NEW ORLEANS – DeMarcus Cousins had a first half that pretty much summed up the Kings'.
His shots weren't falling. He was being knocked down. He was frustrated.
That usually has meant a loss for the Kings, but for the third game in a row, they figured out how to win.
The Kings fell behind the injury-depleted New Orleans Hornets by 18 points in the second quarter, but Cousins led them back in the second half for a 100-92 victory Monday night at New Orleans Arena.
The three-game winning streak is the longest of the season for the Kings (9-15) and comes after a season-high five-game losing streak.
Cousins finished with 28 points, a season high, and 19 rebounds. He also tied his season high with three blocks.
Cousins picked up a technical foul in the second quarter after complaining to an official about the lack of fouls being called. But in the second half, Cousins was composed and dominant, contributing 18 points and 14 rebounds.
"It's happened to me before," Cousins said of the physical play. "I complained, it didn't help, and I basically ignored it and kept playing."
Kings coach Keith Smart conceded Cousins was being "hammered a little bit" under the basket, but he said he didn't want to overreact, and he let Cousins deal with it.
"What was good during that time was he didn't explode," Smart said. "That's growth. He stayed under control and went down the floor playing basketball and probably said something to the official that he probably shouldn't have said. Nevertheless, I was happy he never said it within the flow of the basketball game, and that was growth right there."
The Hornets (4-21), who have lost six in a row and sit in last place in the Western Conference, controlled the first half despite the absence of five injured players.
Cousins missed seven of his first 11 shots as the Kings shot 32.5 percent (13 of 40) in the first half and trailed 52-39 at halftime.
"I was also struggling on offense, so that kind of had me frustrated," Cousins said. "I just kept my head in the game. My nonsense didn't matter; the team did. That's basically how I thought."
Cousins made 7 of 9 shots in the second half and scored 12 third-quarter points to keep the Kings close.
In the second half, the Kings shot 63.2 percent (24 of 38) and held New Orleans to 35.9 percent. In the fourth quarter, the Hornets made only 6 of 23 shots and were outscored 31-14.
"Our effort was terrible in the first half," Cousins said. "We had to come out with great energy, and that's what we did, and we came out with a big win."
The Kings opened the fourth quarter with a 12-2 run fueled by Tyreke Evans' nine points.
Rookie guard Isaiah Thomas came off the bench to score 14 of his 17 points in the second half. Thomas also led the Kings in assists with six and grabbed a season-high five rebounds.
Thomas scored eight points in the fourth, including a 31-foot three-pointer that gave the Kings a 94-88 lead with 2:15 to play. Thomas recovered a loose ball to prevent a turnover as the shot clock was close to expiring.
"We fought hard and stayed together," Thomas said. "That's one thing we're getting better at and not getting on each other and not giving up."
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