Kings 122, Nuggets 102
Tyreke Evans led the way with 27 points and 12 assists and DeMarcus Cousins added 20 points as the Sacramento Kings dominated the Denver Nuggets 122-102 on Thursday.
Beno Udrih finished with 17 points and Carl Landry chipped in 14 off the bench for the Kings, who shot 56 percent from the floor and forced 22 turnovers.
Sacramento made its move with a 40-point second quarter, getting 12 points from Evans and seven from Cousins to take a 69-55 lead into the break. The Nuggets crept back into the game in the third, using an 18-4 run to tie it at 79-79 on Carmelo Anthony’s jumper with 3:36 left in the frame.
But the Kings did not fold, ending the third with a 12-2 burst to go into the final frame up 91-81. They continued that spurt through the break, ripping off the first 11 points of the fourth to open up a 21-point gap and put the game away.
Anthony finished with 26 points and Nene had 17 and eight rebounds for the Nuggets, who have dropped back-to-back games to Sacramento and the Los Angeles Clippers.