By Charlie O. Mallonee

Sacramento – The Sacramento Kings won their second consecutive game squeaking by the Brooklyn Nets 111-109 on Friday night. It was a game that literally hung in the balance with 1.1 seconds remaining in the game as the Nets in-bounded the ball in the front court down by just two points. Rajon Rondo was able to steal the in-bounds pass and run out the clock for the Kings.

The Kings suffered from poor shooting and lackadaisical defense in the first half. Sacramento shot just 23.3-percent from the floor in the first quarter and just 35.3-percent for the first half. They allowed the Nets to shoot 51.1-percent from the field and score 60 points in the half. Brooklyn led by as many as 15 points while the Kings never had the lead.

The Kings used back-to-back-to-back 3-point baskets to close within six points, 60-54 after 24 minutes of play.

Sacramento came out in the third period unable to pick up where they had left off in the first half. They fell behind by as many as nine points and it appeared that overcoming the Nets might not be possible on this night. DeMarcus Cousins thought differently. The Kings big man, who been shooting poorly all game, shot 8-for-11 including two 3-pointers and three free throws to score 21 points in the quarter. Sacramento took its first lead of the game with 2:17 to play in the third. The Kings took an 85-82 lead to the final period.

The Kings built up a lead of as many as nine points in the fourth quarter on the offense provided by Cousins, Rondo, Belinelli and McLemore. Brooklyn rode the 10-point scoring barrage of Joe Johnson to keep the game close and the result in question right down to the final buzzer.

The Kings (3-7) defeated the Nets (1-8) 111-109.

Kings

DeMarcus Cousins was leading scorer putting up 40 points. He also added 13 rebounds to make it a double-double game. Cousins had a remarkable game considering he shot 1-for-10 from the floor and scored just 10 points in the first half. He did foul out of the game with 43.6-seconds to play.

Even though he was not the Kings leading scorer, Rajon Rondo was the Kings’ star of the game. The point guard recorded his third triple-double of the season scoring 23 points, dishing out 14 assists and pulling down 10 rebounds. There were several times in the first half when Rondo was the only offense the Kings had on the floor. Had it not been for Rondo’s extraordinary efforts in the first half, the Kings would not have been in the position to win the game at the end.

Ben McLemore had a coming out party versus the Nets. He came off the bench in the second quarter and played 24:57 in the game. McLemore scored 15 points shooting 5-for-8 from the floor and hitting on 3 of 4 3-point opportunities. It was without a doubt McLemore’s best game of the young season.

Marco Belinelli had another strong game for Sacramento. He made good on 5 of 14 field goal attempts and made two, well timed 3-point baskets. Belinelli finished with 14 points.

The Kings had to play this game without Rudy Gay – who had his best game of the season on Wednesday – because of the stomach flu. George Karl was quick to point out the energy that was brought to the game by Ben McLemore and Quincy Acy as key to helping the team play and win without Gay.

Seth Curry did play in the game after missing the previous two contests with a sprained ankle. He handled the point guard position for just over four minutes giving Rondo some much needed rest. Curry did not.

Darren Collison (left hamstring strain) did not dress.

The Kings shot 42.6-percent (40-for-94) from the floor. They connected on 11 of 27 3-point attempts (40.7-percent). Sacramento went 20-for-26 from the free throw line.

Sacramento out-rebounded the Nets 50-44. They turned the ball over 14 times yielding 19 points off those mistakes. They recorded 11 steals and three blocked shots.

The Kings allowed Brooklyn to shoot 47.2-percent (42-for-89) from the field and 38.1-percent (8-for-21) from 3-point range.

Nets

Brooklyn had a balanced attack versus Sacramento as four of their five starters finished in double figures. Jarrett Jack led the Nets scoring with 21 points. Jack made it a double-double game as he handed out 12 assists.

Brook Lopez – who battled Cousins all night long – also recorded a double-double scoring 17 points and pulling down 10 rebounds.

Thaddeus Young posted 16 points and Joe Johnson added 14 points of his own. Bojan Bogdanovic scored 15 points off the bench.

The Nets recorded 24 assists and 15 turnovers. The Kings scored 16 points off those turnovers.

What they said after the game

“Thank you to Quincy Acy and Ben McLemore, (who) brought the energy to the table (that was) well needed in our pick and roll defense in the second half. Cuz (DeMarcus Cousins) was unbelievable offensively and it’s a great win, (a) good win for us,” said Kings head coach George Karl after the game.

DeMarcus Cousins commented on his third quarter turnaround, “Caron (Butler) talked to me. Told me to stay aggressive and shots were going to fall. That’s what I did and luckily they fell.”

“Had a good first half, made some runs in the second,” said Nets center Brook Lopez. “Cousins played well. Great job in the second half and he got off. That’s why I think that definitely cost us.”

“It’s tough,” added Brooklyn guard Jarrett Jack. “I thought it was a game that we had control of for the majority (of the game). We weren’t able to stop the runs that they made in the second half.”

Up next

The Kings return to action on Sunday night when they host the Atlantic Division leading Toronto Raptors. The Toronto game will be the last home game for the Kings until November 27.

The Nets return to Brooklyn where they will host the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday.