Third-quarter explosion pushes Kings past Lakers

[December 13, 2016]  SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- DeMarcus Cousins scored 16 of Sacramento's 39 third-quarter points, and the Kings rode their best quarter of the season to a 116-92 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers at the Golden 1 Center on Monday.

The Kings, who endured a season-worst, eight-point fourth quarter in a Saturday night loss at Utah, won for just the second time in seven games. Cousins finished with 31 points, and Darren Collison added 10 of his 20 in the third to help the Kings turn a 58-49 halftime deficit into a 88-71 lead entering the final quarter.

Cousins also finished with 16 rebounds, and Sacramento (9-15) handed the struggling Lakers (10-17) their seventh consecutive defeat despite losing starting guard Ben McLemore to a bruised left thigh in the first quarter. McLemore tried to go around a screen set by Lakers center Timofey Mozgov and caught Mozgov's knee.

Garrett Temple's layup started the scoring for the Kings after halftime, but Cousins' 3-pointer on Sacramento's next possession signaled the onslaught. Sacramento scored 11 of the quarter's first 13 points, then blitzed the Lakers with a 23-2 run starting with Temple's 17-footer with 7:13 left that broke a 64-64 tie.

Collison made all three of his 3-pointers in the quarter, and Cousins nailed both of his. Sacramento canned 6 of 7 from long distance during the period and 14 of 19 shots overall.

Temple finished with 16 points and Omri Casspi added 13 for Sacramento. Kosta Koufos contributed 10 points and seven rebounds.

D'Angelo Russell scored 17 points in 20 minutes to lead Los Angeles, and Luol Deng added 16 points. Jordan Clarkson tallied 15 points and Lou Williams had 14. Nick Young added eight points in 26 minutes.

Lakers coach Luke Walton received the first ejection of his coaching career, when he ran on the floor and picked up two technical fouls with 4:14 left in the first quarter. Walton was livid after Julius Randle became entangled with Cousins near halfcourt and appeared to be tossed by Cousins like a rag doll to the floor. Randle also received a technical foul on the play.

Kings center DeMarcus Cousins (15) drives to the basket against Los Angeles Lakers center Timofey Mozgov (20) during the third quarter at Golden 1 Center. The Sacramento Kings defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 116-92. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

NOTES: Lakers Gs D'Angelo Russell and Nick Young were back on the court together for the second straight night after missing 11 and six games, respectively, with injuries. The Lakers were 7-7 and averaged 110.1 points in the 14 games the two played together before Monday. Los Angeles is 3-9 and averages 99.4 points when at least one of the two doesn't play. ... Kings C DeMarcus Cousins, who entered the season saying he was determined to be more controlled in his demeanor, leads the NBA with eight technical fouls after getting one Monday, and he is on pace to collect a career-high 25. Cousins led the league in technical fouls last season for the third time in six years. ... Sacramento plays its next three on the road, starting with a Wednesday contest at Houston. ... The Lakers kicked off a seven-game, 13-day trip, with the remaining six contests against Eastern Conference opponents. The road trip is Los Angeles' longest of the season.

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