I was expecting the Kings to lose to the Cavs. Hey, Cleveland did beat Boston in their season opener. Yeah, they got blown out in Toronto, but that was on the road.
This game was pretty much the exact same game as the New Jersey game - Kings were behind by double digits during the first half, came back in the second half and lead by 8+ points late in the game. And then they couldn't score, and the Cleveland Cavaliers came back. Luckily for the Sacramento Kings, the Cavs didn't have a go to guy who can finish the job like the Nets' Devin Harris, so Kings held on and got the win.
Samuel Dalembert won the game for us. His interior defense set the tone for the crucial third quarter where the Kings held the Cavs to just 15 points and caught up from being down by 14. Dalembert also played well in the first quarter in limited minutes. Whenever he's in the game, you rarely see easy layups.
On offense, Omar Casspi was the hero of the game. He was on fire tonight, making 6 of 7 three-pointers. Sure, he missed two crucial free throws late in the game, but he played exceptionally well before then.
DeMarcus Cousins got a double-double, 14 points and 10 rebounds. He looked like his usual self. Pretty good, but not exceptional. At least, not yet. I would like to see him more active on defense and offense. Sometimes, he's just standing around.
Darnell Jackson played well again in limited action. Francisco Garcia didn't play much tonight.
I also didn't see Donte Green at all. I wonder if it's the just the match up.
A great win overall. Coming back from a three game road trip and winning two is pretty good, even if the wins are against crappy teams.
Next game is a home game against the Bosh-less Toronto Raptors. We should win this one. Should. These Kings are so inconsistent, you never know.
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