By: Eric He

The Sacramento Kings couldn’t hold a slim fourth quarter lead in a 106-95 loss to the Atlanta Hawks in Atlanta on Monday night to kick off a five-game road trip.

Ahead 81-79 heading into the fourth quarter, the Kings were outscored 27-14 in the final stanza and made just six field goals to fall by double-digits.

Foul trouble cost the Kings, as both DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay sat in the third quarter with five fouls. The Hawks, meanwhile, moved the ball, took the lead and never looked back after Kent Bazemore’s 3-pointer put them ahead 85-83 at the 10:34 mark of the fourth quarter.

With under five minutes to go, Ben McLemore’s layup attempt was blocked by Dwight Howard, and Kyle Korver hit a three on the other end to give the Hawks a 10-point lead.

Gay led the Kings with 22 points and five assists. Cousins added 14 points and 12 rebounds. But the Hawks had much better balance on the scoresheet, with six players finishing in double figures.

The Kings did outscore the Hawks 37-26 in the third quarter to take a lead into the fourth as Matt Barnes came off the bench to score eight points in the third. Sacramento had entered the third down by nine.

Nonetheless, a slow start — 15 points in the first quarter — and a sluggish finish led to the Kings’ demise. Sacramento also committed 19 turnovers, which resulted in 24 points for Atlanta. The Hawks also grabbed 17 offensive rebounds and were dominant in second chance points.

Sacramento falls to 2-2 while Atlanta is 3-0. The Kings are back at it on Tuesday when they take on the Heat in Miami in the second game of a back-to-back.