Gay, Kings outlast Raptors
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Rudy Gay scored 23 points, the final four on a pair of dunks off turnovers, and referees nullified a potential game-tying 3-pointer by Terrence Ross to give the Sacramento Kings a 102-99 win over the Toronto Raptors at Golden 1 Center on Sunday night.
Ross appeared to tie the game with a 30-foot prayer from in front of the Kings' bench with less than one second left. Replays showed that Kings forward DeMarcus Cousins tipped the inbounds pass, but also that Ross' shot fell well before the final horn. The refs, however, ruled that the clock didn't start upon the tip as it should have, so time was up before Ross took the shot.
Gay's second dunk, off a three-on-one break, came after a steal by teammate Darren Collison and followed Collison's three-point break on a layup and foul with 3:14 left that broke a 97-97 tie. Both sequences put Sacramento ahead 102-97, and the Kings (5-9) snapped a four-game losing streak. They also won for the 17th time in 20 home contests against Toronto.
The Raptors (8-5) were playing for the first time inside the Kings' new arena and led 92-89 after scoring eight consecutive points early in the fourth quarter. But Sacramento scored 13 of the next 18.
Jonas Valanciunas and Kyle Lowry each scored 23 points for the Raptors, but Lowry missed the last of three free-throw attempts with 26.2 seconds left to keep Toronto down 102-99. Valanciunas added 14 rebounds.
Sacramento held DeMar DeRozan, the NBA's leading scorer, to a season-worst 12 points. DeRozan's previous low was a 23-point effort against the Kings on Nov. 6.
Cousins finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds for Sacramento and made three of the Kings' season-high 11 3-pointers.
Sacramento coach Dave Joerger shook up his starting lineup, sitting guard Aaron Afflalo and forward Kosta Koufos and starting Matt Barnes and Collison in a bid to go smaller and quicker. Collison finished with 15 points, nine assists and two key steals in 32 minutes, while Barnes added eight points.
Afflalo had 14 points and five rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench, and Koufos grabbed six rebounds to go with his eight points.
Koufos and Garrett Temple also saw key minutes down the stretch, as Joerger stayed small.
Valanciunas, who did not dress in Toronto's 96-91 loss to the Kings on Nov. 6, reached the 20-point plateau for the first time since a season-best 32-point night against Detroit on opening night. He went 9-for-17 from the field and took advantage of Cousins' second-period absence to score 19 in the first half.
Cousins sat for all but 20 seconds in the second frame after picking up his third foul early in the period.
NOTES: Kings coach Dave Joerger trotted out his fourth starting lineup in the Kings' first 14 games. A year ago, under coach George Karl, Sacramento featured 11 starting lineups in its first 14 contests. ... The Raptors play for the seventh time in 11 days and complete their third set of back-to-back contests when they face the Clippers on Monday in Los Angeles. They swept one set at Charlotte and against New York and were swept at Cleveland and at home against Golden State. ... Kings C DeMarcus Cousins played his 429th game, tying him with Duane Causewell for ninth on Sacramento's all-time list. He is 112 shy of all-time leader Jason Thompson. ... The Raptors lead the Atlantic Division despite entering Sunday's contest 24th among the NBA's 30 teams in defensive rebounding and ranking 17th in overall rebounding. ... One difference between the two teams during the first three weeks: Toronto was recovering 5.3 loose balls per game, the best mark in the NBA, and the Kings were recovering 2.9, tied for the league's second-worst mark.