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 Cousins had another huge night against the Nuggets, scoring 39
points and grabbing nine rebounds, but the center's two key steals
down the stretch helped the Kings hold off a fourth-quarter rally
and beat Denver 114-110 Tuesday night.
Forward Rudy Gay had 16 points and 10 rebounds, and forward Omri
Casspi scored 14 for the Kings (24-31).
This road win had a little more meaning for Sacramento coach George
Karl. Karl coached the Nuggets for 8 1/2 years, and despite leading
the team to a franchise-record 57 wins in 2012-13, he was fired
after a first-round playoff exit in 2013.
He took over the Kings late last season and lost his first trip back
to Denver on April 12, 2015.
"It's a good win," said Karl, who got a warm reception when he was
introduced pregame. "I hadn't won here, but now I have as an
opposing team."
Guard Will Barton scored 18 points, forward Danilo Gallinari had 17
and center Nikola Jokic had 13 points and 13 rebounds for Denver
(22-35), which has lost three straight.
Cousins had a big role in two of those losses. The 6-foot-11 center
had 37 points and 20 rebounds Friday in a home victory over Denver,
and he was dominant again Tuesday. He went 14-for-24 from the field
and came up with three big plays after Gallinari had tied the game
at 107 with 1:27 left.
First, Cousins stole the ball from guard D.J. Augustin, who fouled
him with 48.3 seconds left to put Cousins at the line. He hit both
to put the Kings ahead, and after Augustin missed a 3-point attempt
at the other end, Cousins scored off his own miss to make it 111-107
with 14.6 seconds left.
"He just got a good hand on it," Augustin said. "I thought I could
get by him, but he made a great play defensively."
Jokic hit a 3-pointer with 10.6 seconds left to cut Denver's deficit
to one, and after Sacramento guard Darren Collinson split a pair of
free throws, Cousins stripped forward Darrell Arthur under the
Kings' basket to seal the win.
"The game came down to a game of stops, and we did that and pulled
out a tough one," Cousins said.
Sacramento has won three straight after a tough month. There were
rumors that Karl was going to be let go before general manager Vlade
Divac said Karl would keep his job. A week ago, the team fired
assistant Vance Walberg, adding to the turmoil.
The Kings pushed through that to beat Denver for the second time in
five days.
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"The team's been through a lot, been a lot of ups and downs,"
Cousins said. "Seems like people are giving up on the team, but I'm
the complete opposite. I still think we have a great chance, I still
believe, and (we are) trying to make a push."
Cousins was strong all game. He had 15 points in the third quarter
helped the Kings build a 17-point lead.
"We had no answer for him," Denver coach Michael Malone said.
Jokic and Arthur both finished with five fouls trying to contain
him.
"He's not a difficult cover for them, he's a difficult cover for
most teams," Karl said. "He can play at the elbow, he's a damn good
passer, a great rebounder. There's not much he can't do on the
basketball court.
Barton scored 11 points early in the fourth as Denver went on a 14-2
run to get within one. Augustin's 3-pointer with 4:06 left gave
Denver a 104-103 lead, its first since early in the game.
NOTES: Sacramento Fs Marco Belinelli and Omri Casspi were both back
in action Tuesday after missing a game Friday. Both players had a
tooth extracted and were unavailable in the Kings' 116-110 win over
the Nuggets. ... New Nuggets F JaKarr Sampson was in uniform a day
after the team signed him. Sampson, who was waived by Philadelphia,
signed a multi-year deal with Denver. He played 14 scoreless minutes
Tuesday. ... Sacramento PG Rajon Rondo is playing with turf toe on
his right foot. It hasn't hindered him much; he has missed just four
games this season. ... Nuggets F Kenneth Faried played Tuesday after
leaving Sunday's game with an illness. Faried didn't attempt a shot
in 13 minutes and had only one rebound Sunday. He had 13 points and
seven boards Tuesday.
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