Nets 99, Kings 90
SACRAMENTO -- The Brooklyn Nets opened a three-game West Coast road trip with a 99-90 victory Sunday evening over Sacramento Kings before a crowd of 11,965 at the Sleep Train Arena.
The Nets (6-2) earned their fifth consecutive win.
The defeat was Sacramento's fifth straight overall and fourth in a row at home. The Kings (2-8) fell behind late in the second quarter and never could handle the Nets' strength off the bench.
Brooklyn reserve power forward/center Andray Blatche made his first 10 field-goal attempts and 11 of 12 overall to score a team-leading 22 points in just 19 minutes. Backup guards C.J. Watson and Marshon Brooks scored 13 and 14 points, respectively, for the Nets.
That offset a relatively slow scoring night for the Nets' backcourt starters, Joe Johnson (10 points) and Deron Williams (14 points, 10 assists).
Williams struggled with minor injuries to his right forearm and right calf during the game. Johnson made just one of 10 field-goal attempts but hit eight of nine foul shots.
The Kings fell behind by as many as 12 in the third quarter but climbed within 76-74 with 9:20 left in the contest. Marcus Thornton provided the impetus with back-to-back 3-pointers in the opening moments of the fourth.
However, the Kings self-destructed by shooting just 46 percent (six of 13) from the free-throw line and committing four turnovers in the fourth quarter.
Brooks, meanwhile, scored nine of his points in the fourth, while Johnson made all eight of his free throws.
Sacramento's DeMarcus Cousins scored 29 points to lead all scorers, and Kings guard Tyreke Evans added 21 points.
The Nets used a 10-0 run late in the second quarter to pull away from the Kings for a 54-42 halftime lead.
NOTES: Nets small forward Gerald Wallace was selected 25th overall by the Kings in the first round of the 2001 draft. Wallace returned to action Sunday afternoon after missing the previous five games with a sprained left ankle. He scored four points. ... The Kings changed their starting lineup two days after a postgame team meeting. Coach Keith Smart opened with a veteran lineup of Cousins, Jason Thompson, John Salmons, Evans and Aaron Brooks. Regular starting point guard Isaiah Thomas did not play in the first half. He wound up with one point and four assists in 14 minutes. ... The Nets play at the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday, then come back to Northern California to play the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday. ... The Kings are off until playing a home game Wednesday against the Lakers.
