Kings at Hornets
THE STORY: The Sacramento Kings have a chance to achieve a pair of firsts when they visit the woeful New Orleans Hornets on Monday. The Kings will be seeking their first three-game winning streak of the season and have a chance to register back-to-back games with 100 points for the first time. Modest goals indeed, but Sacramento may never have a better chance than against the injury-riddled Hornets, who have lost five consecutive games and 14 of 15. New Orleans is tied for the second-fewest wins (four) in the league and suffered its 20th defeat Saturday in an 89-87 loss at Detroit. The mounting injury list also isn't helping a roster short on talent. “This is the dog days of the NBA right now,'' Hornets coach Monty Williams said after the Detroit loss. “A lot of players are kind of going through the motions and tired and we certainly looked that way tonight.” Conversely, Sacramento is finally getting healthy and is coming off back-to-back victories over Portland and Golden State.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, CS California (Sacramento), CST (New Orleans)
ABOUT THE KINGS (8-15): Marcus Thornton returned from a four-game absence (thigh contusion) and scored 20 points against the Blazers and 28 against the Warriors. After missing seven of the last 12 games, he reached 20 points for the first time since Jan. 8. DeMarcus Cousins had a huge game against Golden State, scoring 21 points and hauling down a career-high 20 rebounds. It was the first 20-20 game by a Sacramento player in more than two years.
ABOUT THE HORNETS (4-20): The injury list continues to expand for New Orleans. Point guard Jarrett Jack (knee) has missed two games and forwards Jason Smith (possible concussion) and Carl Landry (knee) were hurt against Detroit. Center Chris Kaman, acquired in the Chris Paul trade, is expected to be in uniform Monday. Kaman was inactive while the team sought to trade him, but was back over the weekend. He is averaging 9.2 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 17 games.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. Sacramento has lost five straight and 14 of its last 15 in New Orleans.
2. Because of the injuries, the Hornets are planning to sign former Duke star Lance Thomas to a 10-day contract Monday.