Kings at Nets
Linked in recent trade rumors, Sacramento and Brooklyn are now prepared to meet Monday in New York. Although talks have reportedly cooled, the Kings and Nets recently discussed a deal that involved Brooklyn point guard Deron Williams, who has come off the bench in two games since returning from a calf injury. Williams had seven points while his replacement in the starting lineup, Jarrett Jack, had 22 in a 110-85 loss to Indiana on Saturday, snapping the Nets' three-game winning streak.
Sacramento is beginning a four-game road trip after securing a 135-129 overtime win against New York at home on Saturday. DeMarcus Cousins returned from a one-game absence due to an illness to produce 39 points and 11 rebounds in 32 minutes as the Kings improved to 2-4 under interim head coach Tyrone Corbin. Cousins had 28 points and a season-high 20 rebounds in Sacramento's last trip to Brooklyn in March, which resulted in a 104-89 victory for the Nets, their fifth straight home triumph in the series.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, CSN Bay Area (Sacramento), YES (Brooklyn)
ABOUT THE KINGS (13-17): Sacramento entered Sunday having played more home games (18) than any other Western Conference team and tied with Washington for the NBA lead, but it has dropped its last four road games and has not tasted victory away from home since before Thanksgiving. The forthcoming road-heavy portion of the schedule could signal a slump for streaky scorer Rudy Gay, whose shooting percentage is 64 points less on the road and whose 3-point percentage drops from .438 to .303 when he leaves Sacramento. Gay scored 29 points in the win over the Knicks on Saturday.
ABOUT THE NETS (13-16): Williams and center Brook Lopez, who also recently returned from an injury but has been relegated to a reserve role, figured to fortify Brooklyn's bench while Jack and Mason Plumlee performed well as starters. That was not the case in Saturday's loss, which saw the pair struggle as the Nets' bench posted a brutal 5-for-32 mark from the floor and was outscored by the Pacers' reserves 52-16. Lopez has been particularly sluggish since his return from a back injury three games ago, averaging 4.7 points on 7-of-17 shooting.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Jack is averaging 20.3 points in his four games in the starting lineup.
2. Sacramento continues to lead the NBA by a wide margin in free-throw attempts (31.2 per game) while Brooklyn came into Sunday ranked 21st (22.1).
3. Nets SF Joe Johnson is averaging 13.5 points on 32 percent shooting over his last two games after scoring at least 16 points in six straight.