SACRAMENTO -- The Boston Celtics rolled into Sacramento expecting a short-handed Kings team to roll over. With DeMarcus Cousins watching the game from home while on suspension and more than half their team on the injured list, the Kings gave their fans a gritty performance, coming away with a the huge 108-92 win.
Already depleted at most positions, the Kings lost Ty Lawson in the early second quarter with a left hamstring strain, leaving Darren Collison to carry even more of the load. Sacramento's third leading scorer on the season attacked the Celtics backcourt, scoring 26 points on 11-for-21 shooting. He added five assists and grabbed four steals while playing 37 minutes of action.
Ben McLemore looked confident. The fourth-year guard caught fire in the second quarter, scoring 10 of his 17 points in the period. He started the second half for Lawson and put on an aerial show coming out of the break.
Matt Barnes got hit from 3-point range, knocking down 3-of-6 from deep on his way to 14 points and 11 rebounds. Willie Cauley-Stein stuffed the stat sheet with 14 points, five rebounds and four assists and Anthony Tolliver chipped in 11 points in the win.
Welcome back to Sacramento Isaiah Thomas. The former Sacramento Kings second round pick didn't score 40 or 50 like many predicted, but still managed to drop in a team-high 26 points and hand out seven assists. The Kings made him work for his shot all night long.
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The Kings were a step slow on their rotations and Amir Johnson made them pay. The veteran big man dropped in 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting, including 2-for-2 from long range.
Al Horford went for 10 points and six rebounds and Marcus Smart added 10 points off Brad Stevens' bench.
STANDOUT PERFORMER
All of the talk coming into the game focused on Thomas, but it was Collison and McLemore who put on a show. The two guards combined to 43 points for Sacramento in one of their bigger upsets of the season.
TURNING POINT
Sacramento hit the Celtics with a 12-0 run in the mid fourth quarter to open up a big lead on Boston. The Celtics didn't know what hit them as the Kings pulled off the shocker.
INJURY UPDATE
Ty Lawson strained his left hamstring in the second quarter and did not return. Garrett Temple is out until after the All-Star break with a torn left hamstring. Omri Casspi missed his 13th straight contest with a right plantaris tendon strain, but he is holding out hope that he may return before the All-Star break. Rudy Gay is out for the season with a torn left Achilles.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Kings return to Golden 1 Center Friday when they host the Atlanta Hawks for game five of their six-game homestand.
