Kings at Magic
DeMarcus Cousins is expected to be back after serving a one-game suspension when the Sacramento Kings visit the Orlando Magic on Saturday. Cousins was hit with the one-game ban for hitting Atlanta’s Al Horford in the head with his forearm on Wednesday.
Cousins was missed in a 116-109 loss at Miami on Thursday that dropped the Kings to 0-2 on their five-game road trip. The mercurial center averaged 30.8 points and 11.2 rebounds in five games after returning from a heel injury and led Sacramento to three straight wins prior to the start of the road trip. Cousins could have plenty of room to operate down low if the Magic continue to play with the type of smaller lineup that saw center Nikola Vucevic on the bench during the second half of Wednesday’s 104-101 overtime victory over Minnesota. “With this group and the way the team is set up right now, I feel that I’m making a mistake if I don’t go searching because we’ve got other people over there (on the bench) who can do positive things in the game,” Orlando coach Scott Skiles told reporters.
TV: 5 p.m. ET, CSN California (Sacramento), FSN Florida (Orlando)
ABOUT THE KINGS (4-9): Rajon Rondo is again looking like the point guard who was an All-Star in Boston before injuries and trades got in the way. The Kentucky product narrowly missed his fifth triple-double in seven games when he collected 14 points, 18 assists and nine rebounds at Miami and has handed out double-digit assists in each of the last seven contests while regularly playing over 40 minutes. “Wins are what it’s about,” Rondo told reporters in reference to his strong play. “You get paid on wins, and in my opinion, we haven’t gotten enough wins.”
ABOUT THE MAGIC (6-6): Orlando has won five of seven games to get back to .500, and Skiles is not afraid to sit anyone if he thinks another player can help get a win. “I’m not really trying to send messages (to Vucevic) or anything,” Skiles told reporters. “I get a fairly sizeable check every two weeks to win the games, and that’s what I’m trying to do.” Vucevic was limited to eight points on 4-of-13 shooting in 18 minutes on Wednesday during a performance Skiles deemed “low energy.”
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Magic took both meetings last season after dropping the previous four.
2. Orlando PG Elfrid Payton is averaging 19 points in the last three games.
3. Sacramento F Rudy Gay (shoulder) left Thursday’s game and is day-to-day.