Kings 120, Wizards 111
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- DeMarcus Cousins scored 29 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and the Sacramento Kings reached a small milestone in a 120-111 victory over the Washington Wizards at Sleep Train Arena on Wednesday.
The Kings reached the 30-victory plateau for the first time since winning 38 in 2007-08. Sacramento, which trails the Houston Rockets by seven games for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference, will miss the playoffs for the 10th straight season, but it has won six straight at home against Washington.
Cousins fell one point short of his 26th 30-point contest and has gone five straight games without reaching the figure. He needs to score 30 one more time in Sacramento's final seven games to match Mitch Richmond's single-season mark of 26 for the Kings. Richmond set the mark during the 1996-97 season.
Guard Rajon Rondo scored 15 points and added 11 assists. Rondo reached at least 10 assists for the 49th time this season, an ongoing single-season record for the Kings. He also recorded four of Sacramento's 12 steals.
Both Rondo and Cousins received technical fouls in the game's final seconds, with Rondo earning an ejection by picking up two. Cousins' technical foul was his 16th, the threshold for a one-game suspension. The NBA will review the technical foul to make sure it holds up before the suspension is enforced.
Bradley Beal scored 24 points and Otto Porter Jr. added 20 for the Wizards (36-39), who haven't won in Sacramento since Jan. 21, 2009. The Wizards fell four games behind in the loss column to eighth-place Indiana in the race for the Eastern Conference's final playoff spot. They also trail the ninth-place Bulls by two games in the loss column.
Guard John Wall posted 14 points and 13 assists, his 10th double-double in his past 11 games for Washington. But teammate Marcin Gortat, who dominated Cousins and the Kings with 27 points and 16 rebounds in a 113-99 home win on Dec. 21, finished with just six points on just 2-for-9 shooting to go with 12 rebounds.
Cousins made 11 of 18 shots in his rematch with Gortat, who held him to 22 points on 8-for-22 shooting in the first contest. Cousins established early that the rematch would be different, making five of seven shots and scoring 11 points in the opening period.
Omri Casspi scored 15 points, Kosta Koufos tallied 12, and Collison had 13 off the bench for the Kings. Sacramento's reserves outscored Washington's 49-34.
Nene Hilario finished with 15 points, and Garrett Temple scored 11 for Washington.
NOTES: Kings general manager Vlade Divac signed a multi-year contract on Wednesday. Divac has been an executive with the team since Aug. 31, 2015, and the Kings made the playoffs in all six seasons he played with them (1998-2004). The Kings did not announce how long the contract was for. "My commitment to Sacramento goes back to my playing days here," he said. "I'm grateful and happy to be part of a process of creating a winning franchise." ... The game's starting point guards -- Kings G Rajon Rondo (14 games), and Wizards G John Wall (10) -- were responsible for the two longest 10-plus assist streaks this season. Wall also is second among all NBA guards with 46 double-doubles, and he and teammate Marcin Gorat have combined for 84, the most among teammates this season. ... Kings coach George Karl said he may hold out starters such as C DeMarcus Cousins, F Rudy Gay and G Rajon Rondo again before the season is over. All three were back in the lineup after sitting out Monday's contest at Portland. ... Washington has two more games left on a season-high five-game road trip, and played the first of four remaining games against teams that are out of the playoff race.