Kings at Lakers
The Sacramento Kings are one of several teams eyeing the final Western Conference playoff spot but they are having trouble keeping All-Star big man DeMarcus Cousins on the floor. Cousins is one technical foul away from serving his second suspension this month as the Kings visit the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday.
Cousins picked up technical foul No. 17 -- the most in the NBA -- during Sunday's 105-99 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans and is frustrated that he is closing in on another suspension. "It's obvious I can't be myself," Cousins said after Sunday's game. "Me playing how I play is what makes me the player that I am. Obviously it's not acceptable, so I'm trying to find a way to, you know, do what these guys are asking me to do. It's not easy, but I'm trying to find a way." The Lakers won two of their past three games and averaged 121.5 points in the victories over the New York Knicks and Milwaukee Bucks. Backup shooting Lou Williams scored 20 or more points in nine of the past 12 games and is averaging 21.7 points during the span.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, NBATV, CSN California (Sacramento), Spectrum SportsNet (Los Angeles)
ABOUT THE KINGS (23-32): Sacramento coach Dave Joerger has to walk a fine line with Cousins and continues to look for ways to help the face of the franchise get a handle on his emotions. "We want him to be competitive, but how you have to work through that mentally, it's just a work in progress," Joerger told reporters. "It's tough on him, and I think it was tough for him to handle the other night (when he was suspended) because he's an emotional guy, and he plays passionate, emotional basketball. So there's some things that we can improve, and it does take time." The Kings have won three straight games with point guard Darren Collison being a force as he scored at least 20 points in each game and is averaging 22.7 during the stretch.
ABOUT THE LAKERS (19-37): Los Angeles averages 104.7 points per game but the first-quarter output (47) in Friday's 122-114 road victory over the Milwaukee Bucks tied for the most points scored in any quarter of this NBA season. Coach Luke Walton summed up the showing by saying "we were attacking, we weren't settling" while shooting guard Nick Young was efficient with 26 points on just 11 shots (eight makes) and connected on five 3-pointers. Second-year point guard D'Angelo Russell made four 3-pointers as part of a 14-point performance as he bounced back from two porous efforts in which he averaged three points.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Kings have won eight of the past nine after the teams split two meetings earlier this season.
2. Los Angeles SF Luol Deng, who recently lost his starting spot to rookie Brandon Ingram, is averaging 3.3 points on 3-of-19 shooting over the last four games.
3. Sacramento PG Ty Lawson (hamstring) missed the past two games and is day-to-day.