Instant Replay: Kings Crush Maccabi Haifa in First Game at Golden 1 Center

SACRAMENTO -- Monday night’s game marked the first official game at the Kings’ new building, although the opponent wasn’t exactly NBA quality. With the delta breeze flowing in through the giant retractable windows of the Golden 1 Center, the Sacramento Kings blew away Maccabi Haifa by a final of 135-96.

Ty Lawson picked up his second straight start and ran circles around the Green’s backcourt. The 28-year-old point guard finished the night with 13 points, seven rebounds, eight assists and three steals in 18 minutes. He looked extremely comfortable with his former Denver Nuggets teammate Arron Afflalo, who dropped in eight points in 13 minutes.

Very few NBA teams can slow DeMarcus Cousins. Maccabi Haifa started the game with former Detroit Pistons big man Tony Mitchell matches up against the Sacramento big and he picked up four early fouls. Cousins struggled with foul trouble as well, but still managed to score 14 points and grab four rebounds in 17 first half minutes.

Ben McLemore had his best game of the preseason, scoring 18 points off the Kings bench on 7-of-13 shooting. Anthony Tolliver added 14 on a perfect 3-of-3 shooting from deep and Darren Collison and Rudy Gay each finished with 11.

Taking full advantage of his late game minutes, rookie Skal Labissiere chipped in 10 points. Malachi Richardson hit for nine points in 12 minutes of action.

Amit Simhon led the way for Maccabi Haifa with 17 points on 6-of-15 shooting. Jerrid Famous posted a 14-point, eight-rebound night and Orlando Mendez-Vladez hit 4-of-8 from long range, finishing the night with 12 points.

STANDOUT PERFORMER -- Lawson showed flashes of his former self for the second straight game. This wasn’t against NBA level talent, but he looks every bit the speed merchant that he was two seasons ago in Denver.

TURNING POINT -- This game was over the moment the schedule came out. It’s nice to play against someone other than your own team, but this was never close.

INJURY UPDATE -- Omri Casspi returned to action after missing Thursday’s game in San Jose with a slight hip strain. Matt Barnes was a healthy scratch after playing big minutes against the Warriors.

WHAT'S NEXT -- The Kings hit the road later this week, traveling to Las Vegas to play the Lakers on Thursday followed by a trip to Kentucky to face John Wall and the Washington Wizards at Rupp Arena.

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