) have gone up against him more than Sacramento. He averaged 27.9
points per contest against them in the first 61. ... Kings coach
George Karl used 11 players and received 37 points and 16 rebounds
from those off the bench in Sacramento's opener, notable because of
the team's stated belief that the bench is deeper and stronger. G
Darren Collision, who started all 45 games he played a year ago, has
come off the bench in both contests.
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
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