Punchless Sacramento Kings Fall To Detroit Pistons Despite Record-Setting Fans
By Phil Watson
Nov 15, 2013; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins (15) attempts to block a shot by Detroit Pistons shooting guard Rodney Stuckey (3) during the second quarter at Sleep Train Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports
The fans at Sleep Train Arena were in good form Friday night. The Sacramento Kings? Not so much.
DeMarcus Cousins had 26 points, 13 rebounds and three blocked shots and Isaiah Thomas continued to excel off the bench, but the Kings had no answer for the frontcourt duo of Josh Smith and Andre Drummond in a 97-90 loss to the Detroit Pistons.
It was the sixth loss in seven games for the Kings, who snapped a five-game losing streak with a blowout win over the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday. Detroit snapped a four-game losing streak with the victory.
Smith scored 21 points to go with eight rebounds, seven assists, five steals and four blocked shots in his best game as a Piston and Drummond had 15 points and tied a career high with 18 rebounds as he and Cousins staged an epic battle in the post.
Thomas, meanwhile, continued his strong play off Sacramento’s bench with 18 points and seven assists in 31 minutes.
But the Kings turned the ball over 17 times—eight by starting point guard Greivis Vasquez, who did manage to score 13 points and dish six assists—and Detroit hammered away inside for a 46-34 advantage in points in the paint.
Rodney Stuckey added 16 points off the bench for the Pistons and Kyle Singler had 11. Brandon Jennings added 11 points and a game-high nine assists.
The Pistons broke out quickly, taking an early 10-2 lead, and led 27-21 at the quarter break.
The Kings came back to tie it on Ben McLemore’s 19-foot jumper early in the second quarter and took their first lead of the game with 4:52 left in the half on a Cousins jumper.
The Pistons responded, though, with a 9-1 run to reclaim the lead. Thomas’ 3-pointer with 1:19 left gave the Kings a 51-50 lead. Free throws put Detroit back on top before rookie Luigi Datome buried a 22-footer with two seconds left in the half to put the Pistons on top by three.
The teams played mostly back-and-forth in the third period before Vasquez gave Sacramento a 64-62 lead with a 3-pointer from above the break. A Cousins dunk put the Kings up two once more, but Detroit responded with seven straight points and closed the quarter on a 16-4 run to take an 80-70 lead into the closing 12 minutes.
The Pistons took their largest lead of the night on Jennings’ layup with 2:28 left, going up 97-84, before Sacramento scored the final six points to close the gap.
The fans got into the action Friday night, as the folks from the Guinness Book of World Records were on hand to record an attempt at the loudest crowd roar in an indoor arena.
The fans didn’t just break the old record—they shattered it, reaching an ear-splitting 126 decibels between the third and fourth quarters. The previous mark of 106.6 decibels was set by fans of the Milwaukee Bucks in December 2008.
Now if the fans just had something on the floor to yell about.
The Kings are now just 2-4 at home in the early going, but get another chance on their home floor when the Memphis Grizzlies come in Sunday afternoon for a 3 p.m. Pacific tipoff.