By George Devine, Sr.

With Rudy Gay on the inactive list again, the Kings went to Boston and put up a good fight, but could not last against the Celtics, and lost 99-89. It is particularly disappointing given the relatively even records of the two teams, with the Kings at 17-32 and the Celtics at 17-33 coming into the game.

The ability of Gay to score an average of just over 20 points a game has been a key factor since his joining the Kings this year, and he was certainly missed although his teammates mounted a heroic effort to make up for his absence.

Sacramento actually led at the end of the first period, 29-21, and had a lead early in the third after a 6-0 run in the first two minutes of that quarter, but the home team dominated throughout. Boston was 45.5% from the field, with 40.9% on treys. Sacramento was only 38.6% on field goals, considered a poor percentage on the collegiate level, and 33.3% on the long shots. However, the Kings more than exceeded NBA expectations from the line, shooting 91.7% to Boston’s 66.7%. The inconsistency between field goals and free throws is indicative of a poor shooting effort even with superlative performance on the charity stripe.

DeMarcus Cousins led the visitors’ scoring with 31 points and contributed 16 rebounds, 13 of them on defense. Isaiah Thomas scored 24 points and had 6 assists. Derrick Williams played almost the whole game, 42 minutes and 19 seconds. He had 11 points and his main value was 12 boards, 8 of them on defense.

For the Celtics, Jared Sullinger led with 31 points and 16 rebounds, a dozen of them on defense. Jeff Green poured in 17 points and Jerryd Bayless had 19.

The Kings next play Washington at Verizon Center in the nation’s capital, at 3:00 p.m. PST on Sunday, February 9.