Hornets 129, Kings 128 (2 OT)
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Guard Troy Daniels canned his eighth 3-pointer of the game with nine seconds remaining in the second overtime, capping a career night for him and lifting the Charlotte Hornets to a 129-128 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Monday at Sleep Train Arena.
Daniels, a third-year pro out of Virginia Tech, finished with a career-high 28 points, and the Hornets overcame a career-high 56 points from Kings center DeMarcus Cousins to win their third straight. Daniels canned eight of 11 3-point tries, and Charlotte (22-23) made 15 of their 20 in the second half to prevail.
Guard Darren Collision's turnaround jumper from the top right corner of the key at the final buzzer went in and out, ending Sacramento's season-high, five-game winning streak and preventing the Kings from posting their first six-game run since January 2005. The loss also marked Sacramento's second in overtime to Charlotte this season.
Cousins, two nights after scoring a career-high 48 points in a victory over the Indiana Pacers, made 21 of 30 shots and topped the 40-point mark for the third time this season. He also scored at least 30 points for the eighth time in his past 11 games and recorded his 11th straight double-double, a stretch in which he is averaging 37.1 points and 14.0 rebounds per game.
He also pulled down 12 rebounds and scored all nine of the Kings' points in the first overtime before fouling out on a questionable call while putting back a rebound with 3:29 left in the second overtime.
Cousins knocked down two free throws with 25 seconds left in the first overtime to forge a 124-124 tie, and Sacramento rookie center Willie Cauley-Stein kept it there by blocking guard Kemba Walker's driving layup with 1.6 seconds left.
Cousins' two free throws put Sacramento ahead 116-115 with 5.1 seconds left in regulation. However, Cauley-Stein subsequently fouled Walker on a drive to the basket, and Walker made one of two free throws to force overtime.
Kings guard Rajon Rondo failed to record his third consecutive triple-double, but his 20 assists gave him 12 straight games with at least 10, an ongoing Sacramento record. Rondo also recorded his 30th game with at least 10 assists this season, tying him with Reggie Theus' 1986-87 team mark for the second most in one season.
Rondo added 10 rebounds and seven points.
Walker scored 24 points for Charlotte, which overcame atrocious first-half shooting. Hornets guard Jeremy Lin finished with 20 points and 11 assists.
Kings forward Rudy Gay scored 20 points before leaving because of a scratch on his left eye in the second overtime. His status for Sacramento's game Tuesday at Portland is questionable.
The Hornets missed 13 consecutive shots and made just one field goal over the final 10 minutes of the first quarter, and the Kings outscored them 29-9 to take a 31-16 lead into the second quarter.
NOTES: Kings C DeMarcus Cousins and Hornets G Kemba Walker were selected the players of the week for their respective conferences. Cousins averaged 36 points and 14.7 rebounds in three Sacramento victories, the best three-game stretch for the franchise since Oscar Robertson averaged 36.3 points and 14.7 rebounds with the Cincinnati Royals in 1961-62. Walker averaged 34.8 points, six assists and six rebounds over four games. ... The Hornets played without F/G Nicolas Batum (toe) and C Cody Zeller (strained right shoulder), each of whom have missed three straight contests. Batum may return for Wednesday's contest at Utah, but Zeller is not expected to return until early February. ... Cousins played his 26th consecutive game, his longest stretch of being on the floor since the 2012-2013 season. He played in only 54 of Sacramento's previous 82 contests before the streak.