SACRAMENTO -- No letdown.
Playing against a struggling Detroit Pistons team Thursday night at Golden 1 Center, the Kings built a big lead early and never let off the gas.
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.
The Kings pushed the tempo and pounded the Pistons on the glass, taking a 17-point lead into halftime and then coasting home for a 112-102 win.
De’Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield provided the scoring punch, and Willie Cauley-Stein put up a dominant performance against Pistons All-Star center Andre Drummond.
Here are three immediate takeaways as the Kings moved back to .500 at 21-21 on the season, two nights after a bad loss in Phoenix.
Cauley-Stein comes up big vs. Drummond
NBA
Cauley-Stein has struggled against big, physical centers this season, but Drummond, the league's best rebounder, was no match for him.
The Kings' 7-footer posted an early double-double before sitting with four fouls. He finished the night with 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting to go with 14 rebounds, five assists and two blocks.
Cauley-Stein was active, aggressive and engaged from start to finish. He also helped hold Drummond in check.
The Pistons star scored 12 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for his own double-double, but he turned the ball over seven times and did a lot of his damage late in the game with Cauley-Stein on the bench.
The backcourt is back
De'Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield had a night to forget in Phoenix. The Kings' starting backcourt combined for 13 of the team's 26 turnovers in the loss to the Suns.
The duo got a little redemption against the Pistons. Fox scored 12 points, dished out six assists and grabbed five rebounds, and Hield knocked down 8 of 13 from the field to lead the Kings with 18 points.
Giles shows up
Harry Giles continues to shows flashes of brilliance for Sacramento. Undersized but not overmatched against Drummond, the rookie out of Duke went to work. He battled in the post, set monster screens to free his guards and used his passing skills to get his teammates easy looks.
Despite the size disadvantage, Giles managed to post 14 points, four rebounds, three assists, three blocks and two steals in the win.