by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings snapped a five game losing streak and gave Tyrone Corbin his first win as Kings Head Coach by beating the Los Angeles Lakers 108-101 at home on Sunday.

The Kings used a 15-0 run in the third quarter and a strong defensive effort in the second half to come away with the victory.

“(It was) our defense. We did a great job paying attention to details of our game plan in the second half. As a result, they had 20 points and 21 points in that second half,” said Kings Head Coach Tyrone Corbin.

The Lakers shot just 27.3-percent (6 for 22) in final period. Kobe Bryant was just 1 for 7 from the field the fourth.

The Lakers opened up a five point lead in final quarter after the period started with some sloppy play from both sides. The Kings took the lead with 5:34 to go on a Cousins’ tip shot and Sacramento never trailed again. Ben McLemore hit a 23-foot 3-Pointer and followed that up a driving layup that was set up off a blocked shot by Rudy Gay.

A Cousins’ dunk shot with 1:19 to go put the final nail in the Lakers’ coffin.

“The guys are coming together. I can’t say enough about how I respect their effort. After all we’ve been through in the last week and a half here, just coming out and competing tonight,” added Corbin.

The Kings were led by DeMarcus Cousins’ 29 points and 14 rebounds. Rudy Gay scored 24 points and had six assists while Ben McLemore added 23. Darren Collison had a 19 point night.

The Kings shot 48.1-percent (38 for 79) from the field and were 7 for 23 (30.4-percent) from 3-Point range.

The Lakers scoring was led by Nick Young’s 26 points off the bench. Young was 4 for 9 from beyond the 3-Point arc. Kobe Bryant had a 25 point game but shot just 8 for 30 from the field.

As a team the Lakers had just a 37.9-field goal percentage (33 for 87).

The Lakers out rebounded the Kings 47-44.

Sacramento scored 23 points off fast breaks to just 9 for the Lakers.

The Kings took the lead in the game and never relinquished that lead in the first quarter. Sacramento led by as many as 10 points. The Kings shot 54.5-percent (12 for 22) from the field with two 3-point baskets in the period. Darren Collison led the Kings with eight points while Cousins scored six for Sacramento. Kobe Bryant was 2 for 7 in the opening quarter. The Kings led the Lakers 26-23 after one.

The second quarter belonged to the Lakers. Los Angeles took their first lead of the game on a Carlos Boozer layup at the 8:33 mark. The Lakers outscored the Kings 37-26 in the second period. They hit on 5 of 7 3-Point shots to open up their lead. Nick Young scored eight points to lead the Lakers. DeMarcus Cousins scored nine points for the Kings. At halftime, the Lakers led the Kings 60-52.

Game notes:  The rumored trade between the Kings and the Nets appears to have “legs”. Deron Williams would come to Sacramento along with another player in exchange for Darren Collison, Jason Thompson and Derrick Williams. The Kings want the second player from Brooklyn to be center/forward Mason Plumlee. The Nets are balking at giving up the young Plumlee who they see as a star of the future … 5 of the Kings next 7 games are on the road … Sacramento travels to the Bay Area to take on the Warriors on Monday night … the Kings have a back-to-back games at home – on Friday they host the Suns and on Saturday the Knicks will be in Sacramento … the Kings will end the year and start the new year on the road in Brooklyn, Boston, Minnesota and Detroit.