SACRAMENTO -- Lights out. The Sacramento Kings put up very little resistance Friday night as the Cleveland Cavaliers rolled through Golden 1 Center. Turnovers, missed shots and slow defensive rotations plagued the team from start to finish as the Cavs came away with the 120-108 victory.
Who didn’t have a big game for the Cavs?
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
Kyrie Irving was the offensive spark plug, LeBron James was the orchestrator and Kevin Love handled the boards for Cleveland.
Irving scored a team-high 26 points on 10-for-22 shooting. James had an uncharacteristically slow scoring night with 16 points, but he handed out 15 assists for a double-double. Love hit the glass for 18 rebounds and chipped in 15 points.
Iman Shumpert picked up the start and lit the Kings up from downtown. The veteran defender hit 4-of-5 from long range for 16 points and newcomer Kyle Korver caught fire off Tyronn Lue’s bench, scoring 18 points in 25 minutes.
James praised DeMarcus Cousins earlier in the day, calling the Kings star center, “The best big man in our game.” Cousins didn’t disappoint, scoring 26 points, grabbing eight rebounds and handing out 11 assists in the loss.
NBA
Rudy Gay couldn’t find the hoop early, but he recovered to finish the night with 23 points, ten rebounds and four blocks.
Ty Lawson ran the Cavs ragged with his quickness off the bench, finishing the night with 17 points, four assists and four rebounds.
Darren Collison got off to a slow start, but found his rhythm in the second quarter. The veteran point guard finished the night with 13 points on 5-for-10 shooting and added four assists.
STANDOUT PERFORMER
The shooters came to play. Shumpert and Korver combined to hit 8-for-12 from behind the arc. The Cavs Big Three are really tough to defend, but they become nearly impossible when their perimeter players catch fire.
TURNING POINT
Lawson cut the Cavs' lead to six points in the early fourth quarter, but Cleveland responded with a big run to silence the crowd and put the Kings away.
INJURY UPDATE
For the fourth straight game, the Kings came out of a game unscathed. They have 12 healthy bodies on the roster and another three rookies stashed in Reno with the Bighorns.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Kings continue their season-long seven game homestand Sunday when Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder roll through Golden 1 Center.