Pelicans 123, Kings 108
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Anthony Davis scored 27 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, Sacramento native Ryan Anderson tallied 21 of his 29 in the second quarter and the New Orleans Pelicans blew out the Sacramento Kings 123-108 on Wednesday at Sleep Train Arena.
Jrue Holiday added 17 points, and Tim Frazier put up 14 points and eight assists in his Pelicans debut in a game in which Sacramento seemed as disinterested as the score indicates.
The Kings (26-41) fell behind by double-digits early in the second quarter and never got within single-digits again. Sacramento lost all four of its contests against New Orleans this season and has dropped six of seven. The Kings are 6-18 since Feb. 1.
Darren Collison scored 23 points, and DeMarcus Cousins added 20 points and 12 rebounds for Sacramento, which has lost six in a row at their soon-to-be-deserted home. James Anderson added a season-high 17 points in a season-best 34 minutes.
Ryan Anderson sat the entire first quarter, then came off the bench to knock down eight of 11 shots for 21 of his team's 41 second-quarter points. His blazing effort actually proved cold compared with the rest of his teammates, all of whom combined to go 7 of 7 from the field as New Orleans (25-42) blew the game open.
For Sacramento, the quarter magnified their defensive problems. They've given up at least 100 points in 23 of their past 24 games and at least 110 in 13 of those. They rank last in the NBA, allowing 109.5 points per game. The 41 the Kings allowed in the second quarter tied their worst defensive quarter of the season.
Overall, New Orleans made 55.7 percent of their shots from the floor, including 12 of 21 from 3-point distance. The Pelicans tallied 26 assists as a team.
Sacramento played without Rajon Rondo, Ben McLemore and Marco Belinelli. James Anderson scored 10 in the opening quarter to the Kings get off to a quick start from the field (15 of 27). But Sacramento cooled considerably in the second quarter, making just 8 of 22, turning over the ball five times and turning a two-point deficit after the opening quarter into a 21-point deficit at halftime.
NOTES: NBA assists leader G Rajon Rondo (turf toe) missed his fourth game of the season but his second in 11 games since Feb. 26. Rondo (11.9 assists per game) has double-digit assists in eight of his past 11 games and in 44 of 57 contests since Nov. 7. ... Pelicans F Ryan Anderson, a legend at Oak Ridge High just outside Sacramento, played his final game at Sleep Train Arena. Anderson averaged 13.0 points a game in his first eight contests inside the building. ... G Darren Collision, replaced Rondo and became the eighth Kings player to start at least 10 games this season. Twelve of the 14 players on coach George Karl's roster have started at least one contest. ... The Pelicans signed former Portland Trail Blazers guard Tim Frazier and added him to the roster. ... New Orleans has allowed more than 100 points in seven straight games and 14 of 15, while the Kings snapped a 22-game streak of allowing at least 100 in Tuesday's win at the Los Angeles Lakers.