By Shawn Whelchel

The Sacramento Kings continued their dominant play against Western division opponents as they fought to a 110-105 victory over the Denver Nuggets Monday night.

In a tightly contested and physical matchup, the Kings came up with clutch baskets late in the fourth quarter to sink the Nuggets for their second straight road victory in as many day. Darren Collison led the attack for Sacramento, scoring 21 points while adding four rebounds and six assists to his line. Collison was sent to the line twice in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, sinking three of four to prevent any late comeback by Denver.

Sacramento worked through poor shooting in the first quarter to finish the game shooting a respectable 42-percent from the field on the night. The Kings were also aided by the sloppy play of Denver, who committed 35 fouls while giving up 40-points to Sacramento from the line.

Despite the freebies, the game remained tied with just 3:18 left in regulation. But a driving layup by Ray McCallum gave Sacramento the advantage, and they wouldn’t relinquish their position.  The Nuggets refused to go quietly however, pulling to within just two points of Sacramento with 25-seconds left on the clock, but clutch free throws from Rudy Gay and Collison played spoiler to any comeback plans from Denver.

The win secured the Kings third straight victory over a tough Western division opponent, advancing their record to 3-1 on the year, their best start to a regular season since the 2010-11 season. While their record is impressive, so is the quality of opponent that they have downed over their three-game span, defeating heavyweights such as the Portland Trailblazers and Los Angeles Clippers in the process.

The Nuggets will get a chance to exact their revenge on Wednesday though, as the teams square off for their second straight game in Sacramento, with tip off at 7:00 p.m.