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Kings 117, Wizards 111 (OT)
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Center DeMarcus Cousins and forward Rudy Gay combined to score all but four of Sacramento’s 17 points in overtime, and the Kings stalled the Washington Wizards’ climb up the Eastern Conference standings with a 117-111 victory at Sleep Train Arena on Tuesday.
Gay scored six of his 24 points in the extra session, and his 18-foot jumper from the wing broke a 111-111 tie with 37 second remaining.
After Washington guard Bradley Beal missed a 3-pointer, Sacramento guard Isaiah Thomas made two free throws, and Beal airballed another 3-pointer to seal it.
Gay scored nine of Sacramento’s final 14 points in regulation during a 30-19 run that wiped out an 81-70 deficit in the final nine minutes.
Cousins scored seven of his 24 points in the extra frame for the Kings, who opened a four-game homestand with a victory. Cousins also collected 14 rebounds.
Thomas finished with a triple-double: 24 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. He made all four of his free throws in the final 30 seconds of overtime to clinch the victory.
Beal and center Marcin Gorat each scored 19 points to lead the Wizards, who fell two games behind the Chicago Bulls for the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference. Gortat pulled down a team-high 14 rebounds.
Washington (35-31) grabbed its final lead at 109-107 with 1:41 left in overtime when Beal canned a 3-pointer to cap an 8-1 run. However, Gortat’s layup with 54 seconds remaining was Washington’s final field goal.
Guard John Wall finished with 14 points and eight assists for Washington, but he missed two key free throws in the fourth quarter and fouled out at the end of overtime.
Veteran forward Drew Gooden added 18 points and six rebounds for the Wizards, including nine in the final period.
The Kings (24-44) forced overtime by scoring the game’s final five points. Gay’s running right-handed floater from the right baseline tied it. Beal’s open 3-point look from 21 feet at the buzzer was short.
NOTES: C DeMarcus Cousins returned to the lineup after missing the Kings’ previous game with tendinitis in his right knee … The Wizards signed F Drew Gooden for the rest of the season. Gooden, 32, and in his 10th NBA season, had reached the end of the second 10-day contract he signed with Washington. He averaged 8.1 points and 14.6 minutes over his first eight games with the Wizards. … The Kings play three Eastern Conference teams (Washington, the Milwaukee Bucks and the New York Knicks) during their four-game homestand. Sacramento is 8-5 at home against the East. … Wizards F Nene missed his 12th consecutive game due to a sprained left knee ligament. Washington is 8-4 without him. … Washington’s 18 road victories are the third-most in the Eastern Conference, trailing the totals of the Indiana Pacers and Miami Heat.
