Wizards at Kings
The Sacramento Kings and Washington Wizards meet twice a year and this season they collide only eight days apart, with the second meeting scheduled for Sunday in Sacramento. The Wizards beat the visiting Kings on March 14 as John Wall tied his season high with 31 points and distributed 12 assists in the 113-97 victory. The Wizards enter a game behind the Chicago Bulls and Toronto Raptors for third in the East and within striking distance of the second-place Cleveland Cavaliers and third-place Chicago Bulls.
The Kings have been playing spoiler lately, beating the Charlotte Hornets on Friday night for the second time in nine days, but losing to everyone else in that span, including the Wizards. DeMarcus Cousins, the leading scorer and rebounder for Sacramento who scored 30 points against the Wizards last week, has missed the last two games with a right calf strain. If he’s out again, expect a big game from Washington center Marcin Gortat, who scored 13 points against the Kings in their most recent meeting.
TV: 6 p.m. ET, CSN (Washington), CSN-CA (Sacramento)
ABOUT THE WIZARDS (40-29): Washington got beat by the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night to end a five-game winning streak. Paul Pierce will be looking for a bounce-back game after scoring six points on 2-for-11 shooting, missing eight in a row at one stretch. Wizards starting power forward Nene missed the last game against Sacramento for personal reasons but he’s back and averaging 11.3 points in the three games since his return.
ABOUT THE KINGS (23-45): Rudy Gay has stepped up his offense even further in the absence of Cousins, scoring 56 points in the last two games to up his scoring average to 25.4 points in 10 games this month. Gay also missed the last meeting against Washington with a knee injury, so the Wizards are catching breaks with the Kings not at full strength. Omri Casspi has filled in as the starting center the last two games, totaling 15 points and 11 rebounds in those games.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Wizards have their best record through 69 games since 1978-79.
2. Washington is 20-1 on the season when making at least half its shots.
3. The Kings have scored at least 100 points in eight of the last nine games.