In end, Kings win it as a team

Before the Kings took the floor for overtime, DeMarcus Cousins gathered his teammates to deliver a message.

This wasn't going to be a game won by one player. The team had to win the game.

Sure enough, all five players on the floor had their moments in overtime as the Kings won 114-106 over the Warriors on Saturday night at Power Balance Pavilion.

It was a situation ripe for finger pointing after Sacramento blew an 87-76 lead after three quarters. The Kings, however, did as Cousins suggested and won their second consecutive game.

"Usually when we get in situations like that in the past, we have the tendency to try do it one-on-one or do it by ourselves," Cousins said. "I made it clear: 'We're not going to win this game playing one-on-one. We've got to play together.' "

The Kings opened overtime on a 9-0 run that began when John Salmons made a three-pointer, which helped the Kings avoid being done in by Golden State's bench.

"This team has shown the ability from Day One to get back in games – especially at home," said Kings coach Keith Smart. " … Somehow guys make some shots, make plays, rebound, come up with steals."

The Kings seem to have figured out how to deal with the Warriors' marquee players. Monta Ellis, Stephen Curry and David Lee combined to shoot 16 of 44.

The Warriors' reserves led Golden State to a comeback win over the Kings last Tuesday in Oakland. Nate Robinson, Brandon Rush, Ekpe Udoh, Dominic McGuire and Klay Thompson nearly pulled off the same feat again, outscoring the Kings 26-15 in the fourth quarter.

Thompson's three-pointer tied the score 102-102 with nine seconds to play in regulation to force overtime. Thompson and Robinson each scored 12 points in the fourth quarter.

The Kings had a chance to win in regulation, but Tyreke Evans was unable to create anything off the dribble and settled for jumper over McGuire that was off.

Marcus Thornton appeared to give the Kings enough momentum to carry them past the Warriors with a hot-shooting third quarter. Thornton scored 18 of his 28 points in the third.

"In the first half, I was mad at myself because I had a lot of open shots, but they wouldn't go in," Thornton said. "So at halftime, I made sure I was the first one out there putting up shots, and my teammates, they encouraged me that third quarter, and shots started going down."

But led by Robinson, the Warriors (8-13) chipped away and led 99-97 with 2:03 to play in the fourth.

The Kings tied the score on a Cousins putback with 1:01 left in regulation. Evans made two free throws to give the Kings a 102-99 lead with 15.2 seconds left.

The Kings (8-15) scored at least 100 points for just the third time this season. The last time they had scored 100 was Jan. 5 against Milwaukee. The 14-game streak under 100 points was the longest in the Sacramento era.

Cousins finished with 21 points and a career-high 20 rebounds. Evans finished with 26 points and nine assists. Jason Thompson had 15 points and 16 rebounds.

The Warriors began overtime without Robinson, who was taken to the locker room to be examined.

Dorell Wright led Golden State with 24 points.

• Read more articles by Jason Jones

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