By George Devine, Sr.

The Kings have now won two games in a row, after a dramatic win in New Orleans, beating the Pelicans by a final score of 114-97.

Rudy Gay, who has been scoring somewhere in the range of 20 points a game, has been ramping it up lately, and on this occasion matched his career high with 41. At halftime he had scored 19, equal to his total output in many a recent game. He was 5 of 8 from 3-point range, and also made a big difference with 8 rebounds and 5 assists. Also scoring high for Sacramento were Isaiah Thomas with 20 points, 4 blocks and 11 assists, and DeMarcus Cousins with 18 points and 11 boards. The Kings outrebounded the Pelicans 46-35 and 10 of those were by Quincy Acy.

Key scorers for New Orleans all came off the bench: Tyreke Davis with 17 and rookie center Jeff Withey with 14, in addition to starters Anthony Davis (165) and Brian Robert (15). 12 of Withey’s points came in the second period, in which the home team led 36-26. However, at halftime the Kings led 64-56 due in large measure to a 38-20 first quarter. The third frame commenced with a 17-4 run by the visitors, resulting in a 27-14 advantage for the period.

The Kings next travel to Houston to take on the Rockets on Wednesday, January 22.