Cavaliers crushed by Kings in biggest blowout of season

1/13/2014
ASSOCIATED PRESS

SACRAMENTO — Isaiah Thomas scored 26 points, and the Sacramento Kings won their third straight game with this season's biggest rout, a 124-80 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday night.

The Kings scored 16 straight points in the third quarter and led by 28 points heading into the fourth. The three-game winning streak is Sacramento's first since December, 2012. The 44-point victory margin was the largest in the NBA this season, according to STATS.

C.J. Miles had 14 points and Luol Deng added 12 for the Cavaliers, who had won two straight.

Cleveland went just over five minutes without a basket in the third quarter, when it shot 4 of 20 and was outscored 30-11. The Cavaliers were outscored 65-30 in the second half.

Kyrie Irving, the Cavaliers' leading scorer, missed 11 of 14 shots, 3 of 4 free throws, and finished with seven points.

It was Deng's second game since arriving from Chicago in a trade for Andrew Bynum and three draft picks. Deng, who has been bothered by a sore left Achilles, had 10 points in 21 minutes in his Cavaliers' debut, a victory Friday night in Utah.

Rudy Gay scored 20 points and DeMarcus Cousins had 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Kings, who concluded a five-game home stand with a 3-2 record. Both Derrick Williams and Jimmer Fredette scored 13 points.

The Kings made 15 of 30 3-pointers, shot 52 percent, and outrebounded the Cavaliers 50-32. The Kings also had eight blocks, including three by Gay.

Thomas made consecutive 3s and Ben McLemore and Williams each had another in a span of two minutes, giving the Kings a 106-68 lead with 8:55 left in the fourth quarter. The lead reached a high of 46 points in the fourth quarter.

Both Gay and Thomas scored nine points in the third quarter when the Kings hit 12 of 13 free throws, outrebounded Cleveland 16-7, and took an 89-61 lead.

Leading by nine points at the half, the Kings expanded their lead in the third quarter. They ran off 16 unanswered points in building an 86-58 lead. Cousins and Gay started the run with consecutive three-point plays, and Thomas ended the spree with a layup.

Gay and Thomas both scored 11 first-half points for the Kings, who led 59-50. Sacramento outscored the Cavaliers 29-18 in the second quarter. Miles had 11 points and Anderson Varejao 10 for Cleveland.

It was a difficult opening half for Irving. The Cavs’ point guard shot 1 of 7, missed both free throws, and had two points in 19 minutes.