by Charlie O. Mallonee

Sacramento – The Sacramento Kings won their third game in row defeating the Toronto Raptors 107-101 on Sunday night.

The Kings trailed the Raptors by 10 points early in the fourth quarter. Sacramento battled back using a bruising defense and opportunistic scoring to tie the game. The Kings went on a 11-0 run holding the Raptors scoreless in the final  2-minutes and 52-seconds.

The game featured an uptempo style with quick passes, scoring down low and from beyond the 3-point arc and 34 turnovers. It was old school NBA basketball.

Toronto came into the game leading the Atlantic Division with a 7-2 record. The Raptors had a two game winning stopped on Sunday night.

The win capped off a chaotic week for the Kings (4-7) that included a loss to San Antonio, a tirade by DeMarcus Cousins, a team meeting and wins over Detroit, Brooklyn and Toronto.

Kings

DeMarcus Cousins was the leading scorer in the game with 36-points. Cousins recorded another double-double game adding in 10-rebounds. The Kings center also had three assists, three blocked shots and one steal.

Rudy Gay – who returned after missing the Nets game with the flu – made his presence known putting up 27-points in 37-plus minutes of playing time. Gay shot 10-for-16 from the floor.

Rajon Rondo did not have a triple-double, but he did dish out 14-assists. That is his fourth game consecutive game with 10-plus assists. Rondo also scored seven points and had seven rebounds.

Omri Casspi had another strong night coming off the bench. Casspi scored 14-points and grabbed five rebounds for the Kings.

Ben McLemore – who returned as a starter – put up eight points shooting 3-for-6 from the field. Two of his buckets were 3-pointers.

Marco Belinelli had a very quiet game until the fourth quarter. Belinelli scored seven points that helped the Kings get the win.

Sacramento shot 51.3-percent from the floor. They shot 40-percent from beyond the 3-point arc connecting on 10 of 25 shots.

The big negative for Sacramento was their turnovers. The Kings turned the ball over 20 times and those mistakes allowed the Raptors to score 20-points.

Raptors

DeMar DeRozan was the leading scorer for Toronto. The guard put up 24-points while recording 5-steals and dealing 5-assists.

Kyle Lowry had a 22-point night. Lowry went 6-for-12 from 3-point land. He also had 7-assists.

Cory Joseph came off the bench and recorded 17-points. Joseph shot 8-for-10 from the floor.

Toronto relied heavily on the 3-point basket versus the Kings. The took 31 three point shots converting 15 for a 48.4-percentage.

Up next

The Kings head out on a five game road trip. They return to action on Wednesday night in Atlanta when they will play the Hawks.

The Raptors West Coast swing will continue on Tuesday night when they play the defending NBA Champion Golden State Warriors.